McGill Journal of Education / Revue des sciences de l'éducation de McGill

Prediction of high school dropout based on students’ perceptions of their home and classroom environments

Sandy Nadeau, Anne Lessard, Rollande Deslandes — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

This predictive correlational study focuses on the contribution of students’ perceptions of parenting style, parental involvement in school monitoring, and the classroom’s environment on the risk of dropping out of school. The perceptions of junior high school students (n=92) living in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood were collected through surveys. Hierarchical regression analyses show that their perceptions of parental guidance and involvement, parent-adolescent interactions, and classroom environment predicted the risk of dropping out of school. The results also suggest that students’ perceptions of parent-adolescent interactions and classroom environment jointly contribute to predicting the risk of dropping out of school.

Does the individualized education plan influence parent involvement with pupils experiencing difficulties? A comparative study based on parents’ perspectives

Enkeleda Arapi, Philippe Tremblay, Serge J. Larivée — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

The individualized education plan is a pedagogical tool designed to support the educational progress of pupils with difficulties. To be relevant, the implementation of the intervention plan must involve the parents. The objective of this paper is to compare the forms of parental involvement with primary school pupils with and without an intervention plan. A comparative quantitative and qualitative analysis is carried out on the dimensions of parental involvement and parents’ perceptions of the school-family-community relationship with 108 parents. The results indicate that the intervention plan does not bring significant differences in the forms of parental implication.

Teachers’ classroom management practices: Perceived effectiveness by students with behavioural difficulties

Vincent Bernier, Nancy Gaudreau, Line Massé — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

This article discusses the perceptions of students with emotional and behavioral difficulties (EBD) regarding the effectiveness of teachers’ classroom management practices. The interviews with fourteen PDC students enrolled in secondary school special class were analyzed using a qualitative thematic analysis approach. Based on the model of the five components of classroom management, the results offer an unprecedented perspective on classroom management and reveal a large inventory of practices perceived effective by participants to manage the classroom. They also reveal that the type of school attended and attitudes towards it particularly influence their perceptions. Finally, the perceptions of students with EBD are quite consistent with the practices recommended by research in the field.

Testing an interactionist model of explicit teaching of writing strategies

Erick Falardeau; Marie-Andrée Lord, Marion Sauvaire — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Our research aims to build an interactionist model of explicit teaching of writing strategies for the primary and secondary levels adapted to Quebecois programs. The objective of this contribution is to present this model, implementation results, as well as the limits inherent in implementing explicit teaching on a large scale, particularly in the field of writing. Starting with a critique of behaviourist models of explicit teaching, we show how numerous researchers have adapted this pedagogical model to competency-based approaches, anchoring their work in cognitivist and socioconstructivist theories. The results obtained through our experimentations bring forward a reflection on the conditions that can facilitate the successful implementation of explicit teaching.

What orthographic skills are taught by seven upper primary teachers?

Myriam Villeneuve-Lapointe, André C. Moreau, Sylvie Blain — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

French spelling is based on several skills that need to be acquired: phonological, morphological and visuoorthographic. To promote this learning, formal teaching is essential to ensure academic success. However, few research has focused on orthographic knowledge taught in the classroom. In this article, the knowledge reported and taught by seven upper primary school teachers was documented. A semi-structured interview, two observations during spelling teaching and two self-confrontation interviews were used to identify the knowledge taught. According to our results, the teachers taught all spelling knowledge, even though they make few references to this knowledge in the interviews and self-confrontation interviews.

Planning a Maker activity: Dynamic, flexible planning to meet student needs

Jean-Luc Ciocca, Megan Cotnam-Kappel — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

The article explores how teachers in francophone Ontarian schools conceptualize the planning of a Maker activity. Anchored in the do-it-yourself tradition, the unprecedented enthusiasm in education for this type of activity raises certain planning challenges and issues. The results of our qualitative analyses of interviews with two teachers (6th grade and 11th grade technical) underscore that teachers undertake three actions when planning a Maker activity: 1) create a Maker community spirit; 2) implement a Maker mentality through actions; and 3) adopt a planning-in-action approach. Our research underscores that a form of planning that we define as planning-in-action seems specific to Maker activities in a classroom at the primary or secondary level.

Collaborative team assessment of secondary school learning

André C. Moreau, Nancy Granger, Frédérique Gingras, Cynthia Lavoie Vezeau — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

This article presents a praxeological expost facto study with secondary school teachers working in interdisciplinary teams and wanting to improve their learning assessment practices. We specify the factors that helped to sustain new teaching practices one year after the end of a project aimed at implementing collaborative team functioning and highlight success factors for students with literacy difficulties. Data collected with five teachers enabled us to describe a renewed practice of learning assessment, including the use of a coding tool. We discuss issues that may help or hinder the drive for sustainable changes in learning assessment practices and raise avenues for future research. The study contributes an illustration of a learning assessment practice relevant for both teachers and learners.

