Here is the citizenship course that will replace the Ethics and Religious Culture course

The content of the new Culture and Citizenship of Quebec course, which will replace the controversial Ethics and Religious Culture course, is taking shape. The provisional secondary program, of which The newspaper obtained a copy, will be tested in around twenty schools from the start of the school year.

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At the primary level, the work is less advanced, our sources indicate, but around thirty schools will also be experimenting with the new course during the next school year.

In total, about fifty establishments will participate in these pilot projects which will make it possible to make changes if necessary, it is explained.

Quebec aims to implement the new course in all schools in the province at the start of the 2023 school year.

This content will occupy the same place in the subject grid as the Ethics and Religious Culture course, which had attracted several criticisms over the years.

The “confidential working document”, on which The newspaper was able to get his hands on, is dated June 22.

Several sections remain to be completed, but the orientations of the program and several elements of content are defined.

This provisional version was submitted for consultation in the school network.

Dialogue and critical thinking

As announced with great fanfare last fall, this new course aims to prepare young Quebecers to exercise their citizenship, through the practice of dialogue and the development of critical thinking, we can read.

The content is mainly structured around three objectives, which will also be the same in elementary school: preparing for the exercise of Québec citizenship, aiming for recognition of oneself and of others and pursuing the common good.

In secondary school, two skills must be acquired: studying a cultural reality and reflecting on an ethical question.

To achieve this, a dozen themes will be addressed (see box opposite), from secondary 1 to 5.

sex education

Sexuality education, which was taught via “information capsules” inserted into other subjects, will now be integrated into this new course throughout secondary school.

The content will be substantially the same, but this new framework will allow for more discussion and reflection on these issues while ensuring that the content is not swept under the rug, as is sometimes the case at present. to be worth.

Digital education will also be addressed, but especially in fourth secondary, where it may notably be a question of cyberbullying and cyberaddiction.

Religious culture

Moreover, this new course aims to present religious culture as one of the facets of identity, like many others, rather than making it a priority component as was the case in the Ethics course. and religious culture, it is said.

Religions thus occupy much less space in the content than in the previous course.

A fairly warm welcome

In October, the Legault government drew a lot of criticism during the unveiling of the outline of this new course, in which a dozen ministers had been associated.

In the school network, many had seen it as “a big show with an electoral flavor” and feared an “instrumentalization of education for political ends”.

A draft version of this program was recently presented to the validation committee and the consultation committee, which bring together experts and stakeholders from the school network. The content was fairly well received, according to our information.

In the school network, many are concerned, however, about the conditions for implementing this new program, written at high speed, and hope that the training will be there for teachers.

THE QUEBEC CULTURE AND CITIZENSHIP COURSE PROGRAM

For each theme, here are some concepts and examples of concepts

Secondary 1 (50 hours)

Identities and affiliations

  • Identity transformation (puberty, discovery of love and sexuality, sexual orientation)
  • Spaces for socialization, conformism and protest

Collective life and public space

  • Public institutions, citizenship, eco-responsibility
  • Social diversity (ethnocultural, linguistic, religious, socioeconomic and gender)

Secondary 2 (50 hours)

Autonomy and interdependence

  • Freedom of choice, social solidarity, consumption
  • Romantic relationships and sexual behavior, consent and violence

Democracy and social order

  • Individual rights and collective rights, democratic institutions
  • Rights and responsibilities, citizen participation

Secondary 3 (no course offered)

4th secondary (100 hours)

Relationships and caring

  • Emotional and romantic relationships, sexual behavior
  • Continuum of violence, egalitarian relationships
  • Digital communication (cyberbullying)

Justice and law

  • Legal institutions, Charter of Rights and Freedoms
  • Sexual and domestic violence
  • Legal framework for love and sexual life

Culture and symbolic productions

  • Popular cultures and mass culture
  • Alternative cultures, religious culture, cultural diversity
  • Representation of sexuality

Future technologies and challenges

  • Technology and humanity (cyberaddiction)
  • Technological innovation and artificial intelligence
  • Ecological transition

Secondary 5 (50 hours)

Search for meaning and visions of the world

  • Existential philosophical questions (meaning of life and death), sexual agency (desire and pleasure), interpersonal and love relationships
  • Choices relating to adult life, religions and spirituality

Social groups and power relations

  • Sexism, racism, colonialism, socio-economic inequalities, exploitation, violence, egalitarian practices, feminism, unionism,
    anti-racism, LGBTQ+ movement

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Here is the citizenship course that will replace the Ethics and Religious Culture course