FRENCH IMMERSION TEACHERS ' PERCEPTIONS OF ISOLATION:
TEACHING IN SMALL NORTHERN PROGRAMS
by
Mary Catherine Braun
B.A. , University of Western Ontario, 1985
B.Ed., Brock University, 1987

PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF EDUCATION

©Mary Catherine Braun, 2003
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA
July 2003

UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN
BRITISH COLUMBIA
LIBRARY

Prince George, BC

All rights reserved. This work may not be
reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy
or other means , without the permission of the author.

ii

Abstract
This key informant study looked at the experience of French Immersion (FI)
teachers in small (fewer than 150 students) northern programs to develop an
understanding oftheir opinions about and attitude towards their sense of isolation. I
investigated, through interviews, their opinions, attitudes and feelings about teaching FI
in the nmih. The participants were three elementary FI teachers from three different
commtmities in northern British Columbia. They were selected through personal contact
at FI workshops and through coHeague contacts. I found that these three teachers felt a
sense of isolation in the areas of professional development and collegial relationships.

lll

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract

11

Table of Contents

lll

Chapter 1

Introduction

1

Chapter 2

Review ofthe literature

6

Chapter 3

Methodology

10

Chapter 4

Findings of the study

13

Chapter 5

Conclusions

25

References

27

Appendix A

Letters ofintroduction

28

Appendix B

Letter of Informed Consent

30

Appendix C

Interview Guide and Questions

3J

Appendix D

Sample Case Study Narrative

32

I. Introduction

Background to the Problem

My 13-year teaching career has been spent in a small French immersion (FI) program
in the British Columbia (B.C.) Interior. I have reflected on these years and I recognize that
there is a common thread of experience that wends its way through the areas of collegiality,
professional development, and resources. In each of these areas I have felt the stress of
professional isolation. Dussault (1997) found that there is a positive correlation between
feelings of professional isolation and teacher stress. I attribute the professional isolation I
experience to the small size of the program in which I teach, its geographical location, and
the fact that I was not trained as a French immersion (FI) teacher.
I was trained as a French as a Second Language teacher in southern Ontario. Due to
limited job opportunities there I searched elsewhere and "fell into" teaching French
immersion in B.C. This experience is not uncommon. Based on a national survey completed
in 1992, Day and Shapson (1996) state, "Two-thirds ofrespondents to this survey (67.1 %)
indicated that they had not received specialized preparation for teaching French immersion
during their preservice education" (p. 254). A further example of this is that out of our
present staff of seven immersion teachers, none completed their education degree in Fl. We
have all had to learn on the job how to teach in an immersion setting.
I arrived in the B.C. interior in 1989 to take the lead class, which was then in Grade 5.
I was a new teacher and came to the area very excited about beginning my career. I had
actually visited the town in which I was going to teach a few years earlier while travelling, so
I knew the type of commtmity into which I was moving. The population at the time was
around 10,000 in the town proper and 23 ,000 in the trading area. While there were 15

2

elementary schools in the district, the FI program was accommodated at one central school
and consisted of one class at each grade level from Kindergarten to Grade 5.
When I was hired I was asked if I would like to attend a three-day orientation being
offered in Abbotsford, B.C. to new French immersion teachers. During those three days we
were given a quick overview of the provincial Grade 5 curriculum and an experienced
teacher gave us a synopsis of her year-long previews as well as her expectations of students'
work. That workshop served as a touchstone to me for my first year of teaching. Although I
had five colleagues who taught FI, none of them had ever taught Grade 5. Also, they were
all relatively new teachers themselves with two to four years of experience. Being a first
year teacher was hard enough, and added to that was the fact that I could not talk to anyone
with real experience in my situation.
During the first few years of my teaching there was a continuous turnover of FI staff.
For example, during my third year of teaching four out of seven teachers resigned. All of
those teachers left to teach in larger centres. Due to economic reasons the employment
situation in rural teaching has been relatively stable since the mid-1990s (Boylan & Bandy,
1994). However, there is a countrywide shortage ofFI teachers and recruitment and
retention could again become a challenge. Boylan and Bandy (1994) state, "One frequently
cited concern that rural communities must acknowledge and address in their recruitment and
retention practices is isolation" (p. 3). Many small communities find it difficult to attract and
retain professionals.
My sense of isolation in the area of collegial support has continued over the years.
After teaching Grade 5 for one year I moved into teaching the primary grades and have
mainly been teaching Grade 1 for the past 12 years. I have been the sole teacher at the Grade

3

1 level in FI in the district for 9 out the last 10 years now. Although any teacher may feel
isolated, what I believe I have really missed out on is the opportunity to discuss classroom
experiences with someone who has shared a similar situation.
When I have attended FI conferences in the past there has been a collective sigh of
relief in the room when a presenter speaks about common student errors or discusses gradeappropriate goals. I get the sense from these experiences that many other FI teachers
experience the same frustrations as I do around lack of collegial support in their programs.
I have always looked wistfully at my colleagues in the English program as they are
able to share resources and plan units together. They are always very happy to share
resources for students with me but in the end it means more work for me due to translating. I
believe that many FI teachers in small programs are constantly "reinventing the wheel".
During the first few years of my teaching career I was able to attend a yearly FI
conference. This professional development opportunity was very important to me as I was
not trained as an FI teacher and I wanted to be able to be more reflective about my teaching.
The conferences gave me the chance to attend workshops that helped me gauge if what I was
doing in the classroom was good practice. These conferences always involved travel to
Vancouver or Edmonton, which is both time consuming and costly. Over the years, budgets
have been continually cut and the opportunities to travel to these conferences has diminished.
Professional development offered in my school district is almost always for English
programs. In 13 years I can recall only five workshops that both were offered specifically for
FI and were presented in French. French Immersion teachers greeted these workshops with
enthusiasm because the materials that were presented were readily usable in class. We would
not be required to translate an English handout.

