Home-school advantage

Cyberpresse
Page 1 sur 2
Le jeudi 04 oct 2007
Légère hausse des inscriptions dans les universités
Rollande Parent
La Presse Canadienne
Montréal
Le nombre d'étudiants inscrits à temps plein et à temps partiel dans les 18
établissements universitaires québécois, au trimestre d'automne 2007, est en
hausse de 0,6 pour cent par rapport au trimestre correspondant de l'an
dernier et totalise 257 801 inscriptions.
La situation est cependant très variable d'un établissement à l'autre. Deux institutions
se démarquent: l'Université de Sherbrooke dont le nombre d'inscriptions a fait un bond
important et, à l'inverse, l'Université Bishop où des diminutions marquées ont été
enregistrées.
Pour l'automne 2007, le Québec compte un total de 168 651 étudiants universitaires à
temps plein et 89 150 à temps partiel, révèlent les données préliminaires sur les
inscriptions rendues publiques jeudi par la Conférence des recteurs et des principaux
des universités du Québec.
Toutefois, pour la première fois depuis dix ans, la clientèle étudiante inscrite à temps
plein connaît un léger recul, de deux pour cent, attribuable en grande partie aux
étudiants de deuxième cycle. Pour ce qui est des inscriptions à temps partiel, une
hausse de 2,1 pour cent est observée qui se manifeste surtout au deuxième cycle (de 8
pour cent) et au troisième cycle (de 7,4 pour cent).
Autre élément à souligner: les femmes dominent aux inscriptions. Elles comptent cette
année pour 57,8 pour cent des effectifs totaux, dont 56,2 pour cent à temps plein et
60,8 pour cent à temps partiel.
L'Université de Sherbrooke enregistre une croissance de 4,7 pour cent des inscriptions
au premier cycle, de 5,2 pour cent au deuxième cycle et de 16 pour cent au troisième
cycle. Le recteur Bruno-Marie Béchard a fait remarquer, dans un communiqué, que non
seulement le pouvoir d'attraction de l'Université de Sherbrooke se poursuit, mais que
celle-ci est «la plus québécoise des universités» du fait que 80 pour cent des étudiants
proviennent de l'extérieur de l'Estrie.
À l'Université Bishop, on enregistre des baisses de 12,98 pour cent du nombre
d'inscriptions au premier cycle et de 19,2 pour cent au deuxième cycle. Il est probable
que la grève survenue dans cette institution à compter du 28 juin dernier, suivie d'un
lock-out le 26 juillet, a eu un effet négatif sur les inscriptions, d'autant plus que la
reprise normale des activités n'est survenue que quelques jours avant la mi-août.
Du côté de l'École nationale de l'administration publique (ENAP), les étudiants affluent.
Ils sont plus nombreux de 7,7 pour cent au deuxième cycle et de 25 pour cent au
troisième cycle. À l'École de technologie supérieure (ETS), il y a une augmentation de
16,4 pour cent du nombre d'étudiants au troisième cycle, tandis qu'à Polytechnique la
croissance pour ce niveau d'études est de 10,3 pour cent.
Finalement dans le réseau de l'Université du Québec, la hausse enregistrée au premier
cycle se situe à 0,4 pour cent, celle au deuxième cycle à 3,8 pour cent tandis que le
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/CPACTUALITES/710...
2007-10-05
Cyberpresse
Page 2 sur 2
troisième cycle attire 5,4 pour cent de plus d'étudiants que l'automne dernier.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/CPACTUALITES/710...
2007-10-05
Cyberpresse
Page 1 sur 1
Le vendredi 05 oct 2007
Les universités sauvées par les études à temps partiel
Violaine Ballivy
La Presse
Les étudiants privilégient de plus en plus les études à temps partiel à
l'université. Pour la première fois depuis 10 ans, le nombre d'étudiants
inscrits à temps plein est en baisse aussi bien au baccalauréat qu'à la maîtrise
et au doctorat.
