Brief submitted by the Association of Deans, Deans and Directors, Directors for the Study and Education Research in Quebec (ADEREQ) as part of the public consultation on the project to create a national institute of excellence in education
Preamble
ADEREQ submits a brief as part of the public consultation on the project to create a national institute of excellence in education (INEÉ). From the outset, it is important to mention that ADEREQ, given the time granted to produce a brief, wants to bring to the attention of the Minister concerns regarding the orientations and issues presented in the consultation document. We will also provide answers to questions relating to the creation of the INÉ. Also, it seems essential to us to underline that individually, the members of ADEREQ could have nuanced comments on certain elements that we will mention. Moreover, some faculties of education or departments of education will also submit a brief as part of this consultation.
Notes on the process and the consultation document
It should be noted that the role of universities is completely absent from the consultation document. However, universities produce a lot of research results and they have structures for the continuous training of teaching staff. In addition, professors in the sciences of education are key players when it comes to research in education.
The notions of evidence-based results and practices proven or based on evidence-based results and the importance given in terms of scientific value presented in Table 9 of the consultation document raise several questions. The gradation of the levels of scientific proof in question ignores the very nature of the problem, the research question and the methodological limits inherent in all research. All types of research include criteria of validity and scientificity. By the same token, they can therefore be used to shed light on practices. We believe that if the INÉ wants to achieve its first objective, which is “to draw up the most objective possible synthesis of the state of scientific knowledge available, in Quebec and elsewhere, on all questions concerning educational success”, it must take into account the varied research, various epistemologies which respect, in their own way, the criteria of validity and scientificity. As formulated in the consultation document, there seems to be only one recommended research model.