4

During the last two years I have become very interested in using a Balanced Early
Literacy approach in Fl. I find myself revisiting the same feelings I had when I first began
teaching. This is something very new to me. I have had no formal training in it and there is
no one in my district that is able to share my experience of being a Grade 1 teacher in FI
embarking on this road.
I have attended our district's Early Literacy group meetings and have found these
helpful. Learning the strategies to use is helpful in any language but when it comes to
student resources I find myself back to square one. Any student materials I receive have to
be translated and many of these are not amenable to translation as they are poems or rhyming
stories.
I attended a Reading 44 workshop in a neighbouring district in the summer of 2001. ·
It was given in English and when I questioned the presenters about Early Literacy in FI they
were able to point me in the direction of some valuable resources. The eye-opening fact for
me was the amount of co-ordinated French resources available in a large district. They had
cmmnittees that produced several resources appropriate for FI from book levelling to reading
placement tests. I was envious of the teachers who were able to gather together and discuss
and create resources.
When I anived in this district there was a full time French Language Co-ordinator.
The co-ordinator was able to keep us up to date on cunent trends and professional
development opportunities. Over the years, with many budget cut-backs, this has dwindled
to a .25 position. At this percentage we do not get much opporttmity to gather together and
create conce1ied effmis for our program. Collegiality and collaborative planning are
mentioned as rejuvenating factors in many studies on professional isolation (Dussault, 1997).

5

Conversely, DiPardo (1999), in writing about the importance of collaboration cites research
by Johnson and Lortie (1992) that argues that "isolated teachers are unduly limited in
imagination and reach - narrowly conservative in their pedagogic thinking and approaches"
(p. 2). Teachers who do not have the opportunity to engage in meaningful collaboration with

peers may tend to rely on a limited repertoire of approaches. Without the modelling and
feedback of peers, teachers can become stale in their pedagogical approach.
In my experience, professional isolation has increased my level of stress as a teacher.
The main problems I associate with this isolation are: (a) the lack of opportunity to have
consistent professional development in FI topics; and (b) the lack of opportunity to
collaborate with FI peers. In my reflection on my experiences I began to wonder whether my
feelings about teaching FI in the north were unique to me or did other FI teachers hold
similar experiences and feelings. In this study I intend to explore what feelings of isolation,
if any, other FI teachers have experienced while teaching in small northern programs.
Statement of Problem Area

Teaching in a small northern program has its challenges. From the literature it is
clear that all teachers may be vulnerable to feeling a sense of isolation. The literature
supports the belief that teachers who teach in a mral setting face more specific challenges in
overcoming professional isolation due to geographic distance and fewer numbers of
colleagues. For the purpose of this research there is also the added component ofbeing an FI
teacher. As is noted in Day and Shapson's (1996) report, FI teachers have special and unique
professional development needs. As an FI teacher teaching in the north I have experienced a
sense of professional isolation in the areas of collegiality, professional development and

6

resources. And, this isolation has lead to what I perceive as an increased level of stress as a
teacher.
My research question is: What experiences, and the beliefs, opinions, and feelings
about these experiences, lead to a sense of isolation in FI teachers in small northern
communities?
II. Literature Review
To my knowledge there is no available research on the specific question of the
professional isolation FI teachers feel in small programs. My queries lead me to a handful of
articles dealing with professional isolation in general and the isolation experienced by
teachers in small rural schools. Even in this field, Miller and Hull (1991) point out that
"research literature on rural education is sparse, but research focusing on rural staff
development appears nearly non-existent" (p. 10). And as Dussault discovered, "few studies
assess teachers' professional isolation and, to our knowledge, no study assesses its link with
teachers ' occupational stress" (p. 4).
Throughout the literature dealing with isolation there is one central theme: the
difficulties encountered by isolated teachers in seeking professional renewal. As well as the
articles dealing specifically with isolation, Day and Shapson (1996) discuss the findings of a
national survey concerning the professional development needs of French Immersion
teachers.
Several researchers describe teaching in and of itself as an isolating experience. For
example, Dussault (1997) completed a study that found a positive and significant correlation
between teachers' occupational stress levels and their perceived sense of professional
isolation. He quotes many other studies that determined "professional isolation is a

7

widespread characteristic of the teachers ' life in schools" (p. 4). Goodlad (1984; cited in
Scott & Smith, 1987) describes the classroom as a cell that separates teachers from any ideas
other than their own. Scott and Smith suggest this is similar to each teacher reinventing the
lightbulb on his or her own.
Miller and Hull (1991) prepared a report looking at the issues that had an impact on
staff development and renewal in small mral schools. Their data was obtained from three
different sources: a survey, focus work groups, and case study interviews from two mral
schools. In addition they provided a review of several professional development programs
aimed at overcoming professional isolation. As a result of the survey and fomm group work,
nine general areas of professional renewal needs ofteachers in small mral schools were
identified.
The results of the survey indicate that teachers feel it is important to be able to stay
current and informed of new knowledge and trends. It also found that teachers believed that
geographic isolation was a limiting factor in their professional renewal. Based on their
findings, Miller and Hull (1991) argue that "isolated teachers can easily feel 'stuck in the
woods' because oflimited opporttmities for growth" (p. 3). As one respondent from the
focus work groups stated, "Geography often distances us from getting the professional
renewal we all need to stay current" (p. 5).
Teachers want the support and opportunity to develop new skills. They feel that
protected time to collaborate within and across schools should be encouraged and protected.
In addition, teachers feel the need to have their current teaching practice reinforced and
validated. As one respondent noted, "We need more contact with other professionals of
similar interests to reinforce each other" (p. 4). The participants of the study reported that

8

"isolation and the development of collegial teams has been difficult as a result of time factors
and distance" (p. 6).
The participants also cited fiscal resources and irrelevant opportunities as limiting
factors. They acknowledged that "it is difficult for small districts to send people to meetings
or afford to bring in expensive expe1is" (p. 6). They also expressed their frustration that the
professional development opportunities do not always match their needs. Miller and Hull
(1991; citing Tyack, 1974; see also, Nachtigal, 1982) state, "The long-time research
emphasis on urban education has led to staff development approaches that reflect an ideology
often referred to as the 'one best system'. Because of the diverse nature of rural schools, the
urban school models of staff development often fail to meet the needs of rural school
districts" (p. 11 ).
The Canadian Association of Immersion Teachers (CAITI ACPI) commissioned Day
and Shapson (1996) to complete a national survey in 1993 that looked at the special
professional development needs ofFI teachers. In their report, Day and Shapson echo
Miller and Hull ' s (1991) notion that there is not one best system of professional
development. They state several times that the professional development needs ofFI
teachers are unique and need to be acknowledged as such. They recommend that "ministries
of education and universities need to be made more aware of the unique professional
development needs of French immersion teachers and should be pressured to increase their
commitment and suppmi to professional development activities for immersion teachers" (p.
260).
Teachers in the Shapson and Day (1996) study rated opportunities for collaborative
pla1ming, work, or teaching in the school, district, or province as the most important activity

