Daily Archives: May 9, 2018

Immigration

In my school, there were a few children who had recently moved to the area from abroad.  Specifically, in the the CE2 class I was working in there were two young boys who had recently moved to France from countries in North Africa.  The teacher of the class explained to me that both these boys had a very poor level of French when they had first arrived and this was a challenge for both the children and the teachers when they had to communicate with one another.

Due to the pupils’ ages, as upper school pupils, when their classmates studied French Literacy and Grammar, these two boys would work from textbooks aimed at the earlier stages.  This level of differentiation seemed quite difficult for the teacher to manage as the boys needed a lot of her attention.  I also wondered whether this language barrier ever made the boys feel secluded from the rest of the class.  However, due to the teacher’s inability to split her time between her and the class the whole day, the boys took part in other lessons with the whole class in other curricular subjects.  This meant that even over the short period that I was in the class, I noticed how much more they had integrated into the classroom environment and were now managing to communicate with their classmates much more confidently.

Immigration is becoming more of a recurring them across Europe and so I feel as though witnessing firsthand how children from other countries with language difficulties are accommodated for was valuable for me in the future.  It was also nice to see how the current political climate regarding immigration in France, which is met with some hostility, did not seem to filter into the school and that these children were not hindered by their cultural differences.

School Culture

Throughout my time in Orléans, I have noticed some key differences in the French lifestyle compared to the Scottish lifestyle, which have been interesting for me to experience.

One thing I have observed during my time here is that the relationships between the children and the teachers are quite different from in Scotland. I have noticed an increased level of respect from the children towards any adult, which is evidenced in some of their mannerisms. For example, whenever another adult enters the classroom, the whole class stands up as a sign of respect to their authority and they then wait to be told to sit back down. In response, I feel as though the teachers are more trusting of the pupils and there is an extra level of maturity from the children, even in CP, which I have seen when I have accompanied the children outside the school grounds.

Perhaps this increased level of maturity comes from the difference in the school structure and the ages at which a child reaches each stage. Children do not start formal schooling until age 6, making them a whole year older and more experienced than the children starting school in Scotland. Equally influential is the amount of time they spend in “maternelle” or nursery school. Children can attend nursery school from the age of 3 until they are 6, though attendance is not compulsory.

Recent debate in France has arose from French President, Emmanuel Macron’s declaration that school will be compulsory from the age of 3 from 2019, which has sparked more concern regarding teacher shortages in France, a large issue.  Cortes (2018) explains in his article for Marianne that if Macron’s plan was to go ahead, a minimum of 800 new teaching positions would have to be created to accommodate what is estimated as a further 25,000 pupils.  This will be difficult for the French Government as they are already facing teacher shortages, with one article explaining that people are not even considering the profession are they are put off by the insufficient wages and how difficult it is to enter the field academically (Bancaud, 2017).  Teacher shortages is an issue that has also plagued Scotland in recent years, however, the cultural aspects of the job, such as the difficult testing to achieve the qualification and the inability for teachers to choose where they want to work has made the profession even less desirable to the French.

Not only is the structure of the school different, the management of the school is also slightly different.  The main difference is that the Headteacher or “directeur/directrice” is part of the teaching staff and is responsible for their own class.  At my school, the teacher was present in the class 4 days a week and the children had another teacher on Tuesdays.  The Ministry of Education (2014) outline three main responsibilities of a Headteacher above and beyond a normal staff member, which are: to have pedagogical control, to control the operation of the school and to maintain relationships with parents and partners of the school.  In Scotland, the Headteacher would take a backseat from teaching in order to perform these extra duties, however, in France, this is not the case.  As a result, I felt as though the Headteacher’s attention was divided quite often as she performed the role of both a teacher and a director simultaneously, which must put a lot of strain on these teachers.

References

Bancaud, D.  (2017)  ‘How to fight against the shortage of teachers in the primary?’, 20 Minutes, 11 October.  Available at: https://www.20minutes.fr/societe/2149171-20171011-comment-lutter-contre-penurie-profs-primaire  (Accessed: 6 April 2018).

Cortes, A.  (2018)  ‘Preschool compulsory from 3 years old: ok, but with which teachers?’, Marianne, 28 March.  Available at :https://www.marianne.net/societe/ecole-maternelle-obligatoire-des-3-ans-d-accord-mais-avec-quels-profs  (Accessed: 4 April 2018).

