The evolution of professionalism - Centre for Policy Studies in ...

of the school establishment actors, the demands of parents and the principles of the
market place and freedom of school choice.
This hybrid system has clear internal contradictions; at times, the horizontal
and the vertical seem to be both pulling in the same direction, while at other times,
one seem bent on limiting the other’s full actualization of its potential. Nonetheless,
the system seems to be holding steady. While its medium-term effects are not fully
known, some are foreseeable, such as the growing gap between the establishments
and the dual nature of the system on one hand, and a greater satisfaction of middle
class parents on the other. (Brassard et al., 2004; Lusignan et al., 2002; Lessard,
2003).
School Personnel Training and Qualifi cation and the Professionalization of
Teaching
In Quebec, the discourse on the professionalization of teaching dates from the
Quiet Revolution and the Parent Commission report, from which time teachers have
been required to receive university-level training. In the fall of 1992, Minister Pagé
published an action plan for recognizing and valorizing the teaching profession:
Making the Schools of Today and Tomorrow: A Major Challenge. The plan aimed
to recruit new people to the profession and to facilitate teachers taking local
control of the Minister’s action plan for educational success. At the same time,
the Minister of Education published La formation à l’enseignement secondaire
général — Orientations et compétences attendues (Training for Secondary School
Teaching: — Orientations and Expected Competencies). The document was an
important fi rst step in the revival of initial training and the recognition of the
aptitudes of teaching personnel. There was a movement away from specialization
to more multidisciplinary training. Teaching was described as a complex activity
that included three types of competencies: competencies related to the teacher’s
specialty (two disciplines); psycho-pedagogical competencies; and complementary
competencies (supporting and guiding students, meeting with parents, collaboration
with other school personnel, etc.). As well, a new and greater emphasis was placed
on solid general knowledge and mastery of spoken and written language, not simply
for university entrance, but also for graduation.
In 1994, a document entitled Document d’orientation concernant les stages
en classe (Orientation Document For Classroom Internships) was published.
These internships, which allow future teachers to gain practical experience in their
profession, would henceforth last a minimum of 700 hours, spread out over the
student’s entire period of study, but mostly completed in the fi nal year of study.
In 2001, Education Minister Legault, after extensive public consultation,
published the Teacher Training - Orientation and Professional Competencies. The
document included
• Two major fundamental orientations: to train professionals capable of
adapting their teaching methods to the progress of each child by exercising
good judgment and mobilizing knowledge; and to help teachers cultivate
their knowledge related to the fi ve main areas of learning as well as
disciplinary, pedagogical and didactic knowledge.
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