We talk a lot about education these days, and one of the main reasons for this renewed attention is, of course, the major shortage of teaching staff in elementary schools across Quebec. Everyone agrees that innovative solutions must be found to place in each classroom a well-trained person capable of exercising their professional teaching skills for the greatest benefit of the students. But some of the proposed means can leave you perplexed as to the achievement of this objective…
Thus, TELUQ University offers various school service centers its specialized graduate diploma in preschool and primary education, after having experienced it for a few years with the CSS Marguerite-Bourgeoys. Aimed at people who already hold a bachelor’s degree (regardless of what field), this new, fully online program promises people who already teach preschool and elementary grades, but are not legally qualified to do so, to get their teaching certificate, provided that the requirements of the regulations on teaching licenses are ultimately revised downwards in their favour.
What’s in this new program of 2e cycle of 30 credits? An introductory course to the teaching profession, a class management course, an evaluation course, two French didactics courses, one in mathematics, two work placements, a course on effective teaching and another addressing student heterogeneity and inclusive practices.
No course in science and technology didactics, nor course in the social universe; nothing about the ethics and religious culture course, which should soon be replaced by the new Quebec culture and citizenship course. We also ignore physical education and health courses, as well as courses dealing with the psychology of preschool and primary-aged children… And we’re not even talking about philosophy and foundations courses. education, history of education in Quebec, etc.
Remember that the undergraduate program in preschool and elementary education must train future teachers in two distinct fields, namely preschool and elementary school, each of which has its own educational aims and its own teaching programs. It should also be noted that preschool and elementary school teachers must become generalists, capable of teaching all the subjects covered by the school programs.
It is because of the wide range of subjects to be taught and the presence, within the same training, of two distinct fields of education, that undergraduate programs in preschool education and elementary education require the successful completion of 120 university credits, including four internships in schools, before obtaining the teaching diploma.
A short-term program such as the one offered by TELUQ University is entirely relevant if the objective is to offer an initial training to teachers who are not legally qualified, training which must necessarily continue until the full development of all professional teaching skills and the achievement of training objectives in all subjects covered by the school programs.
Unfortunately, the signals sent by the Minister of Education of Quebec, Mr. Bernard Drainville, rather indicate that such truncated programs will soon become qualifying programs in the same way as longer university courses. As we know, pulling on flowers has never made them grow faster; Never mind, by reducing training expectations, we will pick them earlier, that’s all!
At one time, in Quebec, teachers like Émilie Bordeleau, the heroine of the famous television series Caleb’s daughters drawn from the work of Arlette Cousture, were formed in a minimal way in the normal schools, directed by religious communities. We owe the Parent Commission the professionalization of teaching from the mid-1960s, with the avowed aim of pushing the training of teachers up to university, to the greater benefit of students. Do we really want to return to the situation before the Quiet Revolution?
Sadly, too many people still think that four years of college tuition is pointless to teach preschool and elementary school. It would be enough to know how to read, write and count and to love children to achieve this. But is this really the case? Isn’t this the way to devalue the teaching profession and make it less attractive? By offering some people a truncated training, are we not creating two classes of teachers in our schools? And will these short-term programs properly prepare future teachers for the reality and complexity of today’s preschool and elementary classrooms?
These are important questions, which call for a real debate in society around the aims of the school and the quality of the training that we wish to offer our young people. Questions that are certainly too important for us to try to answer them with short-term solutions, such as what these new truncated training programs launched in a hurry offer. Our students and their teachers deserve better!