Supply and demand of teachers in French as a second language in Canada CPF Roundtable: The current state of FSL teacher supply in Canada Ottawa, May 24 2018 Supply and demand of teachers in French as a second language in Canada Research Team: Mimi Masson, PhD (University of Toronto/OISE) Elizabeth Jean Larson (University of Toronto/OISE) Paule Desgroseilliers, PhD (Concordia University) Wendy Carr, PhD (University of British Columbia) Sharon Lapkin, PhD (University of Toronto/OISE)

Project background GOAL: Gather information on the labour market context for FSL teachers in Canada METHOD: Mixed methods ANALYSIS: Content Analysis and Descriptive Statistics using Nvivo 11 and SPSS (N=28) (N=39) (N=101) Ministries of Education School boards (HR + FSL consultants) Faculties of education Teacher candidates Region Ministries of Education School boards Faculties of Education Teacher candidates (survey only) Atlantic Canada 3 2 1 4 Quebec 9 Ontario n/a 40 Western provinces 48 Northern territories

Findings (interviews) All stakeholders agreed they have concerns about the FSL teacher shortage Ministries of Education ∙ School boards ∙ Faculties of Education Difficulty finding teachers who want to move to their area Systemic barrier: transitioning francophones from outside Canada to receive provincial accreditation Feel adequate or very good support with resources already in place Feel need for more support with professional learning initiatives Graduating 12-40 candidates per year Most (all but 1) reported not filling quotas Feel 100% of graduates are able to find work, but do not collect data on graduates after they leave program Use several recruitment strategies (all but 1): career fairs, social media, their own students’ online networks, recruiting from other Departments Administrative staff not always trained to interview FSL candidates Fewer teachers want to mentor Lack of linguistically and/or culturally competent applicants Concerned about working conditions for FSL teachers: low status and isolation QC: political stigma about teaching in Anglophone boards Preliminary findings - NOT official

social media untrustworthy Findings (surveys) Most important factors for teacher candidates when searching for work: working with a dedicated support staff (27%) resources available to students (16%) proximity to family and friends (9%) affordability of housing and cost of living (9%) TEACHER MOBILITY YES NO moving out of province 53% 47% moving to rural area 64% 36% moving to remote area 28% 72% Preliminary findings - NOT official What can English-language school boards do to attract more candidates? better salaries and working conditions (21%) promoting French culture and intercultural awareness (19%) Most commonly used methods for job seeking: school board or district websites (52%) other teachers or word of mouth (20%) faculty of Education emails or listservs (18%) 44% find social media untrustworthy Additional comments: concerns about: poor working conditions of FSL teachers, lack of resources in French, lack of support, and incurring heavy debt in Teacher Ed programs expressed need for more French courses in Teacher Ed programs & more opportunities to be immersed in French feeling misled about the current shortage of FSL teachers

Supply and demand of teachers in French as a Second language in Canada Moving forward…. Supply and demand of teachers in French as a Second language in Canada Contact information: Mimi Masson, PhD (University of Toronto/OISE) mimi.masson@mail.utoronto.ca