L'État, les familles et l'obligation scolaire au Nouveau-Brunswick dans les années 1940

Abstract

In 1941 the government of New Brunswick replaced various legislative measures regarding school attendance, the oldest of which dated back to 1906, by a new, tougher law. Although the law came into effect immediately, it produced few results. Not until the mid-1940s, after further revision and the introduction of the federal program of family allowances, did the law begin to have effect, and then not to the extent its promoters had hoped. The cause of compulsory school attendance took on a new dimension with the introduction of family allowances; in addition to the prohibitions and sanctions set out by school legislation, the superintendent could suspend payment of the allowance for a child who did not attend school. This prompted a type of dialogue between school authorities, mainly the superintendent, and parents regarding education of their children and the family situation. These exchanges show that childrens’ absence from school was in large part linked to the poverty of their families and to the need for children to participate in the family economy, a perspective not fully appreciated by school reformers in the 1940s.