Québec presents the Quebec Culture and Citizenship Program
The new program presented Sunday by Education Minister Jean-François Roberge will focus on three axes:
culture, Quebec citizenship, and dialogue and critical thinking.
The Quebec Culture and Citizenship program, which will replace the Ethics and Religious Culture (ECR) course starting in September 2023, will focus on three axes: culture, Quebec citizenship, and dialogue and critical thinking.
culture, Quebec citizenship, and dialogue and critical thinking.
The Quebec Culture and Citizenship program, which will replace the Ethics and Religious Culture (ECR) course starting in September 2023, will focus on three axes: culture, Quebec citizenship, and dialogue and critical thinking.
Education Minister Jean-François Roberge unveiled the new program on Sunday.
The new program will be gradually rolled out in primary and secondary schools from the beginning of the 2022 school year and throughout the network at the beginning of the 2023 school year. Adjustments can be made during the 2022-2023 school year, said Minister Roberge.
"It's going to be a transition. We are not in a hurry. I don't think anyone is going to feel rushed," said Minister Roberge.
Program details and course content will be made available to teachers in spring 2022. "Teachers will have time to make it their own. Those who want to experience it in September 2022 will do so and the others will have a year to train and appropriate it," said the minister.
Training will be provided to teachers to mentor them in the implementation of the programme and teaching materials will be provided.
Content
The course, which will be divided into three axes, will be offered to all primary and secondary school students.
First, culture will lead students to take an interest in culture and to understand it, by putting forward Quebec culture, including its foundations, its evolution, its heritage and its works.
Then, Quebec citizenship will deal with values, civic life, respect for oneself and others, equality, secularism and freedom of expression. They will also reflect on the new challenges of citizenship, particularly in the digital age and environmental issues.
Finally, dialogue and critical thinking will "limit polarization" in society, said Minister Roberge. Students will be led to question themselves and to address moral dilemmas, to examine cultural, religious, scientific and social landmarks.
The defence of freedom of expression will be put forward.
Sexuality education content will also be integrated into the new curriculum. First Nations and Inuit issues will also be addressed and developed in collaboration with Indigenous partners.
Public figures give their support
At the time of the announcement, Ingrid Falaise, Pierre Curzi and Dany Turcotte were present to support the new program.
"I left Everyone Talks About It eight months ago because of online hate. I was asking to have an ethics course on social media and it's included in Culture et citoyenneté québécoise and I'm very happy," said host Dany Turcotte,
who said he was not paid to be present at the press conference.
For her part, actress Ingrid Falaise, who has been a victim of domestic violence, recalled the importance of educating young people about sexual violence. "For there to be real change in our society, it is essential that mentalities change and equip our children and that they recognize behaviors that are inappropriate and toxic behaviors," she said.
In his view, one of the ways to achieve a caring and violence-free society was to provide education for young people. "Everything starts with the children. Our children are the ones who will make the society of tomorrow," she concluded.
Former program
For Minister Roberge, the redesign of the curriculum was essential, since the former ECR course offered "stereotypical images" and "propagated prejudices".
"The old program was based on belonging to a religious denomination that defines our identity. We can no longer tolerate this kind of bias in our schools," he said, adding that these are principles that contradict our values.
He highlighted the remarkable work of the teachings in recent years, but added that there was still "something vicious in the Ethics and Religious Culture course."
For the minister, the new course is a way to solve the problems of our society that have become more pronounced in recent years. "In our [today's] society, nuanced statements are too rare. This is not unique to respectful dialogue and exchange," he said.
In particular, he deplores calls for censorship, lack of respect on social networks and attacks on free expression, which he says are increasingly striking in our society. According to him, the new course will help to find the basics of dialogue and respectful relations.
THEY SAIDI think it's a long list of groceries for the few hours that are devoted to that course right now. [...] It is as if the minister was presenting this course as a magic solution for a very large number of important societal issues.