La croissance du nombre d'inscriptions dans les universités repose donc entièrement
cette année sur la hausse constante du nombre d'étudiants à temps partiel.
L'augmentation est particulièrement importante aux deuxième et troisième cycles, où
elle atteint respectivement 8% et 7,6%.
Au total, les universités accueilleront ainsi cet automne un peu plus de 250 000
étudiants, un gain de 0,6% par rapport à 2006.
La situation varie toutefois beaucoup d'un établissement à l'autre. L'Estrie concentre à
la fois les pires et certains des meilleurs résultats. L'Université Bishop a perdu 13% de
sa clientèle étudiante cette année, alors que celle de l'Université de Sherbrooke a fait
un bond de 5%. Les trois universités francophones les plus populeuses du Québec l'Université de Montréal, l'Université Laval et l'UQAM - déplorent toutes des baisses
d'effectifs.
Enfin, les données dévoilées hier confirment une tendance observée depuis le début
des années 90: la féminisation des classes universitaires.
Les femmes comptent désormais pour 57,8% des effectifs totaux. Elles ne sont
minoritaires qu'au doctorat.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071005/CPACTUALITES/710...
2007-10-05
Print Story - canada.com network
Page 1 sur 3
Friday » October
5 » 2007
Three schools locked down after reports of armed
men
Students says young male entered Ridgemont with
paintball gun
Neco Cockburn, Andrew Seymour and Jessey Bird
The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, October 05, 2007
Two Ridgemount-area high schools and a
primary school were locked down for almost
two hours yesterday after police received
anonymous reports that men armed with guns
had entered one of the schools.
Police received two anonymous 911 calls at
12:24 p.m. indicating that two armed men had
entered Ridgemont High School, at 2597 Alta
Vista Dr., said Const. Isabelle Lemieux.
"The callers did not stay on the line," she said,
adding that the calls came in at about the same
time.
CREDIT: Rod MacIvor, The Ottawa Citizen
Officers were immediately dispatched and a
school resource officer and tactical team were
sent to Ridgemont High School, Const. Lemieux
said.
Ottawa police responded in force when
two anonymous noon-hour 911 calls
reported that two men armed with guns
had entered Ridgemont High School.
The school and two others adjacent to it on Alta Vista Drive -- St. Patrick's High School
and Charles H. Hulse Public School -- were locked down within minutes as a precaution.
A section of Alta Vista Drive between Ayers Avenue and Heron Road was also closed.
Police found no indication or signs of shots fired, Const. Lemieux said.
"All three schools were cleared simultaneously by tactical and patrol officers and no
injuries occurred," she said.
Police have no suspects and continue to investigate the incident, Const. Lemieux said.
"The callers have not yet been identified. It is too early to say whether or not it is a
prank. There needs to be a full investigation."
Earlier, students and parents lined sidewalks outside the locked-down schools, waiting to
hear what had happened.
"This is every parent's nightmare," said José Carepa, who stood outside St. Patrick's High
School, where his 16-year-old daughter, Jennifer, is a student.
http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=b567d599-df93-43b6-9c33-43e5623d... 2007-10-05
Print Story - canada.com network
Page 2 sur 3
"When you see the shootings that have happened in the United States and Montreal -this is definitely something to fear," he said.
Students at Ridgemont High reported at least one young male armed with a paintball gun
shooting at the school shortly after noon.
Const. Lemieux could not confirm whether a paintball incident occurred.
Jenna Molin, 16, said the paintball gun resembled an AK-47 with an extended shoulder
butt.
"They didn't have the tanks on so it looked like an actual gun," said Ms. Molin, who was
outside on a lunch break with friends at the time.
A short time later, police officers, including tactical officers and the canine unit, swarmed
toward the school, which had announced the lockdown over the public address system.
A police officer told Ms. Molin and her friends, who were unable to get back in to the
locked building, to run toward nearby Heron Road.
