Year 2 Results

The following information includes the results pertaining to each research question from Year 2 of the project. Research Question 4, comparing findings across the 4 pillars, across time, and across participating universities, is integrated into the results from each research question. 

Analysis of the quantitative survey responses showed relatively similar scores across both universities on the four pillars of success. Students from University of Ottawa indicated slightly higher confidence levels on intercultural competence and pedagogical knowledge, although these differences were not statistically significant. Students from York University (Glendon and Keele) were slightly higher in collaborative professionalism, but again this difference was not statistically significant. However, students from University of Ottawa indicated much higher confidence levels on language proficiency, and this difference was statistically significant.

The following exit profile results are divided into each pillar of success.

 A diverse range of pilot projects were offered at each university, both for their own teacher candidates and those from the partner faculty which were designed to touch on at least two of the four pillars for success. The findings below explain how pilot project participants engaged with each pillar, thus highlighting how the pilot design compared to the participants' lived experience as well as the strengths and weaknesses of pilot projects. 

Schooling & Society FSL Discussion Group  

FSL Working Group 

Strengths identified throughout the FSL working group include:

• The FSL working group was instrumental in the realization of each University of Ottawa pilot project. For example, they supported administrative aspects of the Schooling and Society project such as authorizing additional teaching assistantship hours for our team members. 

• Provided time and space dedicated to exploring and refining other FSL-related initiatives at the University of Ottawa. For example, they passed a motion to revise the admission requirements in order to widen the pool of potential applicants to the FSL Teacher Education program. This carved out time allowed the team to gain a better understanding of the program and collaborate productively due to their increased accountability in the meetings. 

• It also allowed for a strong sense of teamwork and community absent of any sort of hierarchy. It acted as a space to address FSL as a specialized program different from other subject matters because it’s an entire language that carries with it a culture and many other aspects, thus it requires unique approaches. 

• Working group members also noted that they appreciated that multiple different perspectives were present in the meetings which contributed to the efficiency and value of the group. 

The only weakness identified by participants was that all members of the FSL working group were very busy outside of the meetings, so any action items needed to be dealt with during the allotted meeting time because there is a lack of time available outside of meetings to dedicate specifically to FSL.

PLC for FSL Professors 

Throughout follow-up interviews with the PLC members, the following strengths of the project were identified: 

• Provided a space in which the professors could engage in dialogue about how the program works and their different methodologies. These conversations often touched on their conflicting feelings about teacher candidates’ grades, and their perceived expectation to assign high grades in their courses. 

•  It allowed a space for the seconded professors to feel less isolated at the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa. They felt there was no community outside of the PLC that they were a part of, and no one to ask for help or advice. 

• The PLC provided a learning community in which they felt a sense of comfortability, sharing and trust. They could ask questions, which made them feel less alone. This allowed all of the professors to have access to the hidden curriculum of teaching, share their experiences and improve their practices. 

• Allowed for the identification of several needs for seconded professors at the University of Ottawa such as a shared vision of the program, support for understanding the inner workings of the program, more community and collaboration, etc. 

None of the participants identified an explicit weakness of the PLC group itself. However, they all expressed they would have appreciated the opportunity to be put in touch with other faculty members in order to continue forming more of a professional community outside of the meetings. They felt generally very isolated, but the PLC responded to this need.

#AMAs (Ask Me Anything series) 

The following strengths of the Ask Me Anything series were identified through follow-up interviews with participants:

• Created a space to create a wider network of FSL teachers

• A space to ask questions, receive ideas and resources for their future teaching. Teacher candidates felt they belonged in the AMA sessions due to the open and collaborative space they created.  

• Collaborative element of this space through the sharing of resources, similar experiences, and struggles

• Filled a gap in their knowledge, specifically regarding colonial ideologies in FSL. Also encouraged them to continue their own personal lifelong learning and critical review of their teaching practices. 

• Helped to address issues in their own practice as an FSL educator by developing their practical skills and knowledge. An example of this is increased understanding of how to engage students, scaffold lesson planning, and meet students’ needs in French. 

Some weaknesses identified in feedback from participants are as follows: 

• Participants sometimes felt anxious before the bilingual discussion because they did not know what to expect and did not want to speak French in front of strangers 

• One participant mentioned that the French portions of the conversations slowed down their participation because it took them longer to process and increased their feelings of vulnerability and linguistic insecurity. 

• The question-answer format sometimes fell short because of a lack of questions from participants. One suggestion was that speakers have some information in their back pocket to share if there was a lull in questions. This would help fill some of the silent moments which occurred frequently.

French Conversation Club

Based on the feedback from participants of the French Conversation Club, the strengths of this pilot project are as follows: 

• Teacher candidates appreciated the space to speak French outside of the classroom. They stated this conversation club allowed them to develop their spontaneous French speaking skills

• Allowed them to learn about and test out new activities and games they can use in their classrooms. Playing these games themselves allowed them to identify potential challenges if they were to bring it into the classroom, and brainstorm ways to adapt the games and activities to work for a specific age group or proficiency level. 

