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Fatma Abuareaf, Champlain College Saint-Lambert, CanadaAbstract
This conceptual paper examines how immigrant women navigate integration within Quebec’s early childhood sector by analyzing the structural forces that shape their linguistic, vocational, and professional trajectories. Situated within a province where French proficiency functions as both a symbolic and institutional requirement, the paper explores how language policy, credential recognition, and workplace norms intersect to regulate access to stable employment. Drawing on theoretical lenses including linguistic capital, integration regimes, interculturalism, gendered labour, and continuing education, the analysis highlights how immigrant women rebuild professional identities while negotiating institutional expectations that both enable and constrain their mobility. Despite Quebec’s reliance on immigrant labour to address chronic staffing shortages, policy–practice gaps persist: linguistic thresholds, regulatory norms, and institutional cultures often delay or limit full participation. Continuing education emerges as a dual site—one that empowers women through training and recognition, yet simultaneously reproduces the structural expectations governing entry into the sector. By synthesizing these dynamics, the paper offers a conceptual framework that clarifies how integration is produced at the intersection of language, regulation, gender, and institutional discourse, contributing to broader discussions on equity and structural inclusion in Quebec’s early childhood system.
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Conference: WCE2026Stream: Education
This paper is part of the WCE2026 Conference Proceedings (View)
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