Educational Policy in the Making: The Quebec Citizenship and Culture Program
On October 24 2021, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government announced it would modify the provincial school curriculum to implement a new program known as Quebec Citizenship and Culture (CCQ). The purpose of the new program is to replace the existing Ethics and Religious Culture (ERC) course taught at the elementary and high school levels by offering more revised and modern content. Currently undergoing the piloting stage in select schools across the province, CCQ is set to be fully implemented within the curriculum by the beginning of the next school year in 2023-2024. Although the move has been welcomed by some as a legitimate attempt to modernize the curriculum, others have voiced their concerns regarding such a critical change in educational policy.
The Ethics and Religious Culture Program: The Foundation of a Modern Secular Society
The original Ethics and Religious Culture program arrived at a time in which the Quebec education system was still adapting itself to the abolition of religious (Protestant and Catholic) school boards as a consequence of the 1997 constitutional amendment. Its implementation in 2008 resulted in a non-confessional program aiming to prepare students to integrate an increasingly diverse and multicultural society, mainly by making them consider important ethical questions and the conduct of meaningful dialogue. Naturally, much of the course’s content concerns the various ways to express religious beliefs and the exploration of the main features of the world’s major religions.
According to the Ministry of Education, ERC rests on three key (and quite broad) competencies. The first competency considers the ethical dimension; engaging students to reflect about how values and beliefs shape one’s judgment, and how to think critically about their own individual biases. Arguably the most important of the three, the second competency exposes students to different ways in which religion manifests itself in modern societies. It also considers the historical impact of Catholicism on Québécois culture and society. The final competency revolves around the concept of dialogue. Its goal is for students to communicate their ideas and opinions in an effective and respectful manner, learning to make meaningful compromises amidst conflict or disagreement.
The Argument(s) For Change and the Quebec Citizenship and Culture Program
The previous Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, explained that the new CCQ program’s main goal is to address the limitations of the previous ERC course. In his view, ERC is naturally biased because it tends to define Quebec identity on the basis of faith and traditionally religious values, exposing students to “stereotypes” and “prejudice” when studying other cultures. The rise of hateful speech found online in recent years has also brought the Minister to call for an improvement in students’ ability to add nuance to their views and engage in respectful dialogue, something he claims CCQ can achieve. The program has likewise been applauded for including entirely new themes that ERC did not cover, namely sexual consent, media literacy, and Indigenous issues.
Briefly explained, the Quebec Citizenship and Culture program aims to update the notions covered in ERC around the general concept of a modern, secularized Quebec society, with the addition of new and relevant content. Like its predecessor, the new program is based on three core aspects. The first is entirely dedicated to helping students grasp what Quebec culture is about: it explores the foundations, historical evolution, and key symbols of Quebec culture. Secondly, the program will cover contemporary societal issues and important themes concerning students’ future duty as informed citizens, like freedom of speech, gender equality, and media literacy. The final aspect remains roughly the same as in the ERC course, studying the means and realities of respectful dialogue.
Although the new program is still only in its preliminary stage, a publicly-available tentative outline brings to light two main takeaways. As clearly indicated in the name, CCQ focuses much more on the very broad concepts of “culture” and “citizenship.” In other words, it does not specifically consider religious expression or individual religions as ERC did: rather, it explores how different cultural values influence and are reflected within society. In fact, the word “religion” only appears a handful of times throughout the document. The other important takeaway is the added emphasis on critical thinking. As mentioned by Minister Roberge, CCQ encourages students to question and investigate the new course’s content. Thus, while teachers must remain impartial in their educational approach, their role in teaching students to respect religious dogma has greatly diminished, largely because religious education has seemingly fallen under the umbrella term “culture.”
A Criticized Approach to Educational Reform?
The suggested implementation of the new CCQ program was met with significant criticism. One of the most vocal critics has been the Association québécoise en éthique et culture religieuse (AQÉCR); an association comprising teachers and others tasked with teaching the ERC program. Although open to reforming the ERC course, the AQÉCR has refuted most of Minister Roberge’s claims about the downsides of the existing program. In their view, ERC already promotes the values of a modern Quebec society, and does not perpetuate traditional Catholic values. They also firmly deny that it reinforces stereotypes. In fact, the AQÉCR claims that the phasing out of religious education runs counter to fostering a tolerant, multicultural society, and that the CAQ’s approach to education lacks sound research.
The AQÉCR’s claims are not unfounded. Only a few days after the program was announced, it was revealed that two of the five members of the committee responsible for its drafting have quit, including the official sent by the Ministry of Education, Ms. Marie-Noëlle Corriveau-Tendland. Corriveau-Tendland has accused the government of prioritizing its political agenda in the drafting process, as opposed to effectively consulting the education community. In the National Assembly, the liberal opposition has been quick to denounce the CCQ program as little more than a political stunt in view of the upcoming 2022 elections. The place of partisanship in educational policy has always been a contentious issue, but the CAQ’s repeated insistence in promoting a “secular” Quebec society (one might think of the controversial Bill 21) has led many to conclude that the suggested reforms are mostly superficial.
For First Nations groups in Quebec, the story remains the same. The director general of the First Nations Education Council of Quebec, Denis Gros-Louis, has heavily criticized the new program. In his words: “Our greatest surprise was the use of 'Québécois' as an adjective, painting everybody with the same brush. There's not a single citizenship in Quebec. There are several cultures. There are several languages.” Even worse, Gros-Louis denied the government’s claim that First Nations representatives were consulted about the new program, as he himself learned of its existence the day it was announced. For a program that is set to build a well-functioning society based on respect for other cultures and diversity, the irony is hard to ignore.
In sum, the new Quebec Citizenship and Culture program shows promise in modernizing certain aspects of the provincial curriculum. Defining a contemporary Quebec identity that future generations can look forward to is incredibly ambitious, and the inclusion of increasingly relevant themes such as Indigenous issues and media literacy can also be a powerful force for change. On the other hand, the highly partisan approach to education used by the CAQ severely limits the program’s potential. Although it can seemingly afford to do so, our government simply should not implement such a far-ranging program without engaging in consistent dialogue with all parties involved. As more details about this new program become publicly available, the following months will be crucial in determining the direction in which our society wishes to proceed. With this in mind, it is important to remember that, as Wilma Mankiller once said, “whoever controls the education of our children controls the future.”