96 COMMUNICATIONS - BERICHTE -- COMMUNICATIONS

Orientation scolaire

Pour faire une pr6diction valable darts le domaine de l 'orientation des 61~ves il faut des tests vMides. Une recherche porte sur l 'adaptation du W.I.S.C. A la popu- lation d'enfants scolaris6s de Kinshasa: adaptation des items, analyse des items sur un 6chantillon repr6sentatif; 6talonnage.

LEO-EMILE MISSINNE, Kinshasa

T H E TORONTO F R E N C H SCHOOL MOVEMENT

The Toronto French School was established in 1962 in the English-speakingcity of Toronto, Ontario, to create an educational programme leading to English- French bilingualism without sacrifice of academic excellence. The school began with six pupils. ]By 1967 there were 750 pupils, aged 3�89 to 11 years. The programme has been adopted elsewhere in Ontario, in Saskatchewan, and has aroused interest in several other cities in Canada.

National interest in the programme has been aroused not only because of the importance of the French language in Canada, but also because the achievements of t h e school have proved for the first time in Canada that bilinguMism and aca- demic excellence can be successfully combined. The standards in French and English at which the school aims a re Baccalaureat level in French and the Advanced level in the General Certificate of Education in English. Pupils sit for both these exami- nations. The school resembles a French lyc6e using revolutionary methods, except insofar as it places great emphasis on English; it resembles an English school because of its standards in English, except that most of its programme is conducted in the French language. I t is because the children are English-speaking that greater emphasis is placed on French than on English as the language of communication.

In order to implement the programme, translation into French is forbidden; the foundation for this is tha t Grade I is taught entirely in French. To assure compre- hension, concrete methods and play situations are extensively used, and involve- ment is secured by the use of games, drama and mime. Principles in reading and mathematics are taught in as many different ways as possible in order to ensure that pupils understand the concepts employed and are not merely learning material by heart.

English and French are not introduced at the same time because of the recognised fact that the learner traditionally approaches a second language with the impression that its structure is the same as the first. Problems of vocabulary and compre- hension demand this approach, because pupils must acquire very early the facility to follow programmes in mathematics, science, history and the mechanics of language which are all being taught in the second language. A further problem is that research in the field of bilingualism indicates that emotional problems tend to arise. Therefore, the school has taken care that the methods of teaching which are used minimize this potential danger.

The school has been deeply concerned with the evaluation of its results. Ex- isting techniques of testing are regarded as inadequate in the special circum- stances of bilingual programmes. With the help of a grant from the Donner Ca- nadian Foundation, research into appropriate methods of evaluation of achie- vement has been launched. To this end, the school intends to establish a language laboratory; to develop perceptual testing aids aimed to examine sensory problems

THE TORONTO FRENCH SCHOOL MOVEMENT 97

which inhibit language learning and reading; to develop more refined assessment of achievement in all areas; and specifically to test achievement in the second language at frequent intervals. Some testing has already been done with available techniques and indicates that children at the end of Grade I I appear to be achieving levels in English and French substantially in advance of those in other schools.

The training and retraining of teachers plays a large role in the development of the school programme. The aim is to form a cadre of teachers with a sound back- ground of linguistics capable themselves of furthering research into the problem of the school. Teachers are released from classes one day each month to visit and consult with other teachers and to analyse their work. This aim is assisted by the establishment of a training centre ill the school for teachers of the Voix et Images de France method. Annually during the first two weeks ill September experts in the area of constructual learning assemble to discuss methods with the teachers.

W. HARRY GILES, Toronto

EXISTENTIALISM IN AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY

A popular magazine recently characterized contemporary American philosophy as a war between two opposing "schools" of thought, the Logicians and the Lotus- Eaters, the term Logicians referring to those philosophers who concern themselves primarily with the analysis of language and the term Lotus-Eaters referring to the existentialists, l) Although the article was a popular, non-technical rendering of the current situation, it was quite accurate. Concern with philosophical systems is, in the main, a dated concern. Present interests tend to follow one of two types of analysis: language analysis or phenomenological analysis of the category of ex- istence. The case with general philosophy is also the case with educational phi- losophy. Since the late 1950% there has been little concern with philosophic systems and their implications for education. Rather, the efforts of philosophers of edu- cation have revolved about the two types of analysis mentioned.

The parallel between general philosophy and educational philosophy continues further in that, with both, the analysis of language has attracted the interests and efforts of more philosophers than has existentialism. Existentialism, however, continues to gain attention in both spheres of philosophic activity. Educational phi- losophers, in particular, are forced to attend to the trenchant criticisms of the existentialist, for, by the very nature of their activity, philosophers of education are required to concern themselves with questions of particularly human concern, questions having to do with the development of specific human beings. The purpose of this article, then, is to indicate to the reader the nature of the literature on ex- istentialism in the journals and books of educational philosophy 2) and to at tempt to make an assessment of existentialism's influence on and status in American educational philosophy.

Prior to the publication of Kneller's Existentialism and Education in 1958, a) few articles had been writ ten on the topic in the journals of educational philosophy. The publication of that volume, however, opened the gates, and since then and with increasing frequency numerous articles and papers have been written. Only one other booklength t reatment of the subject has been written since, 4) bu t several