L’élaboration d’un cadre de référence pour l’évaluation de programmes de formation professionnelle agricole basée sur la compétence au Maroc : une recherche-action participative

This thesis deals with the issue of the evaluation of agricultural vocational training (AVT) programs developed according to the competency-based approach (CBA) in Morocco. On the basis of an in-depth analysis of the context of their implementation in this country, it highlights the methods currently used to assess their effectiveness, but also the dissatisfaction that these generate among the actors concerned.  This research is based on the assumption that the involvement of all stakeholders in conducting a fourth-generation participatory evaluation (Guba and Lincoln, 1989) would lead to more acceptable and usable results to improve the quality of these programs. Concomitantly, it aims to answer the following specific question: How does the negotiation process unfold within a participatory approach to the evaluation of training programs aimed at both the recognition and improvement of stakeholders' evaluative practices, the co-construction of a concerted and useful evaluation reference framework, and the contribution to their emancipation? In this perspective, six objectives are pursued. On the scientific side, it is about: 1) refine the understanding of the processes of conduct of the participatory approach to programs evaluation; 2) describe and analyze the modes of negotiation that develop at the heart of the interactional dynamics between participants in a context of plurality; and 3) identify learnings and changes induced by participation in programs evaluation. On the practical side, it is about: 1) produce a collaborative and usable evaluation framework by fostering collaboration among stakeholders; 2) improve their evaluative capacities through the appropriation of an approach to the implementation of a participatory evaluation; and 3) promote the development and anchoring of a culture of participatory evaluation in their professional environment. To do this, community-based action research (Stringer, 1999) which gives a central place to the practical knowledge and the conception of the competent social actor of Giddens (1987) is carried out in collaboration with 15 participants. The research spanned over 9 months, from fall 2019 to summer 2020, and involved the various stakeholders responsible for the design, management, and implementation of AVT programs. To document the process of its realization, the methodological approach adopted was based on a logbook, on individual interviews and in particular on group interviews. Data from group interviews were processed using thematic analysis, conversational analysis and conversational negotiation analysis. On a scientific level, the results of this research highlighted the diversity of practices and stakeholder views in relation to the evaluation of AVT programs developed according to the CBA in Morocco (chapter IV) as well as the negotiation process and power games that underlie the interactions between the participants (chapter V). In addition, some individual and collective learning and changes seem to be induced by the participatory process. On a practical level, the main result is the identification of the components (objectives, evaluation criteria, data collection methods, etc.) of a reference framework for the evaluation of the programs concerned, components resulting from the needs and concerns of the stakeholders and to which they adhere because of their involvement in the process of their determination (annex 12).

Keyphrases: Recherche-action participative, Agricultural vocational training, Competency-based approach, Program evaluation, Participatory evaluation approaches, Evaluation reference framework, Conversational negotiation modes, Competent social actor, Participatory action-research.