Abstract
New Brunswick is becoming increasingly multicultural due to immigration, which appears to be an inescapable solution to sustaining the province’s population growth. In the context of French-language minority communities, the presence of newcomers may boost the demographic weight of Francophones. However, the integration of immigrants, particularly of children into schools, calls for close collaboration between schools and parents. While aware that integrating immigrant pupils is a complex adaptation process, the path to collaboration between French-language schools in a minority setting and immigrant families is strewn with challenges. In this chapter, we seek to analyze the relationship between school and immigrant families from the point of view of the immigrant parents regarding: (1) their children’s school before and after their arrival in the host country, (2) their own involvement in their children’s education, (3) their children’s academic and social integration, and (4) their attitude towards the mission Francophone schools have given themselves. A qualitative study based on the thematic analysis of 14 semi-structured interviews with immigrant parents who live in Moncton explains the different challenges posed by the integration process of immigrant pupils and their parents. In addition, we offer recommendations in order to improve the academic and social integration of immigrant pupils.
This chapter is based on results published in a working paper series submitted to Metropolis Atlantic (Benimmas 2010).
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Acknowledgements
The author gratefully acknowledges the financial support provided by SSHRC-Assistance for small universities for the study of Francophone immigrants ’ adaptation in New Brunswick. We would also like to thank the three reviewers for their rigorous and judicious comments.
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Benimmas, A., Boutouchent, F., Kamano, L. (2017). Relationship Between School and Immigrant Families in French-Language Minority Communities in Moncton, New Brunswick: Parents’ Perceptions of Their Children’s Integration. In: Tibe Bonifacio, G., Drolet, J. (eds) Canadian Perspectives on Immigration in Small Cities. International Perspectives on Migration, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40424-0_12
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