Ministry of Education  (2014)  The Job of the School Director.  Available at: http://eduscol.education.fr/cid82065/le-metier-de-directeur-d-ecole.html  (Accessed: 5 April 2018).

Les Temps d’Activités Périscolaires

On Monday afternoons at my school, the children participated in, “Les Temps d’Activités Périscolaires”, or, as it was more frequently referred to as, “TAP”.  During this time, there is no formal teaching.  Instead, adults who specialised in various activities would come in to the school to teach sessions in their specialised field, normally those who have formed some sort of  partnership with the school and local government through the community.  Espinosa, Barthélémy and Dejaiffe (2016) categorise the activities offered during TAP as, “sports, play activities (for example: big games and board games) and artistic and cultural activities”.  On the noticeboard outside my school, there was a timetable, which outlined the activities offered during these sessions and the group of children participating in those activities each week.  Some examples of the activities on offer were creating art out of recyclable materials, learning different musical instruments and practicing sports, such as judo.  

In my school, there was a specific room where they kept some of the resources used for each activity.  However, they would also make use of the outdoor area, communal areas and other classrooms throughout the school as the teachers were not present for the sessions.  The sessions were optional for the children, though most children participated in them.  Due to the school day being very long (from 8.30am to 4.30pm) the children do not have as much time after school to take part in clubs out-with the school.  Plus, with the curriculum heavily focused on scholastic subjects, such as French and Maths, this period of time is perhaps the only time children have to expand their creative knowledge and develop skills and talents, all important to a well-rounded education.  The extra-curricular nature of the activities also allows the children to communicate with each other in a different, more relaxed setting, so that relationships are given the chance to grow and flourish.

Reference

Espinosa, G., Barthélémy, V. and Dejaiffe, B.  (2016)  ‘Extracurricular Activity Time (APT): school experience and transversal skills developed by students’, Education and Socialisation, online(41).  Available at: http://journals.openedition.org/edso/1718; DOI: 10.4000 / edso.1718  (Accessed: 28 March 2018).

 

The Impact of Placement

Overall, my placement has been an enjoyable experience and I have expanded my knowledge on several key issues regarding learning and teaching in the primary school, foreign languages and embracing different cultures.  One of the main benefits of the placement, for me, was having the opportunity to come abroad and experience a primary school from a different cultural perspective.  This has led to me making a lot of comparisons between Scotland and France, which has helped highlight to me some of the great features of school in Scotland and some of the aspects we could perhaps adopt from school in France.  I think that having the opportunity to compare two different education systems has helped me to become more critical and reflective, but it had also caused me to become more passionate about education in Scotland and what it stands for.  In France, their educational philosophies different significantly, they focused a lot more on academic achievement and teacher-led learning, as opposed to the more creative and child-centred learning through discovery and play promoted in Scotland.  These differences were even evident from the aesthetics of the classrooms, which left little to no room for group activities.

Before embarking on this placement, I had began to question whether primary teaching was suited to me after worrying whether I had explored every option.  However, this comparison has really opened my eyes and reassured me that I am following the right path.  This was further confirmed to me after experiencing some level of frustration when I was not given many opportunities to develop my practice and build a relationship with the pupils through teaching.  This was perhaps the biggest challenge of the placement, as I felt as though I was not given the opportunity to reach my full potential and grow as much as I did during first year placement.  However, I do understand that the intense period of observation I did in the school was still very valuable to me as a professional, as I was continually receiving new ideas and learning new techniques from more experienced teachers without the added intensity of having to be responsible for a full class for extended periods of time.

Living abroad has also impacted me on a personal level as this has been the longest period of time that I have spent away from home in Scotland.  Living in Orléans has had it’s challenges, even simple tasks, such as going to the supermarket, have been made quite difficult due to the language barrier and French culture meaning that shops are not open as regularly as in Scotland and the concept of convenience is very different from back home.  I think that from this experience, I have learnt how to be more independent and self-reliant, even just by managing manoeuvring public transport to and from school on my own.  My living situation has also brought out more of my communication skills as I have been living in shared student accommodation for the last 8 weeks.  This has involved having to share one small kitchen with 30 other people and also working with the other girls on my placement to coordinate meals and travel plans etc.

As a whole, I am proud of how I have adapted to being away from home and how I have pushed myself out of my comfort zone by working in a school where I had to speak French.  Being a position where I felt frustrated and unused has made me more determined to prove my worth to a team and so I feel as though when I am on my next placement, I will not be as shy and reserved as I might have been before.