Ethnolinguistic Identity and Vocational Readiness As Non-Cognitive

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Ethnolinguistic Identity and Vocational Readiness as Non-Cognitive Factors Related to College Adaptation and Satisfaction with Life Among Franco-Ontarian Post-Secondary Students Living in an Anglo-Dominant Context

André Samson, Alexander R. Maisonneuve, & Zacharie Saint-Georges University of Ottawa

Abstract and Francophone Ethnolinguistic and Brzustoski, 2009). These Identity are significant predictors non-cognitive factors seem also to The purpose of this re- of Social Adaptation. be predictors of social integration, search was to determine how (Steele, 1992, 1997; Yeager & Francophone Ethnolinguistic Keywords: Vocational Readiness, Walton, 2011), institutional sense Identity and Vocational Readiness, College Adaptation, Satisfaction of belonging, and student self-per- facilitate the College Adaptation with Life, Ethnolinguistic Identity, ception (Walton & Cohen, 2007; and predict students’ Satisfaction Minorities Walton & Spencer, 2009; Yeager with Life. Using a sample of 179 & Walton, 2011). In a Canadian first-year students, the devel- Traditionally, college ethnolinguistic context, non-cogni- opment of a novel scale used to perseverance and success has tive factors can have a special sig- measure Vocational Readiness, or been attributed mainly to cogni- nificance, where, side-by-side, two the degree to which a student is tive factors such as intelligence distinct linguistic groups coexist. ready to make a post-secondary and academic abilities (Khine & Indeed, the Canadian constitution program choice and be engaged Areepattamannil, 2016). Howev- recognizes French and English as in the transition to post-secondary er, an increasing body of research the official languages of the con- studies, was done and validated. tends to demonstrate that non-cog- federation. With a population sur- Correlational analyses showed that nitive factors have positive effects passing 35 million, 20.39% of the all aspects of Vocational Readi- on college performance, and that Canadian population self-identify ness are consistently associated these effects are sustained over as Francophone (Statistics Cana- with better overall Adaptation in time (Conley, Aspengren, Stout, & da, 2016) with the vast majority College and overall Vocational Veach, 2006). Broadly, five gen- of these French-speakers living in Readiness is associated with all eral categories of non-cognitive Quebec. Outside of Quebec, there subscales of College Adaptation. factors have been identified in are approximately one million Regression analyses showed relation to academic performance: self-identified Francophone Ca- that Vocational Readiness was a Academic Behaviours, Academic nadians dispersed throughout the significant predictor of College Perseverance, Academic Mindsets, other Canadian provinces and ter- Adaptation and Satisfaction with Learning Strategies, and Social ritories (Statistics Canada, 2016). Life Francophone Ethnolinguis- Skills (Farrington et al, 2012) with Francophone students tic Identity was also a significant many sub-constructs being identi- living outside of Quebec are predictor of Satisfaction with Life. fied as the body of research grows constantly exposed to the dom- The interaction between Voca- (Khine & Areepattamannil, 2016). inant Anglophone culture. Rel- tional Readiness and Francophone In a racial minority con- evant literature has shown (see Ethnolinguistic Identity (Model F) text, research has shown that Castonguay, 2002) that this con- was a significant, negative predic- non-cognitive factors, such as cul- stant exposure can dilute one’s tor of Satisfaction with Life. Post- tural variables, influence college ethnolinguistic identity. Indeed, hoc regression analyses indicated perseverance and success (Cohen, Francophone students in Ontario that both Vocational Readiness Garcia, Purdie-Vaughns, Apfel, often perceive themselves as not