9

for professional development. In responding to open-ended questions on the survey, teachers
frequently commented on the importance of peer collaboration. They stated that they often
found sharing sessions with other teachers a very useful experience. They felt that teachers
often have the same concerns or ask themselves the same questions and through face to face
dialogue they can gain insight and moral support.
One teacher cmmnented specifically on the need for professional collaboration when
teaching FI in isolation by stating, "Je propose qu'il y ait plus de rencontres entre professeurs
d'immersion dans les regions. Nous nous sentons tres isoles surtout quand il n'y a qu'une
ecole d'immersion dans le territoire" (p. 258). This teacher definitely felt that the
oppmtunity to collaborate with peers would ease the isolation he felt from teaching in the
only Immersion school in the area. It is clear from Day and Shapson's survey that FI
teachers want the opportunity to collaborate with their FI peers.
Day and Shapson (1996) also report on the needs ofFI teachers in the area of
materials and resources. Teachers rated this as the second most important area of need after
teaching French language arts. Day and Shapson (1996) comment on the unique challenges
faced by FI teachers in this area. They state that teachers need curriculum materials that help
them give students the extra supp011 needed to learn in a second language. Students do not
only need to cover information as it is offered in the corresponding English grade level; it is
also important that they be offered the information at a level of equivalent conceptual
complexity. In order to do this, teachers need material and instruction in approaches that
help mediate between written materials and students.
Day and Shapson (1996) acknowledge that all teachers are responsible for developing
curriculum and that teachers do this by drawing on many resources. However, they

10

emphasize that in this area of resources, FI teachers "have special challenges and face unique
problems (e.g., difficulty of access to original French resources from which to develop
materials, lack of availability of bilingual librarian in the school, etc.)" (p. 263). They
recommend that "collaborative networks among teachers should be encouraged so that they
can share, build on their work, and develop strategies that enable students to gain access to
French language materials" (p. 263).
Wideen and Andrews (1987; cited in Day & Shapson, 1996) acknowledge the
importance of finding a balance between teacher development and staff development. This
may sometimes be difficult in a dual-track school in which there exists a minority ofFI
teachers. However, it is just as important that FI teachers do not become an island within the
larger school. Day and Shapson state that it is important to communicate and discuss the
needs of the FI teacher at the school and district level. FI teachers have a dual role to play in
their professional development because they "need not only work together to address the
needs of their own teaching context but also to collaborate with all teachers regardless of
language of instruction" (p. 260).
Overall, the importance of the opportunity for collaboration is reiterated throughout
Shapson and Day's (1996) report. As they state in their conclusion, "Some immersion
teachers are isolated, some receive more support than others, yet all immersion teachers need
to connect" (p. 267).
III. Design and Methodology
Site and Social Network Selection

11

This key infonnant study looked at the experience of three FI teachers in small (less
than 150 students) northern programs to develop an understanding of their opinions about
and attitudes towards their sense of isolation.

Research Role
My main role was that of interviewer. As the problem statement emerged from my
personal experience several steps were put into place to reduce researcher bias in this project.
Prior to the interview, the participants were advised of the nature of the study. Participants
were told this was a project about their experience as FI teachers. The ethics of research
generally dictate that patiicipants should be informed about all aspects of the research. In
this study, however, full disclosure before the interview would have affected the validity of
the results. There is support in the literature for withholding information as long as ethical
stm1dards are maintained (McMillan & Schumacher, 1997; see also Patton, 1987). Following
the interview, participants were debriefed and the purpose of the study was fully described.
Also, I used a standardized open-ended interview style. This style of interview helps
reduce interviewer effects and bias because the smne questions are asked in the smne order
(McMillan & Schumacher, 1997). The questions were modeled on a set of questions that
were successful in a previous Master's study (Chasteauneuf, 1993) looking at experiences,
beliefs, opinions, and attitudes. The questions were also reviewed by the project supervisor.
This review helped guard against leading questions and personal bias on the part of the
researcher; that is, imposing my reality on the participants.

Purposeful Sampling Strategies

12

The participants were three elementary FI teachers from three different communities
in northern B.C. I sought volunteers through personal contact at a FI workshop and through
colleague contacts. Potential volunteers were asked if they were willing to participate in a
research project that looked at the experience ofFI teachers in small northern communities.
They were told that the project took the form of interviews and anonymity was ensured. Once
approval was obtained from the UNBC Ethics Committee a letter of informed consent
(Appendix A) was sent to the three participants. Also, a letter was sent (Appendix B)
seeking pennission from the school districts to interview their teachers.

Data Collection Strategy
The goal of this project was to explore experiences, opinions, attitudes, perceptions
and feelings; therefore, an interview fonnat was appropriate. As Patton (1987) states, "The
purpose of interviewing ... .is to allow us to enter the other person's perspective" (p. 109).
The location and time of the interviews was decided in consultation with the parties involved.
The interviews were completed by the end of September, 2002.
The interviews were tape recorded and later transcribed. Tape recording the
interviews increased the validity of the data (McMillan & Schumacher, 1997). And as
Henerson (1978) notes, transcribing allows one to use exact quotes, which is "the fairest way
of reporting information" (p. 99). The tape was erased after it was transcribed. The
transcriptions are locked in a filing cabinet in the researcher's school. Transcriptions will be
kept for a 2-year period and will then be shredded.

Inductive Data Analysis
I analyzed the transcriptions and the data was divided into relevant themes
concerning professional isolation. I also looked for any other patterns or themes in the data.

13

As Patton (1987) states, "Categories or dimensions of analysis emerge from open-ended
observations as the evaluator comes to understand the existing program patterns" (p. 15).
The experiences of the participants were then synthesized and reported upon.
Limitations of the Design

The main limitation of the design is the potential for researcher bias. Henerson
(1978) includes this threat to validity under the heading Lack of Objectivity of
Administration. As he points out, "The interviewer is, in effect, the evaluation instrument.

