Inequality Remade: The Theory of Correspondence and the Context of French Immersion in Northern Ontario

The French Immersion program in northern Ontario is examined in the light of the correspondence theory of Bowles and Gintis. It is argued that to view schools as simply a means of reproducing class-stratified society is inadequate and distorting. Instead, it is argued that we need to consider the ways in which schools also produce social inequality through the mediation of social actors. The motivation and actions of middle-class parents in controlling French Immersion programs for the benefit of their own children are examined. It is argued that schools must be recognized as sites of contestation and struggle and that both the form of transmission and the content of schooling are open to real reform as part of the struggle to build a more democratic, just society.