Canadian Journal of Career Development/Revue canadiene de développement de carrière Volume 20, Number 1, 2021 Ethnolinguistic Identity and Vocational Readiness 18 entirely Francophone, but rather Therefore, it is important to deter- Methodology as a combination of Francophone mine whether ethnolinguistic iden- and Anglophone, often referred tity facilitates the transition from Participants to as bilingual Francophone high school to a French-language (Pilote, Magnan, & Vieux-Fort, post-secondary institution in a mi- Participants included 179 2010; Samson, Sovet, Cournoyer, nority context. The non-cognitive first-year students (100 female) & Lauzier, 2016). This percep- factors examined in this research enrolled in Collège La Cité, a tion is not in the sense that these are Ethnolinguistic Identity and French-language post-secondary individuals equally master both Vocational Readiness. The first college situated in Ottawa, On- languages, but rather that this objective of this research will be to tario, Canada. Participants’ had term represents the core of their determine whether having a strong a mean age of 21.77 years (SD = cultural identity, being neither Francophone Ethnolinguistic Iden- 4.21), 88 % of participants report- Francophone nor Anglophone but tity facilitates the process of Adap- ed being born in Canada, whereas a combination of the two (Sovet, tation into a Francophone college, 11 % reported being born in anoth- DiMillo, & Samson, 2016). An as well as whether this strengthens er country (1 % did not report this investigation of 1130 Grade 12 Satisfaction with Life. Neverthe- information). Francophone students enrolled in less, the choice of a post-second- 30 different French-language high ary program does not only involve Measures schools in Ontario indicated that ethnolinguistic identity in a mi- there is a strong correlation be- nority context, but also (and this is Taking into account the tween ethnolinguistic identity and true for all students regardless of goal of this study, the instruments the intention to pursue post-sec- their background) include a certain chosen focus essentially on the ondary education in either French degree of preparedness to ensure non-cognitive factors related or in English. The more a student a realistic and catered choice in to Ethnolinguistic Identity and perceived themselves as a Franco- college programs. For example, Vocational Readiness. To meet the phone, the greater their intention students must have attained an goals of this research, three val- to pursue their post-secondary ed- adequate degree of self-knowl- idated scales were used and one ucation in French. Conversely, the edge (Duncheon, 2015), sufficient was developed to measure Voca- more a student perceived them- knowledge of their program of tional Readiness. The first scale, selves as Anglophone, the greater choice (Duncheon, 2015), a good developed by Landry, Allard, and their intention to pursue post-sec- social support environment (Za- Deveau (2007), measured different ondary education in English (Sam- vatkay, 2015), and have identified aspects of Ethnolinguistic Identity. son et al, 2016). It is important salient career aspirations (Mar- Ethnolinguistic Identity includes to note that according to relevant tinez, Baker, & Young, 2017). the sociostructural factors that research, French-language primary Therefore, the second objective of affect a group’s ability to behave and secondary schools seem to be this research will be to examine and survive as a distinct and active one of the most important predic- whether Ethnolinguistic Identity is collective entity within multilin- tors of the development of a strong of equal or of more importance for gual settings (Howard et al, 1977; Francophone ethnolinguistic Franco-Ontarian students’ Adapta- Landry & Bourhris, 1997). Ac- identity (Landry & Bouhris, 1997; tion in a Francophone college than cording to Landry and Bourhris Landry, Deveau, & Allard, 2006). being adequately prepared to make (1997), the weaker the position of Ethnolinguistic identity the right program choices prior to an ethnolinguistic group relative has a strong influence on whether being enrolled. to a more dominant ethnolinguis- students in a Francophone minori- tic out-group, the more likely ty context decide to pursue their minority ethnolinguistic groups post-secondary studies in French. will assimilate linguistically into