Analysis of teacher candidates' assessment knowledge during the practicum

Nicole Monney, Jennifer Smith, Andréanne Gagné, Alexandra Simard-Côté — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

This paper presents the results of a qualitative-interpretative study on the mobilization of assessment knowledge of five teacher candidates. The data was collected by the conduct of 10 in-class observations and 10 self-confrontation interviews. Based on the analysis of the results, teacher candidates primarily face challenges associated with knowledge of learning design and targeting learning objectives. As a result, the assessment activities are only carried out at the end of each lesson to confirm what has been learned. This article concludes by proposing a model that ranks the different types of assessment knowledge while proposing accompaniment strategies destined to teacher candidate supervisors.

Encounter between second-career teachers and their school: A marriage without romance

Thibault Coppe, Virginie März, Isabel Raemdonck — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

This contribution documents the professional integration of novice second-career teachers working in technical and vocational schools. We studied the experiences of this particular population of teachers through a qualitative study design with seven participants. The results highlight the harshness, difficulty, and complexity of this process. They experience institutional, organizational, and individual difficulties. In particular, the familiarization with the school as a new workplace is experienced as a complex process. The conclusions of the study provide insights on the consequences of the legal framework regulating access for second-career teachers to the teaching profession and the necessary training and support for these kinds of teachers.

Intercultural intervention in the health and social care sectors: How to train students

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Preparing health and social care students to practice in a context of diversity is an educational challenge. Guidelines for the adoption of theoretical models and the teaching of pedagogical content remain unclear. Using the “world café” method, this study aims to validate recommendations facilitating the acquisition of intercultural competences and enriching them with various partners. The 41 participants indicated the need to improve initial training and to include specific courses on intercultural intervention using a variety of teaching methods. Several suggest consolidating internship supervisors’ prior learnings regarding this approach. Considering the increase of individuals from different cultural backgrounds, it is important to adjust training programs.

Organizational performance: The role of teachers’ sense of self efficacy

Alice Levasseur, Louise Clément — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

This study examines the distinct and complementary roles of the components of teachers’ sense of personal efficacy (SPE) (instructional strategies deployment, classroom management, student engagement) in relation to their organizational performance (subjective performance, organizational citizenship behaviours individuals [OCBI] and organizations [OCBO]). Data were collected from 250 college teachers in Quebec. The results of the analyses show that only the instructional strategies deployment component of the SPE predict a single component of performance, namely OCBI. The study’s findings support the separate study of SPE components in relation to teachers’ organizational performance, as they do have distinct and complementary roles on organizational performance.

Intersectoral collaboration for inclusive educational practices: What do childcare centres think?

Annie Paquet, Carmen Dionne, Michel Rousseau, Colombe Lemire, Annie-Claude Dubé — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Collaboration is considered to be a key element of inclusive early childhood practices. To ensure effective collaboration, it is important to provide facilitating conditions as teams often encounter many challenges. The purpose is to describe intersectoral collaborative experiences from the perspective of childcare centres. One hundred and fifty-four childcare educators and 94 supervisors responded to an online survey. The results show that collaboration with partners from institutions or organizations to support the inclusion of young children is perceived positively. Despite the challenges, it is seen as helpful, particularly in terms of joint intervention planning.

Systematic review: Teacher intervention strategies for students with special needs in bullying situations

Kelly Tremblay, Marie-Hélène Poulin, Fanny-Alexandra Guimond — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Bullying in primary schools is a concern, especially for students with special needs. Despite the implementation of preventative programmes, teachers are lacking intervention strategies. This review focuses on teachers’ interventions in bullying situations experienced by students with special needs and their effects on bullying and victimization rates. Four databases were searched for a total of 417 articles. Ten of these articles (2008 to 2019) were selected and none report results specific to students with special needs. Teachers prioritize strategies that are not supported by research, such as punishment. The results are discussed in relation to research and real-live needs.

The concept of professional representations: Midwifery preceptors as an example

Josée Lafrance — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

University level midwifery education programs include theoretical contents and practical experiences. In Quebec (Canada), a practising midwife, called preceptor, is responsible for supervising students in the clinical setting. The aim of this paper is to present the concept of professional representations to all professionals who contribute to the practical education of students. In order to do so, numerous texts support the explanations on preceptorship and the concept of professional representations. This concept is presented in relation to midwifery, but more specifically using the example of preceptorship in midwifery training. The concept of professional representations is presented according to its functions, its content, and its levels of analysis.

Volume 57 Numéro 3 : Éditorial

McGill Journal of Education MJE — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Volume 57 Issue 3: Editorial

McGill Journal of Education MJE — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400