Acfas highlights the work of thinkers in education and philosophy

This text is part of the special section Acfas prices

They have devoted their careers to the study of children’s learning of French, the teaching profession in Quebec society, and even Greek philosophy to better understand modern democracies. Acfas, whose mission is to promote research and innovation as well as scientific culture in the French-speaking world, highlights the exceptional contribution to research of Marie-France Morin, Maurice Tardif and Jean-Marc Narbonne.

Jean-Marc Narbonne: defending democracy through the lens of history

2023 winner of the André-Laurendeau Prize for the human sciences, letters and the arts, specialist in Greek philosophy Jean-Marc Narbonne devotes his career to the study of democracy from a historical and modern point of view.

“There are many threats weighing on our democracies, external threats to democratic regimes which call them into doubt, internal threats, such as a lack of conviction, a sort of distrust or despair in the face of our institutions, observes the full professor at the Faculty of Philosophy at Laval University. The latter also holds the Canada Research Chair in Critical Antiquity and Emerging Modernity.

“Studying democracy from a historical point of view allows us to put the problems we have now into perspective and observe them with a little distance,” continues Mr. Narbonne. My goal is to help people see that our democratic tradition is worth defending. I do it for the long term. The democratic tradition has always been a challenge and, at the same time, a great hope. It is a tradition of compromise. »

“Ancient and modern democracies are not disconnected. In the Greek philosophical tradition, there are elements that explain our modernity today. I try to show how this critical and democratic tradition nourishes and underpins our culture, he adds, emphasizing the importance of teamwork within his research chair. I am very happy with this recognition, it highlights the work I have done and the project I am leading, it really makes me want to continue! »

Marie-France Morin: building a collaborative network around learning French

The Adrien-Pouliot Prize for scientific cooperation with France is awarded to Marie-France Morin, full professor at the Faculty of Education at the University of Sherbrooke. The latter is an expert in learning to read and write in French among preschool and primary school children.

Over the last 20 years, she has also created a research collaboration network between Quebec and France. This network includes 23 researchers affiliated with 10 French universities. “What is extremely difficult in research, but what she has succeeded in is structuring a research network in a sustainable manner,” underlines her colleague Geneviève Paquette, professor in the Department of Psychoeducation at the University of Sherbrooke and director scientist from the Research and Intervention Group on Social Adaptations in Childhood (GRISE). This is the culmination of a very long-term work. »

From 2013, Marie-France Morin organized an international symposium on literacy at school, which became a gathering place for researchers and students working on the theme. She is regularly invited as a speaker at international scientific events. For nearly 12 years, she held a Research Chair on learning to read and write in young children, through which she led numerous collaborative and multidisciplinary projects. Geneviève Paquette gives as an example the NumEc project, which allowed the creation of technological tools to dissect the child’s gestures when learning to write.

“It’s an expertise that has very tangible benefits in the lives of children,” believes the scientific director of GRISE. M^me Morin has always been dedicated to finding better methods which are very important for children’s development. »

Maurice Tardif: studying the teaching profession

Maurice Tardif devoted his career to the teaching profession. The one who was a professor in the Department of Administration and Foundations of Education at the University of Montreal will not have had time to find out about his appointment to Acfas. The Jeanne-Lapointe Prize for Educational Sciences was awarded to him posthumously.

“He was very passionate and very curious. He was very invested. He greatly valued school as a lever for all children, a lever so that people can flourish and free themselves,” considers Cecilia Maria Ferreira Borges, professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Montreal. Despite the mourning, she cannot help but smile warmly as she recounts Mr. Tardif’s life in the service of education.

“This analysis of the nature of teaching work, from a sociohistorical perspective, is not disconnected from major societal issues and concrete working conditions in schools,” explains M.^me Ferreira Borges regarding the work of Mr. Tardif. According to her, the sociological approach of Mr. Tardif’s work is especially relevant for understanding the causes and solutions associated with the current teacher shortage, as well as the emerging challenges associated with the profession.

Maurice Tardif has notably published around a hundred articles in scientific journals, as well as around thirty individual and collective books and nearly 100 book chapters. He co-founded the Interuniversity Research Center on Training and the Teaching Profession (CRIFPE), which has now established itself as one of the most important research centers working in the field of the teaching profession in the French-speaking world.

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