EDUCATION AND lNfEGRATlON OF IMMIGRANT MINORITIES: A CASE STUDY OF THE HAlTlAN COMMUNlPl IN QUEBEC Léopold Pompilus A THESIS in The Department of Education Presented in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Educational Studies) at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada April 1999 @ Léopold Pompilus, 1999 National Library Bibliothéque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OîtawaON K1AON4 Ottawa ON K 1A ON4 Canada Canada Your Me Votre re#rsriC* Our Ne Nme reldfenca The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sel1 reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. ABSTRACT EDUCATION AND INTEGRATION OF IMMIGRANT MINORITIES: A CASE STUDY OF THE HAITIAN COMMUNtlY IN QUEBEC Léopold Pornpilus This thesis examines the immigration and integration of Haitians in Quebec society. First, a historical background of this process is presented. Second, there is a discussion of how education is strongly linked to the Haitian's particular status in Quebec. This status is subject to the political clirnate and cornmitment of the Quebec government to establish French culture as the dominant one. Finally, different interviews with Haitian respondents and participants are introduced. The findings of the cases studied suggest that some of the Haitians who arrived here in the 1960s (first wave) became "upwardly mobile" and benefited from unprecedented opportunities in Quebec. Unlike the first wave, the second and succeeding waves of Haitian immigration arrived in Quebec in a different political and socioeconomic context. Because many of these individuals had little education, they went to work rnainly in factories. However, many of those who were well-educated failed to secure a job despite their education. This situation forced the latter into unemployment and underemployrnent. Starting with the assumption that education and employment are the main variables for achieving immigrant integration, this thesis seeks to understand these two different contexts of Haitian immigration and their effect on the integration process of these individuals in Quebec society. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My special thanks go to my advisor, Dr. Joyce BARRAKET, who helped me organise my ideas into a thesis. Her advice and academic standard have encouraged me to try my utmost. 1 wish to thank the other members of the examining cornmittee: Dr. Ailie Cleghom, Prof. Arpi Hamalian, and Dr. Paul Bouchard. Their encouragement and helpful words of advice made it possible for me to complete this thesis. I also wish to thank all the professors in the Educational Studies department at Concordia University who have provided me with a broad understanding of issues related education. I am particularly grateful to Professor Arpi Hamalian, Dr. Eigil Pedersen, Dr. Geoffrey Fidler, Dr. Harold Entwistle, and Dr. Joyce Barakett, with whom I leam so much about the importance of education in society . Finally, I would like to thank al1 the target respondents and participants without whom to this study would have been impossible. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION 1 Methodology 7 Limitations 10 2. EDUCATION AND THE HAlTlAN MIGRATION: A HlSTORlCAL PERSPECTIVE 12 Political and Economic Context of the Haitian Migration 15 Haitian Migration and the North American Context . 16 Classification of the Haitian Immigration: Some Precision . 18 The Pioneers 20 The first wave 21 The Second Wave . 24 3. EDUCATION AND THE SOCIOECONOMIC SITUATION OF HAITIANS INQUEBEC . 31 Haitian Youth and the Quebec School System . 31 Haitian Immigrants and Adult Education in Quebec . 37 Socio-econornic Status of Haitian immigrants and the Work place 40 Education and Employment in Quebec: A Generai Perspective 45 Education as "The Great Equalizer": A General Perspective . 48 The 'Theory of Social Standing and Socio-economic Status . 53 4. THEORETICAL fRAMEWORK 56 The Theory of Group Life . 57 The Theory of Group Life in the CanadianiQuebec Context . 61 Theory of Structural vs. Cultural Interdependence . 69 v The Multifaceted Interaction Model 5. METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION AND DATA ANALYSIS . Interview Guide . Theoretical lnterpretations . The Pioneers The First Wave . The Second and Third Waves . Interview at the Institutional Level Interview at the Community Level 6. GENERAL CONCLUSION . Reference List. Other Sources . APPENDICES. 1. NUMBER OF YEARS OF SCHOOLING OF THE HAITIAN-BORN IMMIGRANTS IN QUEBEC 1968-1977 22 2. NUMBER OF YEARS OF SCHOOLING OF THE HAITIAN-BORN IMMIGRANTS IN QUEBEC 1978-1992 27 - THE ASSIMILATION VARIABLES . 