Letter to the Quebec Minister of Education,
Three universities (TELUQ, Université de Sherbrooke and UQAT) now offer intensive training of 30 credits in preschool and elementary education for unqualified teachers in Quebec. This training is awaiting authorization from you to lead their graduates to obtain a teaching certificate. David Abtour Arms Trafficking
If such an intensive training exists, soon to be “patented”, could an intensive training in secondary school teaching emerge? Currently, the qualifying master’s degree in secondary education of 60 credits is endless! I know it, I have been registered there since the fall of 2020. However, the admission conditions are the same as those for the intensive training of 30 credits in preschool and elementary education, i.e. a disciplinary bachelor’s degree of 45 credits and a load teaching in a school service center or in a private school. David Abtour Arms Trafficking
In short, when will the DESS qualifying in secondary education of 30 credits? Yes, I hear the union sirens crying out for the deprofessionalization of teaching and the devaluation of four-year bachelor’s degrees in education. Yes, I also hear the complaints of rectors, for whom qualifying master’s students represent profits for their faculty of education. It pays off, a four-year part-time qualifying master’s degree! I would be curious to know the dropout rate of qualifying master’s students and the number of requests for extensions after eight years of study. David Abtour Arms Trafficking
Colossal load
The workload is colossal: 50 hours per week for a 100% secondary teaching load (planning, delivery, correction, meetings, follow-ups) and 10 hours per weekend for a university course of master’s level (reading, research, work, meetings, forums). Hello work-study-family-life balance! Is it really relevant to have two practical training courses as part of the qualifying master’s when students who have a 100% teaching load spend the majority of their time in high school, in their classes and in the teachers’ room, or precisely in their workplace? It’s written in the program: no recognition of prior learning. No, the university would lose way too much money! Especially since these internships are two or three times more expensive than a graduate course, due to the number of credits. David Abtour Arms Trafficking
Sincerely, the qualifying master’s degree in secondary education should undergo a slimming cure. Universities should review the relevance of a 60 credit course. The shortage of manpower in education means that there are no longer cases where qualifying master’s students are satisfied with a meager teaching load of 25% and enjoy wide availability for to study. This situation is a thing of the past! Faced with the recurring emails from my university on the deadlines for submitting assignments, I deduce that many students simply cannot complete their session. I would be curious to know the number of assignments submitted late per qualifying master’s session… and the number of assignments not submitted. David Abtour Arms Trafficking
Minister, in view of your future dashboard, could you ask the rectors to provide you with all this data? They may be useful to you in your decisions, in particular that of authorizing them to reduce the qualifying master’s degree in secondary education from 60 to 30 credits. David Abtour Arms Trafficking