And the more likely it is that he or she will inhibit the respondents or cause them to modify
their answers, the less you can depend on the information you receive" (p. 27). In this
research several steps have been put into place to reduce this bias. First and foremost is the
fact that I am aware of my bias and with this knowledge I am able to monitor my questions
and comments. Also, the questions I am using are modeled on a set of questions from a
previous Master's project. Thus, they have been reviewed and field-tested. According to
Patton (1987), "Good questions should, at a minimum, be open-ended, neutral, sensitive, and
clear" (p. 122).
IV. Findings ofthe Study
The purpose of this chapter is to analyze and interpret the interview data from the
perspective of the research question. During the interviews, I questioned participants about
their experiences as an FI teacher in a small notihern community. I used the case study
narrative as it is an effective way to analyze patterns, categories and basic descriptive units.
(An example of an individual case study narrative has been included as Appendix C.)

The research question

14

What experiences, and the beliefs, opinions, and feelings about these experiences,
lead to a sense of isolation in FI teachers in small northern communities? The research
question looked at the experiences ofFI teachers in small northern communities that lead to a
sense of isolation. I further sought to explore what they thought and how they felt about
these experiences.

The Participants
The participants were solicited from among three different northern school districts.
Their experience as FI teachers ranges from 5 to 14 years. To ensure anonymity,
pseudonyms were used throughout this study. The following profiles were drawn from the
participants' responses to questions about their background and how they came to teach Fl.
Julie is a francophone and was an experienced high school teacher before she made
the move to elementary Fl. Although she knew there was a FI program in her district she had
not really given it much thought until "my administrator of the day said, 'you know, there's a
Perfecti01mement des Maitres, a program at SFU that you might be interested in going to
because we really need people like you, francophones, in the Immersion program."'
She looked into the program and decided to pursue it. It lasted one full year and
targeted existing teachers wanting to develop their French language skills to meet Immersion
expectations. For Julie it was not the language development that was important. As she
stated, "I already had that so for me it was more for how to teach in elementary and that,
because I came from older kids."
Although Julie was prepared to make the transition from teaching high school French
as a Second Language to elementary FI, she had envisioned taking on an intermediate class.
Julie faced a surprise when she was assigned to the Grade 1 FI class in her school. She found

15

out in the spring that "they wanted to put me in Grade 1. It was a bit shocking at first
because the thought of teaching kids how to read and write really scared me. I didn't think
I'd be able to do that. But I had no choice so I decided to go for it."
Since that first year Julie has continued teaching Fl. She recounted her experience at
different levels by saying, "Since then I've done primary, Grade 1, K/1, Grade 1-2, and
Learning Assistance for a few years, part-time, that allowed me to be part-time, yes ." After
a few years of part-time work Julie returned to the classroom full time.
Nicole is an anglophone who studied to teach French at the secondary level. She
never taught in high school and held many other positions in elementary education before
teaching in Fl. She described her experience in the following way: "I taught learning
assistance, English, and Kindergarten for two years, in English, and then I started, I subbed a
little bit in Fl." Although she received no training to teach FI, Nicole felt that the work as a
Teacher on Call gave her the experience she needed. She said, "Having done that half-time
subbing gave me enough confidence to apply." Also, Nicole had experience teaching ESL
and she felt that experience helped her in Fl. She said that FI "was more like ESL because
people are all from like different countries, they hardly knew any English but you just talk
away in English and they pick it up or not and it's the same thing with Fl."
Carol is a francophone from Quebec. She received her degree in Special Education
but the job market in Quebec was not very hopeful. After seeing an advertisement at her
university she applied to three districts in B.C. Upon receiving a call from one northern
district, Carol faced a challenge. As she said, "I couldn't speak English so I made my sister
phone back the school district. " Carol then had an interview with the Language Coordinator. She remembered, "We talked for about 5-10 minutes and she asked me to wait on

16

the phone and she came back and told me my contract was signed. So then I just went ahead,
and I got on the plane and that was it."
Experiences, beliefs. opinions. and attitudes

Beginning to teach FI in an anglophone province was very difficult for Carol because
of her limited English. At the beginning, "it was actually the most difficult thing I ever had
to do. I did not understand a thing, not a word, I mean I understood words and I could read
some words but to put it all together and people speaking really quickly, I was, I smiled a
lot."
Carol faced other challenges besides language. One was her lack of knowledge of
B.C. curriculum. She had "basically very, very little knowledge of curriculum." Another
challenge was the fact that she had been trained to deal with students in a one-on-one
situation. She explained, "But we looked at individual cases as Learning Assistance. And
this time it was a class and it was difficult because I wanted to solve every little problem and
it wasn't there and I didn't have a good knowledge of the curriculum. So that was lacking I
think''
When asked if she felt that she received any support to help her in her transition to
teaching in a new province and a new situation Carol said, "I think not from the School
District. I'd say, to give me training, I don't think it was their job anyway." Carol then went
on to say that she felt she needed the support when beginning teaching and that outside
conferences provided that. Referring to conferences she said, "We actually, at that time, we
went to a lot, to all the conferences we could. We went to Edmonton a lot, just so we could
meet. Even the first and second year we went in the fall and in the spring, we went to

17

Vancouver so we could meet other people. But that's about it really. We were kindajust on
our own."
All three teachers agreed that there were good Pro D opportunities for FI in outside
conferences. They differed in how they felt about attending them. Carol enjoyed the
opportunity to be in a French Immersion environment. She said, "I really liked when we did
it more often at the beginning, when we went to Vancouver or Victoria or Edmonton because
it was really, the focus was French. Everyone going over there they had one idea on their
mind and it was to promote French, to speak French, to meet people with French
backgrounds, to buy French resources"
Nicole found that attending a conference was often more work than it was worth to
her. She stated, "I wish there were Pro D things closer. Because I went to a conference in
Vancouver .. . I had to fly there ... it was just, you know it wasn't that easy to get there or
anything. And then I went to one in Edmonton. Anyway it's just expensive and far away
and it's really hard to leave and leave a TOC in your class and prepare everything and go
away for 3-4 days and then come back and have to teach right away. If there were something
closer it would be a lot better"
Nicole also felt that the intensity of a big conference was overwhelming. She said,
"But I have an overload of materials that I've gotten. Handouts and everything from many
ProD days over the past 10 years or something and I just can't really take it all in." When I
asked her if she felt that the conferences were helpful she reiterated this last point, "Yes they
were. But then again, it's overload of ideas in a way. Like it's very hard to use them all. It's
very intense. You still have to come back and figure out what, how to do it on your own."

