Duration
30h Th
Number of credits
| Master of education, Section 4: French as a foreign language | 5 crédits |
Lecturer
Marie Housen, Mickaël Idrac, Doriane Jaegers, Pierre Lerusse, Deborah Meunier, Grégory Voz, Christophe Winkin
Coordinator
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the second semester
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
Teaching is not limited to the transmission of knowledge: it also involves the ability to question one's practices, to draw on research-based knowledge, and to contribute to it in order to develop contextualized responses to educational challenges. In a complex school context, this ability to rely on research becomes an essential component of teacher professional identity.
It is within this perspective that the decree of February 7, 2019, on initial teacher training was established. This decree reinforced the role of educational research in the curriculum. It specifies that training must enable students to "develop a reflective stance" and to "draw on research to analyze and improve their practices" (art. 5). It also establishes a specific axis "in and through research in education and didactics" (art. 19).
Within this framework, this course serves as an entry point into the culture of research in education and disciplinary didactics. It pursues four objectives:
1. Identify the essential elements of the scientific research approach.
2. Initiate students into documentary research.
3. Critically read scientific articles in the field of education and didactics.
4. Identify and articulate the components of scientific research (research question, data collection, corpus construction, analytical framework, methods, data analysis).
Research is therefore not approached as an external activity reserved for specialists, but as an integral component of teaching practice that allows for a deeper understanding of what occurs in educational situations. It contributes to fostering a reflective and critical stance by distancing certain professional assumptions (Kahn et al., 2018). By mobilizing diverse approaches-both qualitative and quantitative (Creswell & Guetterman, 2025 ; Fortin & Gagnon, 2022 ; Hascoët et al., 2024) -research thus serves as a lever for learning and professional development for future teachers.
Concretely, the course offers a progressive and experiential approach that leads to:
- Introducing students to the key concepts of a research approach (problems, research questions, and hypotheses);
- Familiarizing students with scholarly writings, methodological approaches, and research objects in education and disciplinary or general didactics;
- Supporting students in documentary research, critical reading, and comprehension of scientific texts;
- Presenting the various data collection methods or corpus selection strategies, along with their scientific and practical advantages and limitations;
- Introducing students to the fundamentals of data analysis, both quantitative and qualitative;
- Initiating students into research methods and questions specific to their disciplinary didactics;
- Equipping students with skills in scientific writing.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
- Read, analyze, and relate the scientific literature in education and/or disciplinary didactics to their professional practice;
- Formulate a relevant research question based on the scientific literature, link it to a theoretical framework and an appropriate methodology, and connect these elements to data to be analyzed.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
No administrative prerequisites are required to take this course. However, it is recommended that students have acquired:
- Skills in reading and understanding scientific texts in French, with an openness to reading in English;
- Writing and written argumentation skills;
- Intellectual curiosity and a willingness to reflect on their professional practice.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
- Lectures (instructor-led presentations)
- Reading of scientific articles
- Exercises
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Further information:
Face-to-face sessions, with integration of digital tools (eCampus platform) for resource provision, submission of assignments, and support for individual work.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- eCampus
Further information:
- Course notes available on eCampus
- Scientific articles in education and didactics
- Reference works on research methodology in education
Written work / report
Continuous assessment
Further information:
Individual work: Research project including:
- A contextualized problem statement and a precisely formulated research question;
- An initial theoretical framework linked to the research question;
- A justified methodological proposal;
- A scientific bibliography.
Participation in all seminars: a necessary condition for receiving the grade ("green light") (further details will be provided during the course).
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
Course co-organized by pedagogy experts, sociologists, and didacticians.
Contacts
Doriane Jaegers : djaegers@uliege.be
Marie Housen : marie.housen@uliege.be
Mickaël Idrac : midrac@uliege.be
Deborah Meunier : dmeunier@uliege.be