P2P Develops a Survey to Examine the Attraction, Retention, and Integration of Official Language Minority Immigrants
The P2P has extensive experience developing surveys to assess the settlement and integration of newcomers, including work on the Alberta Settlement Outcomes Survey and the Western Settlement Outcomes Survey. In a new project funded by the Research and Evaluation Branch of CIC, P2P will be designing and validating a new survey instrument to better understand the settlement and integration experiences of official language minority immigrants and the factors that drive their attraction, retention, and integration into communities. In partnership with the Environics Research Group – a P2P partner – the research will include the design, implementation, and analysis of a pilot survey of recent official language minority immigrants across Canada. The goal is to develop a reliable and valid survey that can be used in individual communities of interest, as well as in provincial and national level surveys. The survey instrument will consist of blocks of questions that can be selected for use in specific surveys tailored to the requirements of particular clients or circumstances. It will include blocks assessing:
- attraction factors
- retention and mobility factors
- availability, access to, and satisfaction with Francophone/Anglophone institutions and activities in
- the community
- civic and political participation
- language practices
- social and cultural integration
- economic integration
- well-being
In addition, the survey will include questions on key demographic variables. The report on this survey development is expected to be available by the end of June 2014.
The research team consists of Leah Hamilton, Mount Royal University, Victoria Esses, University of Western Ontario, Aurelie Lacassagne, Laurentian University, Carlo Lavoie, University of Prince Edward Island, and Zenaida Ravanera, University of Western Ontario. They will be assisted by graduate students. The Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (FCFA) was helpful during the project’s development and is continuing to assist with advice.