Canadian Journal of Career Development/Revue canadiene de développement de carrière Volume 20, Number 1, 2021 Ethnolinguistic Identity and Vocational Readiness 19 the larger out-group, fading as academic records and data from The last scale used in the a distinct ethnolinguistic collec- other measures of emotional, current study was specially de- tive. For this study, students were academic, and social dispositions veloped by the main author to asked to rate their Ethnolinguistic were collected by the authors at measure participants’ Vocational Identity on a 9-point semantic the end of high school and during Readiness, or their degree of read- differential scale from five differ- the first year of college to assess iness to make a post-secondary ing perspectives spanning: culture, the SACQ-F’s construct validity. program choice and be engaged language, ancestry, the future, and The sample used to develop the in the transition to post-secondary territory. With a range from 1 to 9, translated version of the SACQ studies. In the current study we 1 referred to “Doesn’t correspond had equivalent means and sex dif- aimed to validate this new scale to me”, 5 referred to “Moderately ferences when compared to those with an exploratory factor analy- corresponds to me” and 9 referred presented in American studies sug- sis. Correlational and regression to “Completely corresponds to gesting that the SACQ-F is a valid analysis were conducted with the me”. For example, according to and reliable measure of the adjust- final version of this new scale. The my culture (my way of thinking, ment of French-speaking college Vocational Readiness scale is com- my way of acting, my interests, populations (Larose et al, 2015). prised of four subscales spanning: my beliefs, my values), I consider In the current study, students were 1) Vocational Confidence - rela- that I am: Non-Francophone (1) - asked to rate their College Adapta- tionship between self-knowledge Francophone (9); according to my tion on a 9-point semantic differ- and career plan/post-secondary culture (my way of thinking, my ential scale exploring Academic program choices; 2) Vocational way of acting, my interests, my be- Adjustment, Personal-Emotional Preparation - active search for liefs, my values), I consider that I Adjustment, Social Adjustment, information about postsecondary am: Non-Anglophone (1) - Anglo- and Institutional Attachment. With programs; 3) Vocational Aspira- phone (9). The Cronbach alphas a scale ranging from 1 to 9, 1 tions – self-perceptions and beliefs for this scale were .80 (Franco- referred to “not applicable to me about future career 4); Vocational phone) and .85 (Anglophone). at all” while 9 referred to “applies Satisfaction – current satisfaction The second scale used in perfectly to me”. The Cronbach with vocational development and this study was the French ver- alpha for this scale was .92. process. Cronbach’s alpha for the sion of the Student Adaptation to The third scale used for final version of Scale 4 indicated College Questionnaire (SACQ-F) this research was the Satisfaction the test’s internal consistency to be by Larose, Soucy, Bernier and with Life scale developed by Die- highly reliable (14 items; α = .93). Roy (2015). Originally developed ner, Emmons, Larsen and Griffin by Baker and Siryk (1984), this (1985). For the purpose of this Analysis Plan highly-cited 67-item question- study, we used a French version of naire assessed overall Adaptation this scale that has been validated In order to evaluate the to College, as well as adjustment by Blais, Vallerand, Pelletier and factor structure of Scale 4 (Voca- in four specific, but related areas Brigare (1989). This measure con- tional Readiness), an Exploratory including: Academic Adjustment, sists of items such as: My living Factor Analysis was undertaken. Personal-Emotional Adjustment, conditions are excellent and uses a The Exploratory Factor Analysis Social Adjustment, and Institu- seven-point Likert response scale was performed in Mplus Version 8 tional Attachment. Larose, Soucy, ranging from 1 “Strongly dis- (Muthén & Muthén, 1998-2017), Bernier and Roy (2015) tested agree” to 7 “Totally agree”. A high using Maximum Likelihood as the French version of the SACQ score on this scale indicates a high researchers have suggested it on 174 college-level students at level of Satisfaction with Life. The yields the best results (Costello several points in time to assess Cronbach alpha for this scale .93. & Osborne, 2005). Eigen values test-retest reliability. In addition, and VSP test (scree plot) indicated

