The 5th Symposium on the transfer of knowledge in education was held on April 19 at Laval University, organized by the Transfer Center for Educational Success of Quebec (CTREQ). The event was presented in a hybrid format and aimed to highlight a skill that has been put to the test over the past three years: rapid adaptation.
The opening lecture was given by Rose-Marie Charest, former president of the Order of Psychologists of Quebec from 1998 to 2015, who now devotes herself to her career as a communicator. She shared a personal message on the importance of adapting to all contexts and changing your perspective to learn from it.
She said: “Everybody feels fear, but nobody wants to admit it. All change starts with yourself. Let us be kind to ourselves and to others”.
Rose-Marie Charest also sent two specific messages to the educators present:
- Feed children’s curiosity. “If we are curious, we are happier. »
- In education, we are not only fighting material poverty. It should not be forgotten.
School-family-community collaboration
At the end of the morning, the participants gathered to attend a discussion between Catherine Ratelle, Mélanie Marsolais and Anne-Marie Picard on the school-family-community relationship.
Catherine Ratelle holds the Canada Research Chair in Parenting Practices and Educational and Vocational Trajectories. Anne-Marie Picard is Director General of the Regional Committee for the Promotion of Education (CREVALE). As for Mélanie Marsolais, she is the executive director of the Regroupement des organizations communautaire québécois de contre la décrochage (ROCLD).
Ms. Ratelle recalled the importance of two-way communication between the school and the family, emphasizing that it must take place “not only when things are going badly”. Ms. Picard also stressed the need to “focus on the positive to engage the parent”. They also noted that the school needs to provide a welcoming climate, as well as services and resources for parents, especially regarding their digital literacy.
Ms. Marsolais also pointed out that all parents want to help their children, but they do not always have the necessary knowledge to do so. The community setting can help build a bridge between family and school. She also emphasized that educational success is not limited to what happens at school.
“Let’s not forget that educational success is not limited to what happens in school,” she said.
The importance of transfer
Many presentations took place during the day, all aimed at sharing experiences and research projects carried out over the past years to influence practices in the field.
At the end of the day, a final discussion took place in the main room on the importance of holding this type of event to allow people from the field and research to meet.
“Transfer is not a straight line, it’s a spiral that grows with sharing. You have to go from transfer to exchange so that the discussion becomes two-way. It is important to maintain the dialogue and to consider all points of view,” said Thérèse Laferrière, professor at the Faculty of Education at Laval University and well known in the community for her expertise in knowledge transfer. .
She also underlined that the sciences of education remain inexact and that it is crucial to take into account the human first. “There is no recipe in education. Research informs and becomes a possibility, but actors in the field must interpret it according to their reality. Over time, practices change,” she concluded.
The content of certain conferences will be available on the Symposium website in the coming weeks.