On a more personal level, parents are happy to have the opportunity to improve as parents and to be able
to share their experiences with their peers.

Educational level of parents

In the case of cohorts 2 to 5, the programs reached mainly parents with a high level of education, namely
postsecondary studies, whereas the first cohort included parents with less education (who mayor may not
have finished secondary school). The less educated parents in the first cohort were recruited from among
people who already participated in the centres' educational programs. The Coalition francophone, the
practitioners and the directors of the centres would have liked to see the programs reach less educated
parents recruited from outside their centre as well. In spite of sustained and varied efforts in this direction,
the results were not very encouraging.

The high rate of participation of more educated people is explained in a research by Myers and de Broucker
(2006,p. iv): "Those who have a higher level of education to start with are more likely to take advantage of
future opportunities for training and instruction. "

3.3.4 Impacts of the programs on families

In all five cohorts, parents reported that the programs increased their learning, changed how they used the
French language and how often they took part in literacy activities in the family, and improved their
parenting skills.

Parents mentioned an increased in the frequency of

• activities that encourage the development of literacies,
• use of French,
• interactive activities between parents and children, and
• parents' involvement in their child's learning.

During interviews with the parents, they reported that

• They had learned strategies to put into practice in their daily lives, and in particular had become more aware of the importance of living in French in the home.
• They included more literacy activities in their daily lives.
• They were better informed about the resources in the French language in their community.
• They had expanded their Francophone network.

Parents also reported changes in the attitudes and behaviour of their child:

• He is more confident.
• He has enriched his vocabulary.
• He is better at respecting routines.
• His has acquired a sense of belonging in relation to the French language.