Canadian Journal of Career Development/Revue canadiene de développement de carrière Volume 20, Number 1, 2021 Ethnolinguistic Identity and Vocational Readiness 20 that the best model would include Readiness and Anglophone Ethno- provided allowed access to the 4 factors. Analyses revealed that linguistic Identity; in Model D and study website for a period of five the factors were correlated, and H, Vocational Readiness and its hours. This research was reviewed consequently we used an oblique interaction with Anglophone Eth- and approved by the University of rotation (Promax) to allow factors nolinguistic Identity. In addition, Ottawa Research Ethics Board. to co-vary. We used sequentially based on correlational analyses we the following criteria: first items conducted a post-hoc test to specif- Results were removed if they did not load ically examine the predictive value on any factor with values greater of Francophone Ethnolinguistic Exploratory Factory Analysis than .40, or loaded on more than Identity on Social Adaptation (in one factor with values greater than conjunction with Vocational Read- The results of the Explor- .40; second, items were removed iness; Model I). Finally, we tested atory Factor Analysis and the final if they loaded on a second fac- the interaction between Franco- items of the Vocational Readiness tor with values greater than .20 phone Ethnolinguistic Identity and Scale are shown in Table 1, along (conservative criterion; Howard, Vocational Readiness with regards with their factor loadings. Accord- 2016); finally, items were removed to that same variable. ing to the criteria outlined in the if they loaded on an additional Analysis Plan, we performed the factor not predicted by the Eigen Procedure following item deletions. Items values and VSP test. To evaluate 5, 9, and 12 were removed on the model fit of the final solution, we This research took place at second iteration; item 11 on the used the Chi-Square and root mean Collège La Cité, a post-secondary third iteration; items 10 and 24 on square error of approximation French-language institution locat- the fourth iteration; items 1, 17, (RMSEA) indices, with RMSEA ed in Ottawa, capital of the Cana- 19, 20, 22, 23 on the fifth iteration; values below 0.06 indicating an dian confederation with a Fran- and lastly items 16 and 26 on the excellent fit (Hu & Bentler, 1999). cophone population of 157, 886 sixth iteration. The sixth iteration Pearson correlations (16.9%). Students registered at yielded a 4-factor model solution between all study variables were Collège La Cité study exclusively that had good fit to the data (Chi- assessed using SPSS v25. Regres- in French. All first-year students Square = 50.06, p = 0.16; RMSEA sion analyses were also conducted were invited to participate in the = 0.035, C.I.: 0.000–0.065). in SPSS to examine the predictive present study by professors teach- value of Vocational Readiness and ing a mandatory French grammar Correlational Analyses Ethnolinguistic Identities. Models course. The questionnaires used A, B, C and D aimed specifically in this study were disseminated Descriptive statistics and at assessing how College Adap- to participants through a website correlations between study vari- tation could be predicted from specifically created for this re- ables are shown in Table 2. Cor- these non-cognitive factors, while search. Each professor provided relational analyses showed that Models E, F, G and H aimed at their students with a password to all aspects/factors of Vocational examining how Satisfaction with access the website. Those whom Readiness are consistently associ- Life could be predicted. In Model accepted to participate in the study ated with better overall Adaptation A and E, Vocational Readiness were given adequate time at the in College (r ranging from .276 and Francophone Ethnolinguistic end of the class to complete the to .357; p < 0.01), and overall Identity were entered as predic- questionnaire. Data collection Vocational Readiness is associat- tors; in Model B and F, Vocational occurred between the beginning ed with all subscales of College Readiness and its interaction with of February and the end of March Adaptation (r ranging from .249 Francophone Ethnolinguistic Iden- of the academic year which be- to .476; p < 0.01). This suggests tity; in Model C and G, Vocational gan in September. The password that individuals showing high

Canadian Journal of Career Development/Revue canadiene de développement de carrière Volume 20, Number 1, 2021 Ethnolinguistic Identity and Vocational Readiness 21

Table 1 Regression Analyses Rotated Component Matrix for the Vocational Readiness Scale Factors

