The School Experience of Montréal Secondary School Students of South Asian Origin

Students from South Asia have the lowest graduation rates of all immigrant students attending public secondary schools in Québec’s French-language sector. This study deals with the socio-academic experience of these young people and the factors that influence them. Qualitative interviews with various stakeholders and partners in the province’s education system schools, families and communities have revealed the existence of a large number of undereducated students among this group of young people. Research has highlighted, moreover, some resistance on the part of South Asian families to the provisions of Bill 101 that deal with schooling. It has also shown different levels of socio-academic integration among girls and boys in this group and also between Indian students as compared with their peers from other countries on the Indian subcontinent. Numerous factors prevent these students from being successful in Québec’s French-language schools: late entry into the school system (i.e. only at the secondary level); cumulative academic delays; the disadvantaged socioeconomic status and language difficulties of their parents; the community’s limited educational resources; and systemic prejudice with regard to the placement of these students upon their entry into the Québec school system. Context