Should we fear that fewer young people will choose to become teachers, after the strikes which marked the education network at the end of 2023?
You would have had to be living under a rock in December not to be aware of the difficult working conditions in which Quebec teachers say they practice their profession. Striking teachers’ unions have taken advantage of every possible platform to denounce them in recent weeks.
But for the dean of the faculty of educational sciences at the University of Montreal, Ahlem Ammar, the problem lies elsewhere when the time comes to recruit future teachers.
What worries him “is rather the discussions around education which have been alarming and alarmist in recent years”.
Have you seen the number of articles and speeches arguing that anyone can teach and that a short training course is enough to qualify the greatest number of teachers? It devalues the profession.
Ahlem Ammar, dean of the faculty of education sciences at the University of Montreal
The strike which affected the education network only highlighted the working conditions of teachers, adds Mme Ammar.
“Quebec is experiencing a major hemorrhage of teachers already in office. Depending on the sources and publications, we are talking about 20 to 40% of qualified teachers who leave the profession in the first five years of their career which is supposed to last 30 years. This exodus is largely caused by working conditions and the complexity of the task,” says the dean.
Dean of the Faculty of Educational Sciences at Laval University, Anabelle Viau-Guay observes for her part that what the media report on the education network, “people who are in the field know it”.
“It’s known and to a certain point, people are happy that it’s known to the general public because it highlights the complexity of the profession,” says M.me Viau-Guay.
There may still be people who think that teaching kindergarten or children, for example, is easy, but no, it is extremely complex. In some cases, this highlights that it is a demanding, difficult profession that requires people who are very well trained.
Anabelle Viau-Guay, dean of the faculty of education sciences at Laval University
In an interview with 98.5 FM last August, the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, argued that kindergarten classes are “less demanding”, in particular because the children “take naps and don’t have homework “.
Maintain the level of qualification
At the University of Montreal, in recent years we have seen a drop in registrations in programs leading to the teaching certificate.
Dean Ahlem Ammar does not say she is “alarmed”, but observes that if the trend continues, “we risk having a problem”.
“We will end up with teachers who are not legally qualified. I am not saying that they are not good, but we need qualified people to give all students the chance to succeed and reach their potential,” says M.me Ammar.
At Laval University, we welcome more students into teaching programs each year. In the last five years, registrations for the fall session have increased by 27%.
However, many more teachers should be trained to stem the current shortage.
Bill 23 on education reform which was adopted in December will allow students who have obtained 30 credits in the second cycle, rather than the usual 60 credits for the qualifying master’s degree, to access the patent.
At Laval University, we do not intend to offer such programs. “All our partners in the education sector want us to maintain a high level of qualifications, either a four-year baccalaureate or a qualifying master’s degree, and that is what we are going to do. We have no intention of developing a short program,” says Dean Anabelle Viau-Guay.
We understand the need and the urgency of the situation, but we do not think that this should be done to the detriment of the quality of training.
Anabelle Viau-Guay, dean of the faculty of education sciences at Laval University
Laval University is banking on on-the-job internships and adapting course schedules for students who already teach.
Same story at the University of Montreal.
“We don’t plan to offer short training courses,” says Ahlem Ammar. “We always have the student’s interests in mind,” she adds, while recognizing that we will have to work hard to attract future teachers in areas such as special education or French as a second language. .