1 2 3 4 The results of the .93 2 J’ai une bonne idee de ce que je veux choisir comme formation, métier ou profession (I have a good regression models are idea of what I want to choose as training, trade or profession). shown in Tables 3 and 4. .89 3 Je sais ce que j’aimerais faire comme travail plus tard (I know what I would like to do as a job later). .76 Table 3 shows the results 4 Je connais assez mes points forts pour choisir une formation, un métier our une profession (I know enough about my strengths to choose a training, a trade or a profession). of the four models (Mod- .95 7 J’ai pris le temps de faire des recherches sur l’internet pour en savoir plus sur des formations, métiers els A, B, C, and D) that ou professions qui pourraient m’intéresser (I took the time to research the internet to learn more tested the predictive values about training, trades or professions that could interest me). .81 6 J’ai pris le temps de me renseigner sur des formations, métiers ou professions que je pourrais faire (I of Vocational Readiness, took the time to learn about training, trades or professions that I could do). Francophone Ethnolinguis- .60 8 J’ai pris le temps de parler à une ou des personnes pour en savoir plus sur des formations, métiers ou tic Identity, Anglophone professions qui pourraient m’intéresser (I took the time to talk to one or more people about training, Ethnolinguistic Identity, trades or professions that might interest me). .97 15 Selon moi, le travail peut m’aider à me développer personnellement (In my opinion, work helps with and their interactions my personal development). on College Adaptation. .97 14 Selon moi, le travail peut m’aider à être fier de moi (In my opinion, my work is a source of personal Overall, only Vocational pride). .81 13 Selon moi, le travail est une manière d’utiliser mes talents (In my opinion, work allows me to use my Readiness was a signifi- talents). cant predictor of College .69 18 Je compte surtout sur mes efforts pour réussir dans le monde du travail (I count especially on my Adaptation. Table 4 dis- efforts to succeed in the world of work). .57 21 J’ai confiance que je pourrai faire ma place dans le monde du travail (I am confident that I will be plays the results of the four able to take my place in the world of work). regression models (Models .97 27 Dans le contexte de mes études collégiales, si je pouvais recommencer ma vie, je n’y changerais rien E, F, G, and H) that as- (In the context of my college studies, if I could redo my life, I wouldn’t change anything). .81 sessed the predictive value 28 Dans le contexte de mes études collégiales, jusqu’à maintenant, j’ai atteint les objectifs que je m’étais fixé (In the context of my college studies, up until now I’ve achieved the goals I’ve set out for myself). of Vocational Readiness, .71 25 Dans le contexte de mes études collégiales, je suis satisfait(e) de ma vie (In the context of my college Francophone Ethnolinguis- studies, I am satisfied with my life). tic Identity, Anglophone Estimator: Maximum Likelihood Rotation: Promax Ethnolinguistic Identity, Rotation type: Oblique and their interactions on Factor 1: Vocational Confidence Factor 2: Vocational Preparation Satisfaction with Life. Factor 3: Vocational Aspirations Factor 4: Vocational Satisfaction Vocational Readiness remained predictive of

Satisfaction with Life in all models. Francophone Vocational Readiness adapt better younger, having a poorer Voca- to college, academically, socially, tional Readiness (especially with Ethnolinguistic Identity was also a as well as emotionally, and have a regards to Vocational Aspirations), significant predictor of Satisfaction better sense of belonging in their and having a decreased sense of with Life. The interaction between college. Having a stronger Fran- belonging. Older age was posi- Vocational Readiness and Fran- cophone Ethnolinguistic Identity tively correlated with Vocational cophone Ethnolinguistic Identity was associated with having greater Confidence and Preparation. There (Model F) was a significant, nega- Vocational Readiness (especially was no significant gender differ- tive predictor of Satisfaction with with regards to Vocational Aspira- ences observed. Life (although the β value was tions and Satisfaction), and having very modest for this interaction). better Social Adaptation. Having There was no significant gender an Anglophone Ethnolinguistic differences observed. Identity was associated with being The post-hoc regression analyses for Social Adaptation are

Canadian Journal of Career Development/Revue canadiene de développement de carrière Volume 20, Number 1, 2021 Ethnolinguistic Identity and Vocational Readiness 22

Table 2

Correlational analyses and descriptive statistics

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

1.Gender

2. Age 0.112

3. Francophone Ethnolinguistic Identity 0.097 -0.046

4. Anglophone Ethnolinguistic Identity -0.129 -.232** 0.003

5. (Overall) Vocational Readiness 0.015 .195** .154* -.151*

6. Vocational Confidence -0.08 .220** 0.026 -0.118 .863**

7. Vocational Preparation -0.004 .160* 0.052 -0.11 .814** .694**

8. Vocational Aspirations 0.082 0.136 .246** -.154* .811** .588** .525**

9. Vocational Satisfaction 0.036 0.127 .149* -0.105 .778** .564** .494** .477**

10. (Overall) College Adaptation -0.126 0.079 0.111 -0.13 .404** .357** .276** .307** .375**

