Teachers welcome with open arms the arrival of “classroom assistants” in Quebec schools. At 92%, they say they are “in favor” of adding staff to “give them air” and support them “in the performance of non-pedagogical tasks”, reveals a survey by the Federation of Trade Unions of the education (ESF).
The FSE, which brings together 34 teachers’ unions, carried out two consultations with its teacher members, in the fall of 2022 and in the winter of 2023. It must reveal the results on Friday, as part of its symposium.
The autumn 2022 consultation, in which 6,000 teachers took part, looked in particular at retention issues. According to respondents, “difficult groups”, “work overload” and “lack of support and accompaniment for students in difficulty” are the three factors having the most impact on teacher retention .
In the opinion of the president of the FSE, Josée Scalabrini, the addition of “class aid” announced by the Legault government will, in the context, have a positive effect on this plan. “There are so many things that have been added to our daily lives that we need help. We want to go back to teaching,” she told the Duty.
The FSE supported teachers as part of the class support pilot project which was rolled out in 100 schools last September. “They enjoyed it, they liked it. As long as they are supervised and the tasks are well defined for the support staff and the teaching staff,” she specified.
One year residency?
The FSE consultation also reveals that 88% of teachers would like the fourth year of the Bachelor of Education to be transformed into a “residency” year, during which students would teach full time.
With his reform, the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, wants “a new simplified procedure” for teachers already in class, but not “legally qualified” for the profession. In the context, “to encourage young people who want to come [au baccalauréat] in teaching, it can be interesting to offer a more intense training of three years with a residency in the fourth year, “said Ms.me Scalabrini.
The FSE survey also reveals that 86% of the teachers questioned consider that the compulsory French test for obtaining the teaching certificate (the TECFEE/CEFRANC) should be modified so that “the importance of the exceptions of the French language » is revised downwards. More than three-quarters (77%) of respondents also agreed with the addition of an oral assessment to this test. After all, oral skills are “a working tool at the heart of their professional practice”, argues the FSE.
Asked about cell phones, the majority of respondents to the consultation (92%) said they agreed with the banning of them in class, “except in the context of educational activities”. In early May, the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, said he was “open to thinking” about a directive on this subject for all schools.
Not enough time for French
The second series of consultations, conducted by the FSE with 7,000 teachers, focused on so-called “specific” questions.
In total, among these respondents, nearly 72% of secondary school teaching staff declared that “the training currently offered at the baccalaureate level must be reviewed”.
The majority of primary school teachers also pointed out that the teaching time was insufficient to “cover all the content of the programs, in particular those of French and mathematics”. In addition, “70% of primary school teachers indicate that the French program should be revised [et] 60% also indicate that the teaching time allocated for French is not sufficient”.