Recent EFI articles, comments and letters in NB papers

August 19th
Bilingualism is a significant strength for New Brunswick--repeat of Dubé article from the Telegraph-Journal-- The Daily Gleaner
Too many unanswered questions, writes Johnson--Letter--Kings County Record
Liberals hurt integrity of political process in FSL debacle--Repeat of Miramichi Leader piece on August 18th--Kings County record

August 18th
French Immersion debacle reveals Liberal strategy--Miramichi Leader
No French for start of 2008--Letter--The Daily-Gleaner

August 16th
Francophone committee will make us better--Telegraph-Journal
Bilingualism, strength for our province--Telegraph-Journal
Questions remain about FSL--Letter--Telegraph-Journal

When Bad Research Leads to Bad Policy: The Case of New Brunswick

This opinion piece was in response to EFI policy development in NB. It was written by Philip Oreopolous who is an Associate Professor of Economics, University of British Columbia and a University of Toronto Research Fellow, Canadian Institute For Advanced Research. It was written just before the decision was announced on August 5th and unfortunately it was not printed. However, it is a great piece and it should see the light of day. I believe it is still relevant, particularly when we see what has recently been written in the Ottawa Citizen (see post below).

When Bad Research Leads to Bad Policy: The Case of New Brunswick

Governments in Canada pay a lot for research and commission reports regularly to help develop public policy. Recently, policy makers have been placing more emphasis on experimental approaches to research for determining whether social programs are worth maintaining, or whether better alternatives to current policies exist.

These methods, sometimes collectively referred to as ‘evidence based policy’, involve setting up pilot projects or using historical events that allow the comparison of groups of individuals that are eligible or engaged in a particular program against other groups of individuals that are not eligible for the program, or enrolled instead in an alternative program. The experimental approach leads to strong conclusions about the overall impact of one policy compared to another.

Most often, however, governments rely on non-experimental research to draw policy conclusions. Non-experimental reports often use surveys or interviews, without a comparison group to draw policy conclusions. This approach requires working with data that was never intended to answer the questions at hand.

Often these reports draw strong conclusions when they really should not. We are inundated with research and reports drawing strong conclusions, and it is virtually impossible to tell from reading an executive summary or listening to a sound bite whether a study should be taken seriously or not.

Taking a report’s conclusions or sound bites at face value, without initial skepticism about how the report came to these conclusions can sometimes lead to disastrous policy mistakes.

For example, take the case of French Immersion reform in New Brunswick, which I use in my Public Policy class as a case example of when bad research can lead to bad policy. ....

Click here to link to full opinion piece

More letters and comments on EFI this week

August 15th
Letters Language program another rushed decision--Telepgraph-Journal
Bilingualism and FSL are a strength for N.B.--Times and Transcript

August 14th
Immersion decision is a disgrace--Letter--Telegraph-Journal
Is everyone now happy?--Letter (little longer than the one above)--Times and Transcript

August 13th
It's not 'elitist' to want immersion program that works--Letter commenting on Margaret Norrie McCain's opinion--Times and Transcript
Parents reluctantly accept FI changes--The Sackville Tribune Post

Is the anti-EFI movement spreading to Ottawa?

July 10th
N.B. French immersion highly segregated, discriminatory: report--Ottawa Citizen

July 23rd
The real reason we send our kids to French immersion--Dan Gardner--Ottawa Citizen

August 12th
Let's talk about immersion--Elizabeth Payne member of the Ottawa Citizen Editorial Board

"... Ottawa school officials should be paying close attention to New Brunswick's stab at reform."

This is a very strange comment since the Ottawa Carleton Board of Education did conduct a very thorough study of FSL training in Ottawa. To use NB as an example at this time is rather odd isn't it?

EFI in NB papers--Monday and Tuesday

August 12th
Can a government learn?--Telegraph-Journal
N.B. on an untested path with immersion--Times and Transcript
No French until '09--Kings County Record
Local parent pleased with govt.'s compromise on French immersion--Northern Light
Hit the ground running--Kings County Record
NBers care don't you get it?--Kings County Record

August 11th
Province urged to ensure success of French program--Telegraph-Journal
Parents encouraged to keep fighting for better education--The Daily Gleaner
Local reaction to FSL revisions cautiously optimistic--Miramichi Leader

EFI in the news on Friday and Saturday

August 7th
Letters Louis would be proud of change: widow & The 'how' of plan is not in place--Telegraph-Journal
Government passes big test--Telegraph-Journal
Sometimes, fear of change is hard to understand--Telegraph-Journal
Bilingualism and equality--Letter--The Daily Gleaner
There is no plan--Letter--The Daily Gleaner
New plan an improvement--Times and Transcript

August 8th
More research sought on language education--Telegraph-Journal
Bullying won't be forgotten--Great Letter from Michael Wilcott--Telegraph-Journal
Let's not drop Education issue--Telegraph-Journal
The education of government--Terrific Commentary by Lisa Keenan--Telegraph-Journal
Federation supporting aspects of FSL reform--Letter--Miramichi Leader
FSL changes step in wrong direction--Miramichi Leader
My thoughts exactly--Bugle-Observer
Minister unveils immersion compromise--Bugle-Observer

More news on the Decision -- more sober reflections

English Media
FRENCH IMMERSION IN NEW BRUNSWICK: Thinking better of it--Thank you--Globe and Mail
Rural schools may not benefit from changes--The Daily Gleaner
Immersion plan pan--Fascinating--Telegraph-Journal
Lamrock hopes for universal teaching of French--Pay close attention to the comments--Telegraph-Journal
Rural schools to miss immersion benefits--Telegraph-Journal
Remember why debate started--Telegraph-Journal
Letters EFI plan offers a balanced approach: MP--Aargggh--Mr. Murphy you could have "quietly" patted yourself on the back too--In both the Telegraph-Journal and Times and Transcript

Francophone media
Français langue seconde : Madeleine Dubé dénonce le « pas dans la mauvaise direction »--Hebdosblogue
Les groupes de francophones plutôt satisfaits du compromis en immersion--Jminforme.ca
Immersion française : victoire aigre-douce pour les parents--Jminforme.ca
La réforme suscite du scepticisme--Radio-Canada
Le programme révisé est mieux accueilli--L'Acadie Nouvelle
Immersion: bataille aux retombées inattendues --L'Acadie Nouvelle
L'avantage de la cogestion --L'Acadie Nouvelle

Thanks go to Dodie Perkin--I really needed your D-Mail today.