In recent years, we have heard more and more about the presence of non-legally qualified teachers (NLQ) in schools. An NLQ teacher is a person who works as a teacher without holding a legal teaching qualification. For example, there are high school mathematics teachers who have a baccalaureate in this subject, but who do not have any training in pedagogy and teaching. Another example is that of a person who has an early childhood education technique and who teaches a preschool class.
Last May, the Auditor General of Quebec mentioned that there were more than 30,000 NLQ teachers employed by school service centers (CSS). Although these people are dedicated to the profession and wish to help the education system to alleviate the shortage of teachers, specific training in teaching is essential to understand the complexity of child and adolescent development, the issues linked to the learning of the different disciplines, the evaluation of learning, the management of the class group, the inclusion of the diversity of student profiles, collaboration with parents, etc. These are all elements that cannot be learned on the job.
One avenue proposed and encouraged by Minister Bernard Drainville is to reduce the training leading to a teaching qualification. Some universities have even offered a 15-credit course aimed specifically at NLQ teachers. Although we understand the idea of providing these teachers with a minimum basic of teaching knowledge, the fact remains that the training of a teacher is much more complex.
Remember that the four-year training is considered initial. This means that, even in four years, it is difficult to appropriate all of the complexity of the act of teaching and its many peripheral aspects. So what would be some possible solutions?
The University of Quebec at Chicoutimi (UQAC) has been working on it for several years, in close collaboration with the Center de services scolaire (CSS) du Fer, located in Sept-Îles. In 2018, the CSS had approached UQAC to think about training that would allow teachers to take courses at the university while continuing their teaching mandate in schools. Thus, for four years now, the preschool and elementary education program has been offered in Sept-Îles in a work-study format.
Students take classes at UQAC two days a week and, the rest of the week, they work with their students. Students living more than 100 kilometers away have the option of taking courses remotely. Pedagogical support can be offered when needed, either remotely or through the professionals of the school in which the student is hired as an NLQ teacher.
Last September, a similar request was made by the CSS du Pays-des-Bleuets and the training model will be implemented in Saint-Félicien this fall.
The experiment, which has been going on for four years, highlights the strength of such collaboration. Initially, instead of having students come to the territory of the university, it is the university that moves to make teacher training accessible. NLQ teachers therefore do not have to move to a major center to qualify.
Another benefit that emerges from this experience is the quality and depth of thinking of NLQ teachers. By being hired in schools, these teachers quickly reinvest in the classroom what they learn in university courses and question their content, which promotes a dialogue between training and the reality of the classroom. The training becomes more solid and better linked to the reality of teaching in the schools.
The last spin-off incorporates the question of the well-being of teachers. It is well known, the profession is difficult. However, because they are registered at the university, these NLQ teachers are accompanied and supervised. It is therefore possible to identify the signs of discouragement and to act with the students so that they develop resilience strategies.
In conclusion, the experience developed by UQAC has highlighted the fact that it is not necessary to reduce training time. By adjusting teaching structures and locations to bring them closer to school environments, the shortage of teachers can be ironed out without watering down the requirements.