11. Academic Adaptation Subscale -0.02 0.1 0.046 -0.081 .279** .275** .199** .197** .242** .902**

12. Social Adaptation Subscale -0.07 0.072 .202** -0.053 .476** .393** .333** .396** .425** .677** .423**

13. Personal and Emotional Adaptation Subscale -.223** 0.071 0.058 -0.137 .346** .295** .218** .247** .366** .843** .682** .423**

14. Sense of Belonging Adaptation Subscale -0.13 -0.024 0.105 -.181* .249** .217** .174* .205** .214** .827** .722** .514** .574**

15. Satisfaction with Life 0.035 0.114 .231** -0.085 .807** .611** .540** .662** .803** .432** .276** .469** .447** .240**

Alpha - - .804 .848 .932 .940 .888 .923 .878 .922 .835 .743 .768 .744 .931

Mean 1.56 21.77 6.56 4.08 5.49 5.43 5.28 5.95 4.99 6.48 6.28 6.76 6.13 7.18 5.48

SD 0.50 4.21 1.72 2.23 1.15 1.56 1.48 1.11 1.67 1.40 1.60 1.60 1.78 1.89 1.18 * = p < 0.05 (2-tailed); ** = p < 0.01 (2-tailed) shown in Table 5. Results indicat- groups were formed: low, mid, and faction with Life Scale. However, ed that both Vocational Readiness high Francophone Ethnolinguistic at low levels of Vocational Readi- and Francophone Ethnolinguistic Identities. Low Francophone Eth- ness, individuals with lower Fran- Identity were significant predictors nolinguistic Identity was defined cophone Ethnolinguistic Identities of Social Adaptation (Model I) but as any value below –.5 standard also scored lower on the Satisfac- the interaction was not (Model J). deviations, and high Francophone tion with Life Scale. Ethnolinguistic Identity was de- Interaction Effects fined as any value above .5 stan- Discussion dard deviations, with all values in A follow-up analysis was between considered as mid-levels Although Franco-Ontarian performed to examine the (in- of Francophone Ethnolinguistic linguistic rights are protected by teraction) effect of the strength Identity. the Canadian constitution, mem- of Francophone Ethnolinguistic Figure 1 shows the linear bers within this minority linguistic Identity on the link between Voca- regressions of Satisfaction with group face a strong possibility of tional Readiness and the levels of Life on Vocational Readiness being assimilated by the massive Satisfaction with Life. The Fran- for each group. At high levels of presence of an English-speak- cophone Ethnolinguistic Identity Vocational Readiness, all groups ing North American majority variable was centered, and three seem to score high on the Satis- (Castonguay, 2002). The Fran-

Canadian Journal of Career Development/Revue canadiene de développement de carrière Volume 20, Number 1, 2021 Ethnolinguistic Identity and Vocational Readiness 23

co-Ontarian school system is one of the main tools through which the French language can not only survive, but also thrive in this spe- Table 3 cific context. The preservation and Multiple Regression Analyses for College Adaptation (N = 179) flourishing of the French language

A B C D necessitate a strong Francophone (Overall) Vocational Readiness .396** .408** .393** .393** school system where students Francophone Ethnolinguistic Identity 0.05 will master their native language Vocational Readiness * Francophone while also being immersed in an .088 Identity immediate English social environ- Anglophone Ethnolinguistic Identity -.070 ment that requires the daily and Vocational Readiness * Anglophone constant use of the Shakespearean -.123 Identity language (Landry & Allard, 1997; R2 .165** .171** .168** .178** Landry, Deveau, & Allard, 2006). * = p < .05; ** = p < .01; Standardized Coefficients (β) shown for each predictor variable. As such, the aim of this research was to determine how two import-

Table 4 ant non-cognitive factors, name- ly Francophone Ethnolinguistic Multiple Regression Analyses for Satisfaction with life (N = 179) Identity and Vocational Readiness,

E F G H facilitate the process of adaptation (Overall) Vocational Readiness .790** .803** .813** .803** into a French-language college Francophone Ethnolinguistic Identity .109* and predict students’ satisfaction

