Editorial

We begin this general issue (57:3) with a selection of articles who share a common interest in the student, such as the relationship between students and their parents (Nadeau et al.), the influence that intervention plans can have on parents’ involvement with their child (Arapi, Tremblay, and Larivée), as well as the perception students with learning difficulties have on the teaching practices put in place to support them (Bernier et al.). Another series of articles is interested in teaching approaches, whether it be teaching French (Falardeau et al.; Villeneuve-Lapointe et al.) or the use of digital technologies (Ciocca and Cotnam-Kappel). A few articles tackle diverse facets of the teaching profession from the perspective of practices (Moreau et al.; Monney et al.), professional integration (Coppe et al.), or approaches to diversity in training (Tétreault et al.). Another series of articles focuses on post-secondary education by presenting a study on teachers’ feelings of competency at the college level (Levasseur and Clément) and a study on the professional training of midwives in Québec (Lafrance). Finally, two articles are interested in inclusive education at the preschool level (Paquet et al.) and at the primary level in a bullying context (Tremblay et al.).

Behind these contributions, an exceptional team of editors, copyeditors, linguistic editors, and formatting editors have worked assiduously to produce a high-quality issue. We would like to thank the individuals who enabled the production of this issue. First, the journal’s director, professor Strong-Wilson, who promptly responded to the multiple requests of the team, ensured a uniform publication process, and provided mobilizing leadership for the entire team. The Managing Editors, Isabel Meadowcroft and Emma Dollery, also deserve much praise. Both were implicated in the publication of the issue and in reviewing the articles. This issue would not be of such high-quality if it were not for the rigorous work of the French language editors: Charles Dagenais, Rianna Pain-Andrejin, and Vanessa Zamora. Zachary Kay, though he is an English language editor for the MJE, frequently assisted the team with more technical writing and editing aspects. Finally, Kevin Péloquin, French language editor, ensured a peer-review process of one of the texts of this issue while we ensured a follow-up of the other manuscripts. We would like to also acknowledge Chantal Tremblay’s arrival in the team in June 2023. Even though she has been part of the team for only a short period of time, she rolled up her sleeves for this issue by verifying the texts one final time before their publication. Thanks to everyone’s work, we are very proud to present this issue that brings together 13 articles touching upon five themes: 1) research on students in general youth education; 2) approaches in education; 3) the teaching profession at the primary and secondary levels; 4) post-secondary teaching, and 5) inclusion.

Nadeau, Lessard, and Deslandes’ study explores the links between the perceptions of junior secondary school students living in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood and their risk of dropping out of school. The results indicate that the perceptions students have of parenting style, of parents’ involvement, and of the classroom atmosphere can predict the risk of school dropout. More specifically, parent-adolescent interactions and perceived classroom atmosphere have a significant impact on dropout risk. This study underscores the importance of considering the perceptions of students in dropout prevention.

In their study on the influence of an intervention plan (IP) on the involvement of parents of students with difficulties, Arapi, Tremblay, and Larivée conclude that the presence of an IP does not significantly modify the level of involvement of parents in their interactions with the school team. This exploratory study involved 108 parents with and without children benefiting from an IP. Focusing on a comparative analysis of the collected qualitative and quantitative data, the authors take a critical and nuanced look at the forms taken by the involvement of parents of students with an IP and those without, and their representations of relations within the school. The results of this study show that the various players in the school environment must continue their efforts to raise awareness and inform parents about the functions of the IP to encourage them to become more involved with their child.

The article of Bernier, Gaudreau, and Massé examine the perceptions of students with behavioral difficulties on the efficiency of their teachers’ classroom management practices. The results of qualitative interviews conducted with 14 students in special education classes at the secondary school level were analyzed according to the five components of classroom management. They reveal a broad array of practices perceived as being efficient by the participants and touch upon the influence of students’ attitudes towards school. The research highlights the fact that students largely agree with the practices recommended by research in this field.

Falardeau, Lord, and Sauvaire’s article is interested in teaching strategies for writing. The authors explore, from an interactionist approach, an explicit teaching model that goes beyond the behaviorist approach to teaching and learning of reading. The strategy they experiment with relies on the support, guidance, dialogue, and reflection on knowledge and is at the heart of a training course on the explicit teaching of writing strategies in which 39 primary and secondary school teachers took part. The survey of participating teachers revealed that the training had not significantly transformed teaching practices. The authors conclude that the training must be followed by ongoing support that takes into consideration, among other things, practice conditions.

