Are the gains made by teachers in negotiations with the government as disappointing as they say? Could some of them help to improve the situation of young people locally? While several unions have done so rejected the offer on Thursday, The newspaper interviewed stakeholders to publicize the contents of the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) Memorandum of Understanding. Your verdict: All for it? “It will not revolutionize student services,” notes Sylvain Martel of the Regroupement des Committees de Parents Nationaux du Québec (RCPAQ).
Deceptions
1) Teaching aid that only applies to young children
Quebec wants to hire 4,000 helpers in elementary and kindergarten classes for 10 to 15 hours per week from 2024 to 2025. This idea has already been the subject of a pilot project that has been very popular in the industry. Educators come to help students who are still learning to be independent: organize their desk, get out the right notebook, get dressed for recess.
The government has made it a flagship measure, but it only affects young children. Even if we break the numbers down to the approximately 2,000 primary schools in the province, we find that not all classes are eligible. “There are things that are probably good for students… for those who benefit from them,” quips Geneviève Sirois, a professor in TÉLUQ’s education department.
2) Difficulty thresholds too high
The issue that causes the most discontent today is the composition of the rank and file. Too often it includes a disproportionate share of students who are challenged, have an intervention plan, or are not yet proficient in French.
If a level's cohort has too high a proportion of difficulty, the agreement stipulates that a mechanism will be triggered to open new classes and add resources. At FAE the threshold is 60% in primary education and 50% in secondary education.
This threshold should have been 25 to 30 percent, estimates Mélanie Paré, professor at the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Montreal. In addition, the FAE agreement provides for the payment of a bonus of $4,000 or $8,000 to teachers if adding resources or opening classes is not possible.
For several speakers, this amounts to writing in black and white that we are resigned to not meeting the needs of all students. It is also expected that this clause will lead to a multiplication of intervention plans.
3) Where are the professionals?
But where are the special educators, speech therapists, psychoeducators, psychologists and other professionals who could support teachers and help young people make progress? There is no mention of this in the FAE agreement.
“I wonder if it’s really written into a collective agreement that we should talk about this […] Teacher support services are underdeveloped in Quebec,” notes Mélanie Paré. For example, we could add the presence of assistant teachers at certain times in class to enrich the lesson.
“I don’t see a lot of organizational changes,” notes RCPAQ spokesman Sylvain Martel.
4) Fears of special courses
Let's assume that a cohort crosses the famous 50% or 60% thresholds, leading to the opening of new classes. Will these new groups form a regular class or a special class? The agreement does not provide for this.
Often bringing together students with all sorts of difficulties in a specialist class “creates the illusion” that we can help them better, but research has shown that this often does not correspond to the real needs of young people, explains Mélanie Paré.
In addition, some parents living in the region fear that these courses will become a kind of catch-all course, as students are too far apart to create real “hubs” that bring together those who have the same disorder, Sylvain also notes Martel of the RCPAQ.
The glimmers of hope
1) Rate young people better in francization
Dominic Pelletier is a primary school teacher in Montreal, i.e. in Frenchization. He found the FAE agreement to be a real win for him and his students. The school service centers will introduce a mandatory protocol to welcome these young people and assess their level in mathematics. Because there is a big difference between the way to teach a child who has developed all the skills in his language and a young refugee who, for example, has never been to school in his life because of the war.
2) End monitoring for teachers
The FAE agreement stipulates that recess supervision will no longer be part of the teachers' role from 2027 to 2028, if labor availability permits. We can assume that this role will be taken on by educators or supervisors.
“Remove monitoring [de l’horaire des profs]“It’s urgent,” says Mélanie Paré. This saved time can be used to contact students, plan, correct, talk to parents or consult with colleagues, for example to better help a young person.
3) Valued teachers, rewarding teachers?
The agreement provides for salary increases for teachers and the inclusion of contracts leading to permanent employment. Could it be that these better salaries and greater stability indirectly benefit students?
This can help attract more people to the profession, but not necessarily retain existing teachers, analyzes Geneviève Sirois. “A raise is important. But it doesn’t have a big impact on long-term motivation.” Many dissatisfied teachers have also repeated this in the last few days: the salary is not the problem.
4) Better communication
One of the clauses of the agreement deals with the sharing of information between departments and “third-party organizations”. We can read between the lines that this would allow for better communication between schools and CPEs, health system specialists or private sector experts.
“The school is often self-contained” and this clause suggests openness, says Gérald Boutin, professor in the education department at UQAM.
The agreement in principle is far from being ratified by the FAE as the local unions are still in the voting process. The application of the clauses discussed above is therefore hypothetical.
Can you share information about this story?
Write to us or call us directly at 1 800-63SCOOP.