Vocational Readiness * Francophone Identity -.092* with life. To this end, the development of a novel scale used to Anglophone Ethnolinguistic Identity .038 measure Vocational Readiness, or Vocational Readiness * Anglophone Identity -.049 the degree to which a student is R2 .663** .660** .653** .654** ready to make a post-secondary * = p < .05; ** = p < .01; Standardized Coefficients (β) shown for each predictor variable. program choice and be engaged

in the transition to post-secondary studies, was done, and the Table 5 validation process was started by

performing an exploratory factor Multiple Regression Analyses for Social Adaptation (N = 179) analysis that yielding a 4-factor I J solution that had good fit to the (Overall) Vocational Readiness .456** .478** data. Future research should aim at Francophone Ethnolinguistic Identity .132* further validating the structure of this new scale on a greater sample Vocational Readiness * Francophone Identity .025 with confirmatory factor analysis. R2 .244** .228** As research supports the * = p < .05; ** = p < .01; Standardized Coefficients indicated (β) necessity of elementary and high

school Francophone systems in the preservation of the French language, an increasing number of voices advocate for the development of a stronger and more

Canadian Journal of Career Development/Revue canadiene de développement de carrière Volume 20, Number 1, 2021 Ethnolinguistic Identity and Vocational Readiness 24

9 to their mother tongue and career 8 decision-making autonomy (r 7 = 0,24 ; p < 0,01). Specifically, 6 results from this study indicated 5 that when Francophone students 4 demonstrate a high attachment to 3 their mother tongue, they ex-

Satisfaction with Life 2 1 pressed a high degree of autonomy 0 when making career decisions 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 (Samson & Lauzier, 2016). This Vocational Readiness finding is not surprising as autonomy could be viewed as a re- quirement for one to express their cultural and linguistic specificity Figure 1. Interaction Effects of Francophone Ethnolinguistic Identity on Vocational Readiness and Satisfaction with Life while being immersed in a massive Anglophone environment. It seems comprehensive French-language was significantly correlated with also that ethnolinguistic identity has an impact on the capacity to post-secondary education system Satisfaction with Life and Social in Ontario (Labrie & Lamoureux, Adaptation to college. Therefore, make a career decision. Adminis- 2016; Malatest et al, 2017; Bouch- the correlational analyses of this tering the Career Decision-Making er, 2015). Therefore, it would be of investigation suggest that it is Difficulty Questionnaire (CDDQ; importance to verify if the aspira- objectively preferable for Fran- Gati et al, 1996) on a sample of tions of the Francophone commu- co-Ontarian students to pursue 984 Grade 12 participants enrolled nity are empirically based. In other a post-secondary education that in 30 French-language secondary words, is it objectively preferable would foster their Francophone schools in Ontario, researchers for Franco-Ontarian students to ethnolinguistic identity. The determined that participants that pursue their post-secondary studies post-hoc regression analyses also had a strong Francophone ethno- in French knowing that they will supported this conclusion: Franco- linguistic identity experienced less eventually enter a job market that phone Ethnolinguistic Identity was career decision-making difficulties is predominantly Anglophone? found to be a significant predictor than those students who reported The results of this investi- of Social Adaptation in addition to weak Francophone ethnolinguistic gation suggest that Francophone Vocational Readiness (Model I). identities (Sovet, DiMillo, & Sam- ethnolinguistic identity plays a These results are in line son, 2016). substantial role in the process of with other research suggesting An interesting result gen- adaptation to college life within a that a strong ethnolinguistic erated from this research comes linguistic minority context that is identity has a positive impact from the interaction between officially recognized and protect- on many aspects of Franco-On- Francophone Ethnolinguistic Iden- ed by the constitution of the land. tarian students’ lives. Using the tity and Vocational Readiness to Specifically, a stronger Franco- Career Decision-Making Auton- predict the Satisfaction with Life phone Ethnolinguistic Identity was omy Scale (Guay et al, 2006), of Francophone students (see Fig- associated with a higher overall research conducted on a sample ure 1). At high levels of Vocational Vocational Readiness as well as of 716 Grade 12 students span- Readiness, all groups scored high- Vocational Aspirations and Vo- ning 24 French-language second- ly on the Satisfaction with Life cational Satisfaction. Also, Fran- ary schools in Ontario showed a Scale. However, at low levels of cophone Ethnolinguistic Identity correlation between attachment Vocational Readiness, individuals with lower Francophone Ethnolin-

