History

In 1964, following The Royal Commission of Inquiry on Education in the Province of Québec (the Parent Report), the Québec Parliament adopted the Act respecting the Conseil supérieur de l’éducation and the Education Act.

The Conseil supérieur de l’éducation (CSE) then comprised a Catholic Committee and a Protestant Committee to ensure the continuity of the confessional education system which, since 1875, was under the jurisdiction of the Conseil de l’instruction publique. The objective of these Committees was also to protect the rights of parents to choose “the institutions which, according to their convictions, ensure the greatest respect for the rights of their children”. The two Committees were dissolved in 2000 in the move toward non-denominational public education.

From its inception, the CSE adopted four Commissions, to which a fifth, the Commission for Adult Education, was added in 1969.

In June 1999, the Québec Government established the Advisory Committee on the Financial Accessibility of Education, which reports administratively to the CSE.

On December 14, 2006, the Government of Québec passed a bill amending the Act respecting the Conseil supérieur de l’éducation.

The Council’s mission is to collaborate with the Ministers of Education and Higher Education and to advise them on all matters relating to education.

The CSE informs the ministers about the state and needs of education. It provides them with a critical reflection based on research, consultation with experts and stakeholders in education, and deliberation by its members. It also advises them on the changes to be made in the education system over the long term. In doing so, the Council ensures that the public has a certain right of scrutiny and influence over the government’s interventions in education.

The Council carries out its mission by exercising three complementary functions:

• Political function: the Council gives advice and proposes orientations to the ministers. It offers a balanced and realistic view not only of what is possible now, but also and above all of what is desirable in the medium and long term.

• Democratic function: the Council promotes closer ties between the population, decision-makers and education stakeholders: teachers, parents, students, education staff and other interested parties. Nearly one hundred people contribute to the work and reflection of the Council and its bodies through their civic commitment and as volunteers. This democratic function is also exercised through the consultations that the Council conducts with the population and the various stakeholders in education.

• Educational function: the Council proposes values, principles, situation analyses and courses of action, which it submits to educational institutions for reflection and deliberation. It pays particular attention to sharing the results of its reflection as widely as possible. The goal of these initiatives is to contribute to public debates on education and to exercise its power of influence with ministerial and governmental authorities as well as with civil society.

Vision

The Council aims to become a leading authority and a renewed organization that develops and shares a comprehensive, integrated and evolving vision of education in Quebec.

Values

In carrying out its mission, the Council is guided by four values:

• Independence: acting impartially and without bias
• Openness: including a diversity of points of view
• Expertise: acting with rigour and professionalism
• Collaboration: bringing together knowledge and expertise in a constructive and consensual manner