More teachers working without qualifications
Quebec has been allowing more people to work as teachers without any formal training in education. But clearly there are people with a flair for teaching, and they’re just doing it, whereas we can all remember teachers who may have had a diploma but were terrible in the classroom.
dhomas 10:24 on 2022-03-27 Permalink
I’m conflicted on this topic. There are a lack of teachers, so reinforcements are welcome. However, it is somewhat insulting to teachers who have spent the time and effort to compete a 4-year university degree (sometimes more) just to see someone with no degree teaching in the class next to them.
Maybe part of their provisional hiring should include a condition that they acquire some kind of teaching certificate, so they can continue teaching beyond the 10 year limit? Also, maybe that limit should be less than 10 years, unless the “informal” teacher gets certified?
Kate 11:40 on 2022-03-27 Permalink
I share your ambivalence. But teaching is one of those trades where I really do think the training is largely to impart to those who don’t have the natural flair some of the traits of those who do.
The guy they talk about first is even teaching a class of kids with special needs, and so far from having a PhD in special ed, he has no teacher training at all, yet he seems to have an instinct for how to do it. You can’t give someone the instinct, but you can systematize and describe their approach and then pass that understanding to others in teacher training.
Yet I tend to think it would be a waste of that man’s time to force him to take classes and formalize what he already knows by nature. I’ve only taught a tiny bit myself, but I realized quickly how much time one has to spend outside the classroom making plans and preparing quizzes and other material, and I wasn’t even teaching a course where there was homework to correct. Making that man take courses himself might be asking too much of his time.
Ian 18:20 on 2022-03-27 Permalink
It’s a bit more complicated than it’s made out to be, hourly paid teachers are nothing new. Worth noting this is all very strictly controlled by the Ministry of Education.
You get a fixed pay scale based on your years of experience. Same with casual supply teachers. For regular teachers, your rate of pay is determined according to your scholarity (level of schooling finished) and years of experience (teaching or equivalent). Getting hired as a specialist teacher has not required a certificate all along, it’s usually for people teaching specialized subject areas, and you’re not on track for permanence. It’s up to the school board how many to hire and how to distribute them. Hourly paid and casual supply teachers are not on track for permanence and aren’t protected by the union or labour regulations the same way, they only work contract to contract.
Anyhow this is all a matter of public record https://qpat-apeq.qc.ca/collective-agreements-and-salary-scales/
For more detailed explanation see page 9 here – https://qpat-apeq.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Handbook-for-New-Teachers.pdf
Also from that page:
Teacher Certification:
There are many ways to be legally qualified to teach. The most common way is to have been a recent graduate from a four-year education program in Quebec. Any such recent graduate is given permanent qualification. Teachers who are certified in other Canadian jurisdictions may also be eligible for permanent qualification in Quebec.
Other people may go through a period of probation in order for certification to become permanent.
A number of other legal qualifications exist (temporary permits, provisional teaching authorisations). If you are unsure about your situation, it is recommended that you contact the ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur Certification Department (http://www.education.gouv.qc.ca/en/teachers/teaching-in-quebec/teaching-authorizations/).
Ian 18:41 on 2022-03-27 Permalink
Apologies, that last link from the pdf seems to be out of date since the Ministry rejigged its site IA.
Here’s the current link to getting a teaching authorization: https://www.quebec.ca/en/employment/obtaining-teaching-licence
Side note, I love how the new version of the blog parses links automatically!
Maxim Baru 11:39 on 2022-03-28 Permalink
I work for a labour union that unionizes teachers, among other workers — and while fully acknowledging the reality that some people with a flair for teacher are way better than those with a diploma for it — I see employers in the sector selling the image of skilled educators to families while in practice aiming to rely on a high turnover workforce of newbies in education to keep costs down. And in some ways more importantly to keep managerial control over the workforce. People who are new, lack formal qualification, are easily fireable, and don’t stick around for long aren’t given and less frequently demand a seat at the table to set policy.
The educational establishments are selling one thing and delivering something else. At some point when people lose the skills to operate the processes, procedures, and tools corporate US-Canada need out of the workforce they’ll probably have to step in for a course correction themselves. Or substitute the local workforce with people who’re coming from a less smashed up education system. Do people want to wait for that or work for a course correction on their own terms?
Ian 10:09 on 2022-03-29 Permalink
Hi, Maxim – I agree completely, but I was wondering – does IWW actually represent any teachers in Canada? I see there is a union 620 division but I can’t find any info beyond that.
AFAIK primary and secondary school teachers in Quebec are represented by QPAT (English) and CSQ (French), and CEGEP teachers by CSN.