3. NUMBER OF TARGET RESPONDENTS AND PARTICIPANTS INTERVIEWED . vii CHAPTER l The purpose of this study is to contribute to a better understanding of the role of education in the integration process of immigrant minorities (1). This study focuses rnainly on the Haitian comrnunity in Quebec society, specifically on the personal experience of Haitians who immigrated to Quebec at different periods in tirne. It is often argued that education has helped the first wave (2) of Haitian immigrants to integrate into Quebec rnainstream society. Similarly, it is suggested that the second wave has failed to integrate in the host society or to improve their socioeconomic situation because of their lack of education and low sociu-econornic status (Tremblay, 1991, p. 94; Bernèche, 1990, p. 9; C.C.C.I., 1993,p. 39, 40). These assertions contain some elements of truth that are self-evident. Indeed, the first wave of Haitian immigrants in Quebec were, for the most part, well educated and managed to integrate in al1 sectors of activities here, mile it seems to be the other way around for the second and other waves. Most Haitian immigrants in the 1960s landed good jobs shortly after they arrived in Quebec. Such was not the case for many Haitian immigrants in the 1970s and 1980s. (1). As Professor Olivier has suggested, the line between integration and assimilation is blurred, and very often integration becomes synonymous with assimilation. For example, Gordon suggests that "in structural terms, ... integration presupposes the elirnination of hard and fast barrier in the prirnary group relations and communal Me of various ethnic groups of the nation. It involves easy and fluid mixture of people of diverse racial, religious, and nationality backgrounds in social cliques, families (i.e., intemarriage), private organization. and intirnate friendships"(Gordon, 1964, p. 246). (2). 1 use the terni "wave" in this thesis to refer to a particular group of Haitian immigrants who arrived in Quebec during a specific period of time. However, these statements on the Haitian integration in Quebec are rather superficial for they describe a reality that is too complex to be contained in a few sentences. They fail to explain why unemployment and underemployment arnong educated Haitians remain so high and so pervasive over the past decade. 1 suggest that, in order to better understand the Haitian integration in Quebec, one should consider not only the pre-migratory variables (l),such as education and socio-economic status, but also the context of immigration, the degree of tolerance of the host society and individual adaptabiiity. For instance, it has been suggested that, during the "Quiet Revolution" (2) Quebec society had a more positive attitude toward immigrants in general and Haitian immigrants in particular. The rernarkable impact of the "Quiet Revolution" on the conventional sectors such as education, health Gare and the economy has had some unintended consequances on Quebec societal structure and ideologies. (1). There is no consensus on how to define the variables for immigrants integration in the host societies. However, I draw on the viewpoint advanced by Lebon to lay ground for this study. In the view of the latter, one may assume that the integration of foreign citizens in France is successful if the immigrant women have about the same number of children as the French women, if the number of immigrant students in special aid is not higher than that of the French students, and if unernployment among its potential workers is not higher than among the French workers [Actes du Séminaire sur les indicateurs d'inte~ration des immiarants, 1994, p.26). (2). According to Linteau,Durocher, Robert, and Ricard (1989),the concepts of <Quiet Revolutiom or t<RévolutionTranquille, were used to for the first time by a journalist in Globe and Mail (Toronto) to describe the changes that began to occur in Quebec after 1960. There is still an ongoing debate on the scope and definition of these concepts. For these authors, "Au sens strict, la Révolution tranquille désigne habituellement la période de réformes politiques, institutionnelles et sociales réalisées entre 1960 et 1966 par le gouvemement libéral de Jean Lessage. ... Au sens large, l'expression est aussi utilisée pour caractériser l'ensemble des décenies 1960 et 1970, marquées par le triomphe du neo-libéralisme et du néo-nationalisme ... L'idée clé est alors celle du ctrattrapager>. II s'agit d'accélérer un processus de mise a jour et de modernisation qui s'est amorcé après la guerre mais qui, au Québec, a été considérablement freiné par le conservatisme du gouvemement Duplessis (p. 421, 422). The changes that had occurred in Quebec societal structure were affected, in part, by the presence of an increasing number of Haitians and other immigrant minorities since the 1970s.