18

Nicole then added that she liked the collegial aspect of the conferences. She said, "But it is
encouraging to go and meet other teachers and hear their experiences."
Nicole spoke about a ProD workshop that was offered in her district. Neighbouring
districts were invited and a presenter was brought up from the Lower Mainland. She said she
felt that this approach was more helpful to her. She explained, "He came two times during
the year for a day each and I liked that better. I didn 't have to travel and he talked just about
one topic. We had a whole day on reading and just talking about reading. It was good, too,
because our whole FI staff was there and we could talk about the ideas later."
Julie, when speaking about in district Pro D opportunities for FI simply rolled her
eyes and said, "No, not a whole lot. It' s the same old thing, you know."
Carol desired to have Pro D opportunities closer to home. She stated, "If we could
have even one big conference that they have up north instead of doing it in Vancouver or
having two, having a big association up north that we would do every spring or fall, a
conference and we could meet and have a few sessions, to get together and all that."
All three teachers spoke about the need to have support from other teachers around
them. Nicole spoke about a difficulty she has encountered in a small FI program. She said,
"I don't really feel that there' s anybody to help me. Well, the other teachers in the school are
good to talk to, you know because I can get ideas of how they do things. In a way ... , we 're
a fairly small group and we're sort of limited to the expertise we can impart to each other."
She thought that establishing collegial relationships with other districts would feel supportive
to her. She said, "Well, ifwe ever got the chance to observe other classes in other
communities that might be helpful."

19

Julie felt that in her district collegiality was strong among primary teachers. She
said, "Primary teachers pretty much work together." And she felt that the challenges she
faced around getting support from peers were a result of individual teachers and teacher
tumover. As she explained, "Some teachers don't like to collaborate a whole lot. Some
teachers are only there for a couple years."
To help with establishing more collegial relationships Julie felt there was a need for
co-ordination. She said, "When there's a need or something somebody calls [a meeting],
usually just with [similar] grades, ... , we share lots of things like that, themes, little booklets
for the kids. But when there's a need, there's not a whole lot of co-ordination and I think
there should be more sometimes."
Carol felt that as she gained more experience teaching, her desire for more
collegiality rose. At the begim1ing of her career she felt, "Well, it's funny because I didn't
really realize that I was so on my own. I kind of, you know, I was doing my thing and there
was no one to question what I was doing." As she gained experience her feelings changed.
She said, "Now it's different because now I want, I want to hear more about other classes at
my level. An1 I doing what I'm supposed to do? Am I asking enough? Am I, are my
expectations high enough?"
Carol found that teaching in the north has led to some challenges in establishing
collegial ties. She said, "So I find the distance is hard to [overcome], and there doesn't seem
to be connections, like all over. And I don't know how to get past that. Even when we have
conferences very few people come, even when [a large nearby urban centre] has something
we don't go and I don't really know why. I think it's just the drive, the distance." Carol
continued, "Now, what I'm seeing, other people doing other things, now I'm really starting to

20

question more. Am I doing the right thing? Okay, I'm following what the English program
is doing, but what could, how can I apply it to French? And that's now why I want to know
more about other teachers, like how they're doing it. Now I've got enough experience to feel
comfortable to ask."
Carol also found a difference in the collegiality level between herself and English
teachers. That area of support has been important to her. As she explained, "I've found that
especially in the last two years in Language Arts there have been a few people in the school
district that have made an effort to find French materials for me"
Carol attributed this shift to a change of schools. She said, "I think that's because
we moved into a new school. When it was just us we were so isolated, even more isolated.
Now the other teachers at my level are starting to include a little bit more us in their
discussions. Maybe to understand that it's there. And that we're doing the same thing just in
a different language. I feel better about that, I feel supported"
When I asked Carol who or what she felt could help to establish contacts with other
FI teachers she responded, "I wouldn't know where to start actually. I'm wondering if we
could get a list of who's teaching where in the north, especially starting at 100 Mile and all
the way up."
She felt that she would appreciate the support of other FI teachers at her grade level.
She said, "So that I know who's teaching in Vanderhoof and I can ask questions or send them
samples and say- this is what we've been doing, and getting the performance standards that
we've got, you know, 1,2,3,4- and say-I think it's a 4, ifl send it to Vanderhoof to that
teacher over there, what do they think it would be? So that I might be able to see, okay, my
expectations were dead on, or not high enough." I asked who she thought could help and she

21

answered, "And it would probably be BCTF or the French co-ordinators, probably not every
district has one. I think that's where the problem is, we don't know where to start."
The main refrain when questioned about resources was the necessity to do a lot of
translating. Nicole :frequently commented, "The unit was in English and I translated it into
French." When I asked her how she felt about that she answered, "Well, it' s a lot of work, a
lot ofwork. You know, and sometimes I wonder if my translation is quite correct. Because,
you can look things up in a dictionary and then maybe it ' s not quite what it should be, a word
here and there. But, it' s a lot of work to have to do that."
Julie felt she had lots of resources but they weren't always at the level she wanted.
She :frequently had to create her own versions. She explained, "So there' s lots of reading
material that I introduce into my class and into my program but I still find that I write a lot of
stuff that we read. I write it myself and I've been known to rewrite a lot of those little stories
because I find that they are not wordy enough. So for example, I find that there's not enough
repetition. I've been known to rewrite the text at three different levels for each group."
Julie found it difficult to order new materials without a good preview. Her district
moved more towards Guided Reading but she found "Guided Reading and kits and we could
get it all and some of the books weren't that great, you know you really have to watch what
you get." She also found it frustrating to level the books. She said, "And how do you level
them? And you know we levelled our books and everything and I don't know how they
measure to other levels in other districts, you know, and that's all a little bit up in the air."
Another resource Julie spoke about was the availability of support for French in the
community. She lamented about the lack of field trip opportunities by saying, "I sometimes
get green with envy when I see what they have for field trip opportunities and everything in

22

the Lower Mainland. Where a lot of things are done in French and where there's a lot of
opportunity for them." She added, "So I guess in the north we have fewer of those
opportunities and fewer people in the community as well who speak French. And we work
in isolation."
Interpretation of the Data

