A study of the effects of the Transition Years' Pilot Project on the retention rate of French as a first language students in Kent County

Grades seven, eight and nine students in the French Section of the Kent County Roman Catholic Separate School Board served as the focal group in this research study which examined the relationship between the implementation of the Transition Years' Pilot Project from 1990 to 1993 and the retention rate of its Francophone students, as calculated from 1986 to 1993. The Ontario Ministry of Education suggested that the pilot schools concentrate their action plans on the following eleven areas of focus: career education, community involvement, core curriculum, facilitating transitions, gender equity, guidance and special education, innovative in-service, remediation and enrichment, school organization, student assessment and technological studies. The retention rate of Francophone adolescents remaining in the French as a First Language School program increased, therefore supporting the claim that the successful implementation of the eleven areas of focus of the Transition Years' Pilot Project had a positive effect. If the retention rate for Francophone students increases by implementing the eleven areas of focus targeted by the Transition Years' initiative, it suggests that students in majority settings may want to remain in school longer as well in response to the Transition Years' initiatives.