Publish at October 16 2017 Updated March 05 2026
Since the publication, in 2001, of a resolutely professionalizing orientation, the Quebec Ministry of Education has committed itself, in collaboration with Quebec universities, to developing a training program for future teachers based on the acquisition of professional skills.
This approach calls on universities to develop a framework and support for initial training. Teachers have every right to choose what is best for their students, having thus acquired the professional freedom they need. Although they have no legal professional status in Quebec, teachers enjoy prerogatives similar to those of other practitioners. The goal of academic success for his students will lead him to make diagnoses and exercise his free will to determine the pedagogical direction he will take.
Freedom accommodates constraints. To claim that Quebec teachers are individualistic would be to seriously underestimate reality. Individualism and autonomy go hand in hand with freedom of choice. But like all good professionals, teachers are subject to specific constraints of various kinds.
These include government regulations. The subject taught must correspond to the subject assessed, according to the certification rules in force. Ministry examinations are a must, and the ministry syllabus contains all the material that must be seen and assimilated by students.
It is within this framework that freedom of pedagogical choice is exercised, i.e. the "how to" to achieve the objective of success. At this level, teachers give meaning to their practice and position themselves in relation to different pedagogical postures. He evaluates the effectiveness of methods and adjusts his practice according to the results. His responsibility for his role makes his actions accountable in the eyes of school authorities and parents. Professional freedom therefore only exists if the teacher meets the demands of his or her community.
Choosing to work as part of a teaching team is not a free choice, but a major constraint for those who wish to steer their own ship. This work is part of a set of professional skills (10th skill) that young and not-so-young teachers must develop.
While future teachers will be assessed on the basis of competency criteria to be achieved, practising teachers, on the other hand, do not feel bound by the orientations or decisions of their teaching team. The very task of successfully managing a group of students is a matter for them alone, albeit with the support of student support services. Teaching is one of those professions where any interference is frowned upon. Notwithstanding this position, which legitimizes the individuality of teaching practice, teachers, like other professionals, are accountable to their community for the soundness of their choices.
It's difficult and foolhardy to answer the question of the relevance of a pedagogical choice; yet, to be professionally free implies that the means chosen are the right ones.
The teacher cannot be content to be an educational technician, testing here and there approaches and methods to meet students' needs. The creation of a learning and assessment situation (LAS) is first and foremost a matter of planning, in which the pedagogue considers the competencies to be attained and the means of achieving them, as well as the scenario he or she will implement to this end.
The relevance of the choices he makes is closely linked to the constraints represented by the learning objective and the skills of his students. It would seem that many of the so-called new pedagogical approaches are nothing more than the development of situations designed to make students autonomous in their learning, thereby disempowering the school institution. This is why the educational institution must exercise a certain amount of control over the quality of teaching and learning, which in no way detracts from professional autonomy, as mentioned above.
The accountability of actions remains what guides teachers in their pedagogical choices, all of which are geared towards academic success. Their professional autonomy, while distinct from institutional guidelines, cannot ignore them. The school can only guarantee the future of its orientation project if it obtains the collaboration of its teachers. Involving teachers in all stages of the project's development, based on concerted action, can only be beneficial, and is a hallmark of teaching professionalism.
Illustration: mohamed1982eg - Pixabay
Martinet, A., Raymond, D. and Gauthier, C. La formation à l'enseignement - Les orientations - Les compétences professionnelles. Québec: Ministère de l'Éducation, Direction de la formation et de la titularisation du personnel. 2001.
Perrenoud, P. Travailler en équipe pédagogique, c'est partager sa part de folie. Cahiers pédagogiques, n° 325,
1994, pp. 68-71.
https://www.unige.ch/fapse/SSE/teachers/perrenoud/php_main/php_1994/1994_08.html
Portelance, L., Durant, N. La collaboration au sein d'une équipe pédagogique, une compétence à développer au cours des stages. Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies, Volume 4, No. 2, Winter 2006.
Progin, L., Gather Thurler, M. Teacher cooperation and new approaches to work organization in schools. Recherches en éducation, 2011, no. 10, p. 81-91
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