I set out to discover ifFI teachers in small northern programs experienced any sense
of professional isolation. Limited professional development opportunities and lack of
collegial support were the common themes running through the interviews.
Each teacher commented on the lack of local workshops specifically designed for Fl.
Julie seemed resigned to the fact that there would be no Pro D specifically for FI in her
district. When I asked her about her local opportunities she rolled her eyes and said, "No, not
a whole lot. It ' s the same old thing, you know." Nicole said that she wished there were Pro
D opportunities closer to her home district. Carol echoed this sentiment when she said that
she wished there could be a nmihem conference for FI teachers. These comments reflect the
findings of the Shapson and Day (1996) survey. They made the case that the professional
development needs ofFI teachers are unique and, therefore, need to be addressed in that
n1anner.
Nicole was the only teacher to speak about a local Pro D opportunity. She spoke very
positively about an FI workshop her district sponsored. An outside presenter was brought in
and he conducted two one-day workshops. Teachers from nearby districts were invited to
attend. Nicole enjoyed not having to leave her district, having her whole staff there and the
opportunity to meet other FI teachers. Miller and Hull (1991) also reported on the importance
of teachers having the time to collaborate within and across schools. As one oftheir

23

respondents noted, "We need more contact with other professionals of similar interests to
reinforce each other" (p. 4).
When discussing the benefits of attending outside conferences, Carol and Nicole
differed in their opinions. Carol enjoyed attending conferences in Vancouver and Edmonton.
She liked that the focus was on French. She enjoyed meeting with many other FI teachers.
And, she found it helpful that there was the opportunity to look at and buy French resources.
Nicole, however, found the whole experience overwhelming. She did not like having to
leave her home or classroom. She said that she found it was more work than it was worth.
She did not like the intensity of going to several workshops over a two-day period. She said
that she would receive several handouts and not really have enough time to digest any of the
infonnation. The one aspect of attending outside conferences that Nicole enjoyed was the
opportunity to meet with other teachers and hear about their experiences.
All three teachers talked about the importance of collegial support. The feelings they
expressed were similar to the findings repmied in both Miller and Hull (1991) and Day and
Shapson (1996) . Miller and Hull (1991) found that teachers felt it is important to be able to
create and maintain collegial ties. They also reported that their respondents found that
"isolation and the development of collegial teams has been difficult as a result of time factors
and distance" (p. 6). Miller and Hull (1996) found that teachers frequently commented on
the importance of peer collaboration. Their conclusion was that teachers often have the same
questions and through face to face dialogue they can gain insight and moral support.
Julie felt that the primary teachers in her district worked well together. She noted that
teachers called on each other when they felt the need for support or to share resources and

24

ideas. She felt fairly satisfied with this approach. Although, she did mention, in ending, that
she thought there should be a more formal co-ordination of collegial relationships.
Nicole felt that her opportunity for collegial support was very limited due to the small
size of her staff She explained that because the FI staff was so small, the opportunity to
share expertise was also limited. She thought that looking to outside districts was the
answer. She said, "Well, ifwe ever got the chance to observe other classes in other
communities that might be helpful."
Carol spoke the most about her feelings and opinions around collegial support. She
felt that as she gained experience as a teacher her desire for outside support also grew. As
she gained experience, she questioned more and sought more feedback around her teaching.
As the only teacher at her grade level in her district she found her opportunities to discuss her
specific queries limited. Like Julie, Carol expressed her desire for more co-ordination in
collegial relationships. She talked about the role the BCTF or district Language Coordinators could play in this. She said that she would like to see a list ofFI teachers and their
respective grade levels. With this, she felt that she would have the opportunity to contact
other teachers at her grade level and engage in meaningful discussions. Her main concern
was around the universality of her expectations. She wanted to be able to compare her
expectations against other FI teachers at her grade level.
Julie, also, spoke about the importance of being able to compare expectations when
she mentioned her frustration in levelling books. She said that they had gone through the
process of levelling their books but they were not sure how they measured up to other
districts. Like Carol, Julie wanted the opportunity to be able to compare her expectations
against those of other FI teachers. And, in essence, this is what Nicole was expressing when

25

she said that she wanted the opportunity to observe in other classrooms. All three teachers
expressed their desire to continue growing as FI professionals through the feedback of other
FI professionals. And, as Shapson and Day (1996) state in their conclusion, "Some
immersion teachers are isolated, some receive more support than others, yet all immersion
teachers need to connect" (p. 267).
V. Conclusions
The purpose of this research was to explore what experiences, and the beliefs,
opinions, and feelings about these experiences, lead to a sense of isolation in FI teachers in
small northern communities?
The data in this study suggested that these three FI teachers felt a sense of isolation in
the areas of professional development and collegial relationships. They all spoke oftheir
desire to have professional development opportunities specifically for French Immersion.
They also spoke about the need for stronger collegial ties . They expressed the difficulties
they found in trying to establish relationships with other FI teachers. They found that the
lack of a co-ordinator, time and distance limited their opportunities to forge ties with FI
teachers in other districts. Like all effective teachers, they wanted to be reflective in their
practice. In order to do that they felt the need to be able to dialogue with other FI teachers.
Implications fo r fu rther research

The data in this research reflects the experiences, feelings, opinions and attitudes of
three FI teachers. The respondents ' feelings of isolation in the areas of professional
development and collegial ties support the findings of previous studies (Miller and Hull,
1991 , and Day and Shapson, 1996).

26

Comments made by the respondents during the interviews suggest that it would be
worthwhile to investigate the feasibility of setting up a northern FI teachers ' network. And
associated with this would be investigating how FI teachers think this network could
function. The study would benefit from using a triangulation approach. A survey could
ascertain the feelings and thoughts of a large number of FI teachers. And an interview
approach could provide a deeper picture of what FI teachers want in a network.
It is generally acknowledged that there is a shortage ofFI teachers in Canada

(Richmond, 2002; Steffenhagen, 2003). Northern districts may find it increasingly more
difficult to attract and maintain FI staff. Understanding the needs specific to FI teachers and
providing appropriate support may help create stronger and more vibrant FI programs.
I found this investigation into FI teachers ' experiences in small northern programs to
have significance and be of value to me. It helped to normalize my own experiences of
isolation. There truly is great relief in realizing that I am not alone. As a teacher it is
important to me to be reflective about my teaching practices. Part of this reflection depends
upon the feedback of other teachers. I want to be able to dialogue with teachers who are
sharing some of the same experiences as I am. Teachers who may be asking themselves the
same questions as I do around what are the best practices for primary Fl. The participants'
reflections helped me to start thinking more about creating stronger ties with my FI
colleagues, both within my district and outside of it. For me, collegial support is an integral
part of every teacher' s professional vitality. It should be supported by all stakeholders in
education.

