La réception affective et comportementale du programme d'ÉCR chez les enseignants du primaire : analyse de l'implantation et de la mise en oeuvre d'une innovation éducative

This doctoral thesis, comprised of 4 distinct scientific articles, centers around a study on the emotional and comportemental reception of the Ethics and Religious Culture (ERC) program by elementary school teachers of the Montreal area in relation with its adoption and implementation. The main objectives were 1) to analyze the teachers’ stages of interest and concerns related to the implementation of the ERC program; 2) to describe the reception and the implementation of the ERC program from the perspective of elementary teachers. This second objective is further comprised of two sub-objectives: A) to identify the teachers’ levels of use of the ERC program; B) to explore the elementary teachers’ perceptions of the ERC program and its implementation. To achieve these objectives, we first present an article exposing our conceptual framework. The three other articles, collected under chapter IV, present the results of this study. The first chapter addresses the research problem which highlights issues surrounding the implementation process of the ERC program: the deconfessionalization of Quebec’s educational system, its social, political and judicial context, its alignment with the competency-based approach, its limitations in term of training and teaching resources, the professional posture required, and the lack of research on the specifics of large-scale program implementation in elementary school and the reception of change by teachers. In the second chapter, we present the three foremost perspectives on organizational change (rationalism, gradualism and hybrid) as well as five specific models of change and innovation [Rogers (2003), Cros (2004), Fullan (2007), Lewin (1951), et Hall & Hord (2014)] in a critical light to better justify our epistemic choices. As mentioned, the first article illustrates the theoretical background and the state of scientific knowledge on the different factors that can influence the adhesion and the mobilization of teachers in the context of implementation of educational programs and reforms. Following the analysis of a large body of theoretical and empirical studies on the subject, we humbly present the FAMEC model (Factors of Adhesion and Mobilization in Educational Change). The inventoried factors allow for a better understanding of the reception of change in educational context from the perspective of the agents responsible for its implementation. This article acts as a response to a precedently published paper in the same journal criticizing the concept of resistance to change and proposes an alternative in explaining the difficulties encountered by agents tasked with implementing new educational programs. This chapter concludes with our research objectives. The second article, centered around our first objective, reports on results obtained from 114 elementary teachers from the Montreal area with the Stage of Concerns (SoC) questionnaire. Those results show that most participants report little preoccupation with the ERC program, that they would need more information on the subject and that many would like it replaced. Our principal recommendation is directed at principals and supports the use of this questionnaire to foster a better understanding on the implementation of educational innovations and facilitate the follow-up on teachers’ main preoccupations with implementation. vii The third chapter is devoted to the methodological aspect of this exploratory study of mixed methods design. Each of the articles, at Chapter IV, also detail the specific methods used. The third article investigates the levels of use of the ERC program of ten elementary teachers from the Montreal region. Using the Hall & Hord (2014) branching interview we situated the participants on their level of use as per sub-objective 2A of this thesis.Information obtained from these interviews allows for a better understanding of the current use of the ERC programs by the participants. Results tend to indicate that most interviewees are relatively advanced users of the program. The diversity in personal and professional characteristics of the participants leads to discussions in relation with previous studies on the relation between implementation of change and the gender, professional experience and the level of training of the agents. The fourth and last article gives voice to the elementary teachers interviewed about their perception of the adoption and implementation of the ERC program (sub-objective 2B). As it pertains to the principal emerging themes from the exploratory semi-directed part of the interview, participants discussed problematic areas such as professional posture, training received, disponibility teaching material and human resources, students assessment, etc. Results were grouped in three principal categories to better explore teachers’ perceptions in relation to condition of implementation, adoption of the program and perceived effects on students and teachers. Finally, chapter V summarizes the sum of our results from the current study on emotional and comportemental reception of the ERC program by elementary teachers. This global analysis brings forth the Hall & Hord (2014) CBAM model and other theoretical perspectives of change and adoption of innovation in education to better enrich our discussion. Several further reflections are shared in this last part of our study and the limits and contributions of the study are outlined. In conclusion, this doctoral thesis suggests that a lacking implementation process on the part of an educational program’s stakeholders invites a lacking adoption and mobilization on the part of the agents of change, pointing directly to the importance of the human dimension of the implementation process.

Keyphrases: Stages of Concern, Branching Interview, Levels of Use, CBAM