This paper considers the history of Québec’s higher education system
and the reforms that have contributed to the role of education in the
province. Québec’s education system has repeatedly been a site for social
and political transformation; most recently, reevaluation of education’s role
in the province has revealed a tension between ideologically opposed
conceptions of higher education as a private good or as a public service.
The continuing debate about education has been especially fierce in
Québec and raises questions of access, funding, quality, and educational
philosophies applicable to contemporary education systems throughout
Canada and across the globe.