27

References
Boylan, C. & Bandy, H. (1994, July). Education and Training for Rural
Teachers and Professionals. In: Issues Affecting Rural Communities. Proceedings of
an International Conference Held by the Rural Education Research and Development
Centre, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
Chasteauneuf, C. (1993). A Study ofAdults' Attitudes Towards Learning to Spell and
Spelling. Unpublished master' s project, University of Victoria, British Columbia,
Canada.
Day, E. & Shapson, S. (1996). A National Survey: French Immersion Teachers'
Preparation and Their Professional Development Needs. The Canadian modern
language review, 52, 248-270.
Dussault, M ., and Others. (1997, March). Professional Isolation and Stress in
Teachers. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Education
Research Association, Chicago, IL.
Henerson, M., Morris, L. & Fitz-Gibbon, C. (1978). How to measure attitudes.
Beverly Hills, Sage.
McMillan, J.H., & Schumaker, S. (1997). Research in education; a
Conceptual introduction (Fourth ed.). New York: Longman.
Miller, B .A., and Hull, J.L. (1991). Overcoming Professional Isolation in Small
Rural Schools. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.
Patton, M.Q. (1987). How to use qualitative methods in evaluation.
Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Richmond, I. (2002, Winter). Is there a teacher in this class? CPF National News. 88,
1, 6.
Smith, S.C., & Scott, J.J. (1987). Collaborative Schools. Eugene, OR: ERIC
Clearinghouse on Educational Management. (ERIC Digest Series, Number 22)
Steffenhagen, J. (2003, January 9). French immersion enrollment on the rise.
The Vancouver Sun. pp. A1 , A2.

28

Appendix A
July 16, 2002
Dear Colleague:
RE: UNBC Research Project of Ms. Cathy Braun, Teacher.
I am a grade one French Immersion teacher in Quesnel, British Columbia. I am doing a
research project on the experience of French Immersion teachers in small northern programs.
I am asking you to participate in tlus project because I am interested in learning about your
experiences as a French Immersion teacher. There is no risk to you in participating in this
study. My hope is that this research project will give you a chance to tell your story about
the successes and challenges of teaching Immersion in the north. What you tell me may help
administrators and program co-ordinators gain a better understanding of how to support
Immersion teachers in the north.
I would like you to tell me about your past and present experiences as a French Immersion
teacher in a small northern program. This would take place in an interview lasting
approximately one hour.
All your comments are confidential; you will not be identified in any way, and the audiotapes
will be destroyed after the project is finished. You can stop the interview and leave at any
time. If you choose to stop the interview and leave, the audio cassette and any notes will be
immediately destroyed or turned over to you if you wish.
The tape-recorded information collected during the interviews will be transcribed following
the interview and the tape will be erased once the transcription is complete. I will ask you to
review your transcripts and my synthesis of the information. Tills will help to ensure that I
have made an accurate representation of your experience. The transcription will be retained
for a period of two years following my completion of the project and will be kept in a locked
filing cabinet. After two years have elapsed, the transcripts will be shredded. Your name
will not be included on the transcription, and any names mentioned in the interview will be
changed so that no individual can be identified.
If you wish to obtain a copy of the research results (that is, a copy of the project when it has
been completed), I will be happy to give one to you. If you have any questions about the
interviews, or wish to obtain a copy of the study when it is completed, you may contact me at
Ecole Baker, 992-8383 .
Thank you for your time. Please fill out the attached sheet and I will contact you for times
and dates. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me. If there are any
complaints about the project, please contact the Office of Research, UNBC, at 3333
University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9 or telephone (250) 960-5820.
Sincerely,
Cathy Braun

29

Cathy Braun
1050 N. Fraser Dr.
Quesnel, BC
V2J 1Z9
School Superintendent
School District
City
Postal Code
Dear Sir or Madam:
As you are likely aware, I am currently a member of the Quesnel Master's cohort through the
University of Northern British Columbia. I am planning a research project as my final step
in completing the program.
I am writing this letter to request permission to conduct my study in your district. My intent
is to interview three French Immersion teachers. I am interested in finding out about their
experiences teaching immersion in a small northern program, the successes and the
challenges. My hope is that the results of this study will lead to a better understanding of the
needs of French Immersion teachers teaching in small northern programs. Participants will
be volunteers and they will be informed of their right to withdraw from the study at any time.
The results of the study will be made available to the school district and to the participants if
interested.

I would appreciate your response at the earliest convenient time. If you have any questions,
please contact me at (250) 992-7270. Any complaints should be directed to the Office of
Research at UNBC, at 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9 or telephone
(250) 960-5820.
Respectfully yours,
Cathy Braun

30

Appendix B
LETTER OF INFORMED CONSENT

1.

I have discussed the purposes of the research with the researcher.

2.

I understand that I am a volunteer and may leave at any time.

3.

I understand that the interview is confidential and nothing of a personal nature
will be discussed between the researcher and any other person.

4.

I understand that I will remain anonymous and that a different name will be used in
the written report.

5.

I agree to the interview being taped. I understand that the recording will be erased
after completion of the research.

6.

The researcher has answered my questions and concerns about the research.

(Name of interviewee)

(Signature)

(Date)

(Name ofresearcher)

(Signature)

31

Appendix C
Interview Guideline for FI Teachers' Experience in Small Northern Programs
Part A: Establishing rapport

Q 1 How long have you been teaching FI? How long in (name of town or city)?
I'd like to hear your story of how you came to teach in (name oftown or city).

Q 2 I'd like you to take me along with you on a typical day in your classroom. What
would I see you doing? What experiences would I see you having?

Q 3 What's your opinion of this typical day? What word would you use to describe it?

Q 4 How did you feel about this typical day? How did you feel about the experiences
you had? Why did you feel that way?