"When the cop came and told us to run, we were scared," said Ms. Molin.
Charlotte Blackman was heading to her third-period English class when a teacher rushed
into the hallway to escort her and about 25 others into the nearby staff room.
The curtains were immediately drawn and the group was told not to move or talk, Ms.
Blackman said.
"The teachers were very serious," said Ms. Blackman, 17. "When we heard the sirens
outside, we realized this was not a joke. This was serious."
Many students were frightened, said Samantha Wells.
"All the students were scared, very scared," she said. "Is someone going to knock on the
door and start shooting people?"
Students said it is the third lockdown at Ridgemont High School since the school year
started a month ago. One lockdown resulted from a nearby fire, while the other was due
to a prank call.
"Some kids are very ignorant and immature," said student Kimberly-Anne Stillar, 17.
Julian Hanlon, deputy director of the Ottawa Catholic School Board, said St. Patrick's
High School students were sent home with letters explaining the incident and the
school's response.
Parents were advised to contact the school's principal or a vice-principal if they had
followup information, he said.
Dan Wiseman, manager of safe schools for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board,
said Ridgemont High School was also in the process of notifying students, staff and
parents about the incident.
Mr. Wiseman and other officials commended students and staff, saying the lockdown
procedure went smoothly.
http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=b567d599-df93-43b6-9c33-43e5623d... 2007-10-05
Print Story - canada.com network
Page 3 sur 3
"It's a cautious response, clearly, but it was a response necessary under the
circumstances," Mr. Wiseman said.
Today is a professional development day at all three schools, meaning students won't be
in class.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2007
Copyright © 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=b567d599-df93-43b6-9c33-43e5623d... 2007-10-05
Page 1 sur 2
October 5, 2007
Home-school advantage
Students outperform peers, study finds
By LAURA CZEKAJ, SUN MEDIA
Students who are home-schooled by parents with a low level of education are outperforming their public school
system counterparts, according to a report released yesterday.
The Fraser Institute report, Home Schooling: From the Extreme to the Mainstream, found that even in cases
where children were taught by a parent who didn't finish high school, they still did better on academic tests than
public school students whose parents had comparable education levels.
Richmond-area mother Bethany Breault said the report's findings are in line with her own experiences teaching
her two daughters -- Reba, 12, and Jessie, 14 -- at home.
"You can sit down, you can focus and that's what been really neat for us, you can really focus on the strengths
and weaknesses much better," said Breault, who has a degree in computer science.
It's also a fallacy home-schooled children are socially inept, said Breault, who was set to pick her children up
from one of her many activities while speaking to the Sun on the phone.
"Most of the home-schoolers that I know are like me. We are so busy, we are never home."
The study found that students educated at home are not just outshining their peers on tests, they're also involved
in a range of social activities.
The report relies heavily on U.S. studies and found that almost 25% of home-schooled students in that country
perform in grade levels above their same-aged peers in public and private schools.
It's difficult to say how many students are being educated at home in Ontario, but according to estimates by the
Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents, about 1-2% of children in the province are home-schooled, or roughly
20,000 children. In Canada, there are an estimated 60,000 home-schooled children.
"Sometimes it's not the public education system that's going to help the kids most and we have to have
confidence in the parents themselves and what they want for their children," said report co-author Claudia
Hepburn.
Although home-schooling has been a learning experience for Breault, she said her relationship with her children
has only grown stronger.
"It has opened all kinds of worlds for us," she says.
--LEARN RULES
- Home-schooling is legal in all 10 provinces, although each province has its own specific rules.
- In Ontario, the provincial government insists only on the home-schooled child receiving "satisfactory" instruction
in the home environment.
- In Ontario, there is no legal requirement to register with any government body.
- Home-schooling parents do not need to possess teaching qualifications.
http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2007/10/05/pf-4551508.html
2007-10-05
Page 2 sur 2
Source: Fraser Institute, Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents
http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2007/10/05/pf-4551508.html
2007-10-05