Doctor Defends Thesis on Development and Validation of Gross Motor Skills Assessment Tool for Preschool Teachers

Naomie Fournier Dubé welcomes people with a smile. We feel she is in control and sure of herself despite the nervousness that is inevitable in the circumstances. In a few minutes, she defends her thesis which is entitled Development and validation process of a gross motor skills assessment tool for preschool teachers 5 years old.

The new doctor in education sees the culmination of four years of work.

“Obtaining the doctorate is a great achievement. I’m proud of it,” rejoices Naomie Fournier Dubé. “But what I’m most proud of is the creation of a relevant assessment tool,” she enthuses.

Sylvain Letscherprofessor and director of Naomie Fournier Dubé’s thesis, agrees.

“She chose her subject after noticing shortcomings, both practical and scientific. To do this, she carefully considered the comments of the teaching staff, she was attentive and sensitive to the needs expressed by the teaching and research community,” he says.

The work carried out by the doctoral student will have direct and concrete repercussions in the community.

“Teachers will benefit from an assessment tool for an aspect of motor development, gross motor skills, which is not very well covered. For children, we see an improvement in gross motor skills since we can imagine that teachers will offer more activities to develop it. Finally, the scope of the project is not only social and practical, it is also scientific since the methodology can be applied to other projects,” she explains.

A dissemination plan has been developed to ensure that the information reaches as many people as possible. A booklet has been produced and will be sent to all pedagogical advisers in Quebec. In addition, the writing and publication of professional and scientific articles is on the program.

An exceptional course

How do you prepare for a thesis defense?

“I am really well surrounded and I have benefited from the support of my peers, and more particularly that of the teachers Charlaine St-Jean et Marilyn Dupuis Brouillette “says the doctor. “The course prepares us well for this crucial stage,” she adds.

“Not many of them make it to this stage. And just as quickly,” says Professor Letscher.

The various speakers were quick to highlight Naomie’s qualities: generous, curious, rigorous, popularizer.

Moreover, Marie-Hélène Hébert, professor at TELUQ and co-director of the thesis, underlines the rigor of the new doctor in the use of quantitative and qualitative data to support her research-development type research in the measurement and evaluation of learning.

Throughout her career, Naomie Fournier Dubé has contributed to numerous research projects.

The quality of her file allowed her to be hired before the end of her doctorate as a professor in the evaluation of learning and skills at the University of Montreal.

During her doctoral studies, Mrs. Fournier Dubé won the $70,000 doctoral scholarship offered by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC) and a $20,000 scholarship from the financial support program for doctoral students in education sciences – Relève professorale en sciences de l’éducation – offered by the Ministry of Higher Education.

“Throughout these four years, I have created extraordinary bonds. Not just academically. I met people who will be by my side for the rest of my career. I have developed a fantastic network of contacts,” says Professor Fournier Dubé.

family history

The teacher Sonia Fournier is the mother of the new doctor. An extremely proud mother, it goes without saying. Proud of her daughter’s journey and the fact that she has become a source of inspiration.

Extremely rare, there are two doctors in education in the family since Ms. Fournier also obtained her doctorate in education at UQAR and teaches arts at the departmental unit of educational sciences.

“Proud and happy, I live a beautiful mix of emotions”, launches the one who affectionately calls her daughter, Nao.

“I am satisfied today. I have always wished Nao to live his passions, to pursue his dreams, to flourish, to emancipate himself and to be happy,” says the mother, who remembers her daughter’s interest in research and education from an early age. “She was my research assistant in 4^e primary year,” recalls Professor Fournier.

The saying that the apple never falls far from the tree applies perfectly here since Naomie Fournier Dubé’s father also works in the field of education. He was a physical education teacher and works as a school principal. “I follow in their footsteps. I am a happy mix of the two,” says the researcher proudly.

Naomie Fournier Dubé’s brother is also a graduate of UQAR, in engineering.

The jury consisted of Thomas Rajotteprofessor of mathematics education at UQAR and president of the jury, Sylvain Letscher, also professor at UQAR and director of the thesis, Marie-Hélène Hébert, professor at TELUQ and co-director of the thesis, David Bezeau, professor at the University of Sherbrooke and Mathieu Point, professor at UQTR.