Q 5 Y au said this typical day was ______ . Is there anything you would have
liked to change about this day? What could help you make these changes? Who
could help you make these changes?
PartB

Q 1 I'd like you to think back to a bad day you've had in your classroom. I'd like you
to take me along with you on that day in your classroom. What would I see
you doing? What experiences would I see you having?

Q 2 What's your opinion ofthis bad day? What word would you use to describe it?
Q 3 How did you feel about this bad day? How did you feel about the experiences
you had? Why did you feel that way?

Q 4 Y au said this bad day was _ _ _ _ _ . Is there anything you would have
liked to change about this day? What could help you make these changes? Who
could help- you make these changes?

32

Appendix D
Sample Case Study Narrative
Nicole
Respondent Background
Nicole did not start out as an FI teacher. She explained, "My training was secondary
French. But I decided after that that I didn't enjoy that age group." She continued, "I taught
learning assistance, English, and Kindergarten for two years, in English, and then I started, I
subbed a little bit in FI." She also had experience teaching ESL. Nicole believed that this
experience helped her in teaching FI. She said, "And, I've taught ESL before too and it [FI]
was more like ESL because people are all from like different countries, like Vietnam or
whatever and they, they hardly knew any English but you just have to talk away in English
and then they have to pick it up or not and it' s the same thing with FI. It's more like when
you learn your native language."
I asked Nicole how long she had been teaching FI. She responded, "Oh about, I'd
have to say, think back, and count this is the first year I've a full-time classroom. And I've
had pmi-time classrooms and French Learning Assistance before. Dating back to, let's see,
it's about five years anyway."

Although she did not train in FI, Nicole felt confident in her skills and enjoyed the
change from FSL. She said, "Actually I like it a lot better because you can speak in French
all the time and you're not always trm1slating, you know."
Experiences, Beliefs, Attitudes and Opinions
Nicole had a multi-grade class and she found it challenging to meet everyone's needs.
She said, "Near the beginning of the year I was trying to have about 5 different reading
groups but it was quite, it was too hm·d to manage. And toward the end of the year I changed

33

it where I, I gave one text to everybody. And so I tried different things, I tried giving
something more difficult to the kids who needed a challenge and something easier for the
other kids. So I started off with reading in one form or another. And then when we got to
Math that was pretty tricky because I felt they should all be doing work for their grade .... I'd
have to juggle who I'd give my attention to. And sort of alternate so I didn't really feel that
they always got everything they needed."
I asked Nicole to speak more about the reading program she was using. She said,
"Well, I didn't really have a series, well there's Periscope 3 which I think I'll use more next
year. This year I didn't use it a lot, I used it more last year. It's actually pretty good. But I
was really in a quandary about what to use. There ' s also Contes roses and Contes verts
which has controlled vocabulary, so I kind of like that one but it's quite old so ... , but it has
tapes that go with it. Actually they're using it in [a nearby district). And so I, then we got
some texts from [a workshop presenter] and I was using those towards the end ofthe year.
So they were pretty interesting. Like there would be a little text about four sentences long
and then some little exercise to do after, that wouldn't take them a whole lot of time. And
even the kids who have trouble reading liked it."
I asked about the workshop presenter and Nicole responded, "He is a fellow who
came and did two workshops with us. And gave us lots of helpful hints about teaching
reading in Fl. They were day long workshops and he's affiliated with SFU." Nicole she
liked having the Pro D in her own district. She said, "He came two times during the year for
a day each and I liked that better. I didn't have to travel and he talked just about one topic.
We had a whole day on reading and just talking about reading. It was good, too, because our
whole FI staff was there and we could talk about the ideas later." Nicole went on to explain

34

that other districts had been invited to this FI Pro D. She said, "It's encouraging to meet
other teachers and hear their experiences .... And I liked that we were the same group talking
[at both workshops]."
She continued speaking about the reading program in her class. Nicole said, "Well, I
have Reading 44, that I'm going to read in the summer and you go to Pro D days and you get
things like this but during the school year I just can't, I just don't have much time.
I asked if she found the Pro D days helpful. She responded, "I do. I do, but I have
sort of an overload of materials that I've gotten. Handouts, and everything. From many Pro
D days over the past 10 years or something and I just can't really take it all in."
Further on in the interview when speaking about ProD, Nicole said, "Well, a lot of
times I wish there were more Pro D things closer. Because I went to a conference in
Vancouver and that was pretty .. .I had to fly there and then ... and ... it was just, you know it
wasn't that easy to get there or anything. And then I went to one in Edmonton anyway it's
just expensive and far away and it's really hard to leave and leave a TOC in your class and
prepare everything and go away for 3-4 days and then come back and have to teach right
away. Ifthere were something closer it would be a lot better."
Nicole said the Pro D. the conferences specifically for FI, were helpful. However,
she also added, "But, then again,. it's overload of ideas ina way. Like it's very hard to use
them all. It's very intense. You still have to come back and figure out what, how to do it on
your own."
She put forth her idea of what would be useful. She said, "Well, ifwe ever got the
chance to observe other classes in other communities that might be helpful. Because that's
probably better than just reading it in a book or something." She did have that chance when

35

she was a teacher's assistant. She explained, "I did it more when I was a teacher's
assistant.. .. One thing it helped me with is how to teach Math in French. All the terminology
and things, which I had never heard. You don't really learn that if you didn't grow up with
it, like take FI in elementary. It helped with classroom vocabulary."
When speaking about wanting to make changes in her teaching approach Nicole
lamented," I don't really feel that there's anybody to help me. Well, the other teachers in the
school are good to talk to, you know, because l can get ideas: of how they do things:. In a way
we are quite, we're a fairly small group and we're sort of limited to the expertise we can
impart to each other. The French program is pretty small so actually it's good to be in a dual
track school because you can learn a lot from the English track teachers also. I've got ideas
from a couple of other teachers. I used the Science ideas, I translated it all into French and
the other teacher's doing it all in English."
Nicole then went on to talk about the amount of translating she did of class materials.
She said, "Well it's a lot of work, a lot ofwork. You know, and, sometimes I wonder if my
translation is quite correct. Because you can look things up in a dictionary and then maybe
it's not quite what it should be, a.word here and there. But it's a lot of work to have to do
that." And later on in the interview Nicole commented on a unit an English colleague shared
with her. She said, " [We did] the same unit except I had to translate it all into French. I
mean I like translating actually. But it's pretty time consuming."