Chapter 9: Sentiment Of Personal And Collective Efficacy Of Francophone School Principals:Implementation of the Veltic Hypermedia System of Resources

School principals in French-language minority schools must be aware of the need to develop new approaches and strategies because of new courses of study, increasing accountability, the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in schools, the ubiquitous presence of English-language media (especially American media), the high student dropout rate, and the high rate of linguistic assimilation as well as the task of promoting French in a minority-language situation that is increasingly pluralistic. School principals are being called upon to play a more active role in responding to the challenges brought on by social change and minority status, while striving to guarantee a significant learning experience for French-speaking students. Given the significant role of the French-language school as an instrument for reproducing the social characteristics of the minority community, it is surprising that little is known about the types of practices that principals can effectively put into place to favour the development of a French linguistic and cultural identity within the student body as well as within the professional staff. A fortiori, few studies address the ethno-linguistic vitalization (VEL, the French acronym) practices which would make it possible for principals to promote their leadership in this field and to optimize conditions for quality teaching and learning in French.