Postsecondary Decision Making Among French-speaking Students in Ontario: Exploring Pathways to Bilingual and English-language Institutions was written by Rachel Courts, Laura Gallant and Alexandra MacFarlane, Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario.
Many French-speaking students choose English-language or bilingual institutions for program offerings and location.
Ontario’s postsecondary education (PSE) system delivers a wide range of credentials and programs to serve the Francophone and French-speaking populations, which comprise 5.6% and 11.1% of Ontarians respectively. These offerings are available at institutions that span the province, including two French-language universities, two French-language colleges and six bilingual universities or university campuses that serve the province’s Francophone communities. Little information, however, is available to understand the type of PSE that French-speaking students in Ontario seek and pursue.
Between 2018-19 and 2022-23, 52% of students with French or both English and French as a mother tongue enrolled at bilingual institutions, followed by 28% at English-language institutions and 20% at French-language institutions. While there is some research that explores the influences that shape Ontario students’ postsecondary preferences, limited data and up-to-date research are available to understand why French-speaking students may pursue bilingual and English-language postsecondary pathways.
To address this gap, the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) surveyed 216 French speakers between the ages of 18 and 24 who attended bilingual and English-language institutions in Ontario about their French-language experiences and high school education, postsecondary preferences and decisions, and factors that influenced their postsecondary decision making.
While reporting that they felt comfortable to pursue PSE in French, many respondents chose an English-language or bilingual institution largely because of program offerings, program reputation and institution location. For those students who attended bilingual institutions, the opportunity to study in both English and French was an important factor in their decision, with nearly one third citing it as the most influential factor. Other influential factors for those respondents who attended bilingual institutions included program offerings, program reputation and the opportunity to be part of a bilingual community. For those students who chose to study at English-language institutions, the program offerings, program reputation and location were influential factors in their decision.
HEQCO’s findings are particularly important for institutions and government when engaging in long-term planning to ensure existing and future postsecondary offerings align with the diverse needs of the French-speaking student population, especially given the high demand for bilingual workers in the province. HEQCO is pursuing further research to understand postsecondary decision making among French-speaking students who attend French-language institutions.