The Higher Council for Education, Training and Scientific Research will be holding a symposium on 24 and 25 May 2016 on the theme : “Developing Teaching, Training, Management and Research Professions : Pillar of the Reform », hence dedicating one of its major public activities to the pedagogical actors, whom it considers the key vector of the reform of the education system.

 

Context

The development of teaching, training, management and research professions is one of the key vectors to change on which the Council’s Strategic Vision of Reform 2015-2030 is based. The Council emphasizes indeed that the reform depends on the continuous upgrading of skills and on the improvement of practicing conditions of all categories of education actors, at all levels : preschool educators, teachers, professional training instructors, school managers and pedagogical inspection, supervision and planning personnel, be it at the central, regional or provincial levels, or at the level of education, training and research institutions.

As a remainder, the Strategic Vision of Reform provides for the following :

• Redefining the missions, roles and skills profiles related to these professions, in such a way as to meet the requirements of society and to keep up with the changing functions and performances of school in Morocco and at the international level ;
• Encouraging all initiatives undertaken by education actors, aiming at innovating and promoting school, learning and training quality, in line with school programs and curricula ;
• Defining generic and specific skills profiles for every category of actors while taking into account work environment and conditions, free initiative, creativity, innovation and research ;
• Making initial training mandatory and professionalizing for all education professions, taking into consideration the particularities of each ;
• Opting for a continuous skills training throughout actors’ work life ;
• Managing actors’ career efficiently on the basis of support, assessment and performance and efficiency based promotion ;
• Providing actors with material and moral support and improving work and professions’ exercise conditions ;
• Establishing a balance between the exercise of rights and the performance of obligations in conjunction with responsibility and accountability. 

 

Focus

Reforming the education system as the ultimate goal of the Strategic Vision 2015-2030, relies mainly on the development of teaching, training, management and research professions. For this undertaking to match expectations, it has to take into account international standards and the evolution of these professions. It also implies an efficient professionalization of all these competencies.

This upgrading targets future generations of practitioners as well as those currently in office. Therefore, all actors must benefit from quality training programs that should allow them to attain a high level of professional qualification. Such programs should meet the requirements of the new roles and missions and of those of the levers of change advocated by the reform, to achieve ownership and continuous follow up of reform projects, guarantee internal and external efficiencies of the system and respond to the needs of a continuously evolving society.

Hence, upgrading turns out to be a key concept, for both quality and renewal of education professions. Its centrality makes it a unifying factor of all actors around a common pedagogical project. Professions’ development, quality training, proficiency, autonomy within collective and regulated work, initiative, research and innovation, engagement on the basis of rights and obligations… all of these are major corollary issues that will be discussed during this symposium.

 

Objectives

The symposium purports to offer an exceptional opportunity to realize the following goals :

• Making a closer assessment of the main issues linked to education professions ;
• Mapping out new trails for the renewal of education professions ;
• Enhancing permanent mobilization around the reform ;
• Presenting international experiences and success stories, identifying trends and promoting good practices in the field of pedagogical innovation ;
• Stimulating collective intelligence and initiating joint reflection on the present status of the different education professions and on the optimal ways to successful training and efficient performance assessment.

 

Themes

The symposium will address multiple and complementary themes that should allow a comprehensive review of the issues related to education professions as well as that of the possible levers of change.

1. Educations professions : Present status and prospects : making a diagnosis of the present status of the different education professions at all levels of the education system : primary and secondary school, professional training, higher education and traditional education.
2. Education professions between traditional functions and new missions: rethinking roles and missions, in line with the evolution of school missions and services and with the needs of an evolving Moroccan and international society.
3. Education professions training, enhancing of skills and professional development: tackling initial, continuous and lifelong training, matching present and future education needs and means to ensure professional development.
4. Education professions: between professionalization, vocation and autonomy: examining the concept of professionalization in all its dimensions, redefining profiles, missions, skills and competencies.
5. Access conditions and ways (direct recruitment, recruitment on the basis of an examination, various contract methods…) :reviewing training, qualifications and prerequisites, motivations and development means, improvement of practice conditions.
6. Career management and assessment:seniority or performance and merit: discussing support, meritocracy, performance and efficiency.
7. Human resources management: opting for a centralized or a deconcentrated system?
   
8. Education professions between rights and obligations of the actors: examining the adequacy between exercise of rights and performance of duties in conjunction with accountability. The reflection will also bear on the project of a trust and development contract of education professions.

 

Approach

For the symposium to reach the prescribed goals, and taking into account the specific nature of the topic, the approach adopted for its organization has been based on the following:

• The participatory approach: basic principle that has guided the Council’s work since the beginning. This symposium is the emanation of a participatory approach that consisted of consulting the different stakeholders involved so as to identify trends, exchange views and recommendations on the present state and prospects of change of education professions.
• The Benchmarking: illustrated by international experiences, trends, standards and best practices.
• The outlining of education professions prospects: according to a global approach that purports to comprise, as much as possible, all the professions involved. This exercise would be held in a strategic and integrated perspective that includes access conditions, training, career and professional issues management as well as the question of the balance between rights and obligations.

Hence, the recommendations of the symposium, the written contributions expected and the mobilization of education actors and experts around the topic would serve to enrich the work of the standing committee on education, training and management professions at the Council and lead to propositions and recommendations on this subject.