The article of Villeneuve, Moreau, and Blain highlight the importance of the formal teaching of French spelling to ensure academic success. The study documents the declared and taught knowledge of seven teachers at the upper primary school level. The results reveal that all spelling skills have been taught, even if the teachers say little about it in the interviews and self-confrontation interviews. These results have implications for improving the teaching of spelling in elementary school.

The increasing use of digital technology in education is opening up new possibilities and approaches, such as those inspired by the do-it-yourself perspective known as maker. Cioccia et Cotnam-Kappel focus on this approach. Their case study conducted with two teachers illustrates the importance of action-based planning as a complement to goal-based planning. Because the maker approach largely relies on action and collaboration between learners, it seems appropriate to adapt planning accordingly.

Moreau, Granger, Gingras, and Lavoie’s article presents a study conducted with and for secondary school teachers that work in interdisciplinary teams and that wish to improve their teaching practices. The authors present the results of their study carried out with a professional learning community established in a school-team that was looking to find ways to increase students’ involvement in their learning and success. The authors shed an interesting light on the issues related to the support of a school-team that wishes to bring sustainable changes in learning assessment practices.

The contribution of Monney, Smith, Gagné, and Simard-Côté is interested in the assessment of trainees’ learning achievements. Classroom observations as well as self-confrontation interviews conducted with five primary school teacher trainees reveal that a minority of trainees mobilize theoretical knowledge in their planning and in their assessment practices of students’ learnings. These results indicate the importance of ensuring greater continuity between university courses and internships to foster mobilization of knowledge in practice.

The professional integration of second career teachers is the main topic of Coppe, März, and Raemdonck’s article. The case study carried out with seven second-career teachers identified their perceptions of this integration as well as the context within which they are integrated. The results exposed the main difficulties related to institutional, organizational, and individual aspects to which these teachers are confronted.

Professionals from different fields, namely health and social care services, are increasingly called upon to serve a diverse clientele, and this new reality calls for appropriate training. This is the question addressed by Tétrault and colleagues. By using a method called “world coffee”, they brought together 41 professionals from these fields of practice to discuss their initial and ongoing diversity training needs. The results show the necessity to explicitly train professionals from these fields to meet the challenges of a diverse population, notably through better supervision of internships and teaching methods designed to decentralize and deconstruct normality.

Levasseur and Clément led a survey on the importance of teachers’ sense of self-efficacy for organizational performance. In view of the upheavals affecting education systems, the researchers consider it essential to focus on the players in these systems. A questionnaire survey of 250 college teachers sheds light on the links between teachers’ sense of self-efficacy and organizational performance and highlights the importance of looking at the various components of both.

In Quebec, midwifery training is the responsibility of preceptors who supervise work in the practice environment. To better understand the ins and outs of this training, Lafrance, proposes to circumscribe the teaching and supervisory actions of these preceptors within the concept of professional representations. The use of this concept enables the author to contextualize the practices and thinking of these professionals, thus giving us access to an understudied topic.

The article of Paquet, Dionne, Rousseau, and Dubé examines the intersectoral collaboration in inclusive early childhood practices, focusing on the collaborative experiences of educational and supervisory staff in childcare settings. The results of the online survey of 248 respondents, including educators and supervisory staff in childcare settings, show that collaboration with institutional or organizational partners is generally perceived positively, despite challenges such as joint intervention planning.

The final article in this issue looks at inclusion from the perspective of bullying among special-needs students. A systematic review of the literature conducted by Tremblay, Poulin, and Guimond highlights the interventions and the effects of these interventions on the rate of student victimization and bullying. Ten scientific articles of American, European, and Australian origin were selected following a rigorous selection process that is clearly explained in this contribution. The analysis of these texts highlighted the strategies favored by teachers and the various factors that can influence their interventions in such a context. The article concludes with a reflection on teacher training and the support that should be provided when teachers must intervene with bullied special-needs students.

ALEXANDRE LANOIX, ÉMILIE TREMBLAY-WRAGG, AND KEVIN PÉLOQUIN