Dynamics of Power in Immigrant Student Placements: Comparing Government, School, and Student Discourses in Quebec Schools

Abstract

This study examines how different social actors (government, school personnel, and immigrant students) construct the meaning of integration and justify placement decisions in relation to the welcoming class, a language support model which is part of the linguistic, academic, and social integration program in Quebec, Canada. The article describes qualitative ethnographic research from a critical epistemological perspective. The analysis draws on multiple sources of qualitative data, including government documents, observations of school interactions, and semi-structured interviews with school personnel and students. A thematic analysis highlights how integration is notably framed as the adaptation of students to the host educational system. Across institutional and professional discourses, success is understood according to locally valued norms such as students’ academic performance, autonomy, and motivation. Students who are perceived as failing to meet these expectations are more likely to experience extended stays in the welcoming class or to be redirected toward alternative pathways, including placement below their age level in regular schooling, adult education, or special education. By comparing institutional, professional, and student perspectives, the analysis reveals how deficit interpretations of students’ trajectories coexist with limited recognition of structural constraints within the host educational system.