Christine Labrie, Québec solidaire education critic
I have the impression that they did a big show to announce that they changed a piastre in four 30 cents, but they still have not defined what Quebec citizenship is. That's because the vast majority of the themes they announced today are already covered, but have a different name.
Marwa Rizqhi, Quebec Liberal Party Critic for Education
The new program will be gradually rolled out in primary and secondary schools from the beginning of the 2022 school year and throughout the network at the beginning of the 2023 school year. Adjustments can be made during the 2022-2023 school year, said Minister Roberge.
"It's going to be a transition. We are not in a hurry. I don't think anyone is going to feel rushed," said Minister Roberge.
Program details and course content will be made available to teachers in spring 2022. "Teachers will have time to make it their own. Those who want to experience it in September 2022 will do so and the others will have a year to train and appropriate it," said the minister.
Training will be provided to teachers to mentor them in the implementation of the programme and teaching materials will be provided.
Content
The course, which will be divided into three axes, will be offered to all primary and secondary school students.
First, culture will lead students to take an interest in culture and to understand it, by putting forward Quebec culture, including its foundations, its evolution, its heritage and its works.
Then, Quebec citizenship will deal with values, civic life, respect for oneself and others, equality, secularism and freedom of expression. They will also reflect on the new challenges of citizenship, particularly in the digital age and environmental issues.
Finally, dialogue and critical thinking will "limit polarization" in society, said Minister Roberge. Students will be led to question themselves and to address moral dilemmas, to examine cultural, religious, scientific and social landmarks.
The defence of freedom of expression will be put forward.
Sexuality education content will also be integrated into the new curriculum. First Nations and Inuit issues will also be addressed and developed in collaboration with Indigenous partners.
Public figures give their support
At the time of the announcement, Ingrid Falaise, Pierre Curzi and Dany Turcotte were present to support the new program.
"I left Everyone Talks About It eight months ago because of online hate. I was asking to have an ethics course on social media and it's included in Culture et citoyenneté québécoise and I'm very happy," said host Dany Turcotte,
who said he was not paid to be present at the press conference.
For her part, actress Ingrid Falaise, who has been a victim of domestic violence, recalled the importance of educating young people about sexual violence. "For there to be real change in our society, it is essential that mentalities change and equip our children and that they recognize behaviors that are inappropriate and toxic behaviors," she said.
In his view, one of the ways to achieve a caring and violence-free society was to provide education for young people. "Everything starts with the children. Our children are the ones who will make the society of tomorrow," she concluded.
Former program
For Minister Roberge, the redesign of the curriculum was essential, since the former ECR course offered "stereotypical images" and "propagated prejudices".
"The old program was based on belonging to a religious denomination that defines our identity. We can no longer tolerate this kind of bias in our schools," he said, adding that these are principles that contradict our values.
He highlighted the remarkable work of the teachings in recent years, but added that there was still "something vicious in the Ethics and Religious Culture course."
For the minister, the new course is a way to solve the problems of our society that have become more pronounced in recent years. "In our [today's] society, nuanced statements are too rare. This is not unique to respectful dialogue and exchange," he said.
In particular, he deplores calls for censorship, lack of respect on social networks and attacks on free expression, which he says are increasingly striking in our society. According to him, the new course will help to find the basics of dialogue and respectful relations.
THEY SAIDI think it's a long list of groceries for the few hours that are devoted to that course right now. [...] It is as if the minister was presenting this course as a magic solution for a very large number of important societal issues.
Christine Labrie, Québec solidaire education critic
I have the impression that they did a big show to announce that they changed a piastre in four 30 cents, but they still have not defined what Quebec citizenship is. That's because the vast majority of the themes they announced today are already covered, but have a different name.
Marwa Rizqhi, Quebec Liberal Party Critic for Education
ALICE GIRARD-BOSSÉ
THE PRESS
Québec presents the Quebec Culture and Citizenship program| The Press (lapresse.ca)
THE PRESS
Québec presents the Quebec Culture and Citizenship program| The Press (lapresse.ca)