A Study of Three Experiments of the Harmonization of Vocational and Technical Education in Quebec
Abstract:
In the mid-1990s, the Ministère de l'Éducation du Québec invited vocational education centres and cégeps to work together on harmonizing various curricula in order to facilitate students’ transition from the high-school level vocational programs to the cégep-level technical programs. This research is aimed at analyzing and comparing the harmonization performed by three associations of secondary schools and cégeps that completed this process. The theoretical framework is based on American research which has described different phases of the harmonization experiences, as well as a model of inter-level interrelationships. This research adopts a case study approach, and the data have been gathered by means of interviews with 7 directors or principals, 4 education professionals and 10 teachers from the institutions concerned. The analysis takes into consideration the conditions of emergence, activities related to planning and implementing the harmonization process, and the role of various actors. A comparative analysis of the three associations also serves to further bring out the complexity of these harmonization experiences.
Author:
Louise Menard
Louise Ménard is a professor in the Education Department of the Université du Québec à Montréal. She received a doctorate in educational psychology from the Université de Montréal. Her research is concentrated in the areas of cégep-level teaching and the organization of vocational and technical education.