Canadian Journal of Career Development/Revue canadiene de développement de carrière Volume 20, Number 1, 2021 Ethnolinguistic Identity and Vocational Readiness 25 guistic Identities also scored lower Life. It is important to underline Counseling Psychol- on the Satisfaction with Life Scale. these results knowing that life sat- ogy. 31(2), 179–189. Herein a buffering effect against isfaction, according to research, is doi:10.1037/0022- the negative consequences of low predictive of student performance 0167.31.2.179 Vocational Readiness is shown (e.g., GPA) even after controlling Blais, M. R., Vallerand, R. J., when strong Francophone Ethno- for traditional academic achieve- Pelletier, L. G., & Brigare, linguistic Identities are present. ment predictors (e.g., cognitive N. M. (1989). L’Échelle de This finding is in line with studies aptitude; Rode et al, 2005). satisfaction de vie: Valida- that found that ethnolinguistic The present research tion canadienne-francaise identity is an important factor provides a strong argument for du “Satisfaction With Life of resilience for Francophones the development of post-second- Scale”. Canadian Journal living amid an Anglophone ma- ary programs offered in French in of Behavioural Science. jority (Sovet, DiMillo, & Samson, Ontario. This argument is further 21(2):210–223. DOI: 2016). strengthened by the fact that many 10.1037/h0079854 Regression models tested Francophone students are often Boucher, M. (2015). Measuring suggest that Vocational Readiness required to enroll in Anglophone what matters : Focus on the would be the most important pre- post-secondary programs due French-language school. dictor of the process of adaptation to the paucity of such programs A People for Education to post-secondary studies. The Vo- being offered in French (Samson Project. Retrieved from : cational Readiness scale measured et al, 2016). In conclusion, this in- https://peopleforedu- students’ self-knowledge, their vestigation indicates that Franco- cation.ca/wp-content/ active search for information about phone post-secondary institutions uploads/2017/06/MWM- postsecondary programs, their appear to be the ideal environment Focus-on-the-French-lan- perceptions of career, and their for students within this linguistic guage-school-2015.pdf vocational aspirations and satisfac- minority. When Franco-Ontarian Castonguay, C. (2002). Assi- tion; characteristics that are asso- students pursue their post-second- milation linguistique et ciated with the decision to make ary studies in their mother tongue, remplacement des géné- an catered post-secondary program they increase the likelihood of rations francophones et choice. Therefore, not only is it obtaining their degree and increase anglophones au Québec important for Francophone stu- their chances of being competitive et au Canada. Recherches dents to develop a strong ethnolin- in a knowledge economy that fos- sociographiques, 43, guistic identity, it is of even more ters higher education (Marginson, (1), 149–182. https://doi. importance for these students to 2010). Ultimately, the promotion org/10.7202/009450ar be prepared to make a program and development of Francophone Cohen, G. L., Garcia, J., Pur- choice. In the context of the Fran- post-secondary institutions in On- die-Vaughns, V., Apfel, N., co-Ontarian minority, the synergy tario will not only be respectful of & Brzustoski, P. (2009). of these two specific non-cognitive the spirit of the Canadian consti- Raising minority perfor- factors facilitates the process of tution, but also contribute to the mance with a values-af- adaptation to post-secondary stud- socioeconomic development of the firmation intervention: A ies. country. two-year follow-up. Sci- ence, 324, 400-403. Finally, additional regression References Conley, D. T., Aspengren, K., analyses showed both Vocational Stout, O., & Veach, D. Readiness and Francophone Eth- Baker, R. W., Siryk, B. (1984). (2006). College Board nolinguistic Identity as significant Measuring adjustment Advanced Placement best predictors of Satisfaction with to college. Journal of practices course study re-

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