• Participants appreciated that it was a drop-in style club and not a requirement, which removed any additional stress from an obligatory engagement. They stated it is rare to have an opportunity to converse in French outside of the classroom in a non-judgmental atmosphere. 

There were no explicit weaknesses identified by the French Conversation Club participants.

Online Lesson/Unit Planning Modules

Although 21 participants accessed the website to the online modules, no participants submitted a completed module and very few even opened the resources. No one downloaded any of the documents, and only a few participants actually viewed the modules. 

The way the modules were designed did not organically encourage collaboration or even use of the modules themselves. While they could be helpful for the students, the timing of this intervention could have been a barrier (late January) as well as the sheer amount of content to go through when the students are already overwhelmed with their Teacher Education Program. 

In the future, an improvement could be to integrate these modules into the Teacher Education program so the students could use them more actively throughout their professional development.

There were several closed- and open-ended questions in the Year 2 teacher candidate survey that prompted respondents to speak to the pilot projects generally, and specifically as they related to the four pillars for success.

Of the teacher candidates who completed the Year 2 student survey, many reported that their participation in one or more pilot projects did not change their self-ratings on the four pillars for success. Of all the projects, the conversation club seemed to be the most influential. AMA sessions and online modules impacted teacher candidates’ ratings less on the four pillars for success.

The findings below include over-arching results from pilot project participant interviews separated into the four pillars. 

Pedagogical knowledge (PK)

In the analysis of our data from the pilot projects, surveys, and interviews, we found that teacher candidates generally feel they have a lack of pedagogical knowledge. More specifically, they stated that the teacher education programs focus too much on theory and not enough on practice. It has been noted by our research team that pedagogical knowledge was the least addressed of the four pillars throughout our pilot projects. The Conversation Club project was the most centered on pedagogical knowledge, and the participants attested to the benefit of being provided with games, activities, and exercises that they can implement in their own French classrooms.

When it comes to ITE professors’ pedagogical knowledge, we found through our interview data that the culture of the university has led to professors not wanting to be self-critical or self-aware of their pedagogical practices. 

Intercultural competence (IC)

In many of the pilot projects and the subsequent interviews, participants (both teacher candidates and current professors in the Faculties of Education) stated they do not know how to integrate intercultural competence into their teaching practices. Despite multiple pilot projects being targeted at this particular pillar of success, participants still attest to a high degree of discomfort surrounding topics such as equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). We found that teacher candidates and professors need more explicit examples and practices of how they can implement EDI and intercultural competence in their classrooms. Some barriers for teacher candidates who wish to integrate intercultural competence into their practice is their lack of appropriate French vocabulary on these topics, lack of knowledge. 

We have found that support and development happens through creating institutional space for FSL to matter, and in these spaces, we can emphasize the importance of intercultural competence.  

Language proficiency (LP)

Throughout this study, all pilot project participants have reported feeling inadequate in their French language proficiency, and that they feel the need for more opportunities to use and develop their French within and outside of their teacher education programs.  

It is overwhelmingly clear from interview data that teacher candidates all have a high level of linguistic insecurity when it comes to their second language. In most interviews, teacher candidates claim they do not feel proficient enough to be in the FLS teacher education program. It seems as though the teacher candidates are self-assessing a high level of linguistic proficiency in the survey for themselves personally, but once in the program, their language proficiency transitions from personal to relational amongst their peers. Moreover, despite the language surveillance of teacher candidates’ level through proficiency tests, they still claim a high degree of linguistic insecurity once in the program. This is evidently a major issue for teacher candidates because linguistic insecurity can impede their participation in the Faculty of Education, and consequently impede them from benefiting from the numerous language support and growth opportunities within the FSL teacher program.

Collaborative professionalism (CP)

In our interview data, it was found that teacher candidates attest to having experienced collaborative professionalism within their teacher education, but they do not feel they are ‘good’ at it or that they can participate in an effective way. Our findings speak largely about how to foster a collaborative environment through the creation and negotiation of learning communities.

Throughout the interviews, it was clear that teacher candidates knew what a learning community was and felt they had been a part of one in their courses through their Faculties of Education. They mentioned aspects of a learning community such as mutual respect, allowing space for discussion/debate, feeling comfortable, being open, and learning from each other and with each other. Teacher candidates often mentioned intercultural competence, language proficiency, and pedagogical knowledge being fostered and growing within these learning communities. Learning communities were found to be places in which all of the pillars are put together; places in which experiential learning and collaborative professionalism join hands because instead of just discussing these topics, they are able to finally participate in them which is where the real learning takes place. We also found that teacher candidates’ definition of collaborative professionalism was mostly centered around themselves and their fellow teacher candidates, whereas the learning communities we strive to build in our faculties should be manifested at different levels.