Instruction, socialisation and qualification social studies instruction in a crossfire of the threefold socio-educational mission of the Quebec school system

Abstract

This article examines partial data drawn from semi-structured interviews about initial teacher
education with preschool and primary teachers, prior to beginning their careers. The text highlights the conceptions of pre-service teachers regarding the ultimate goals inherent to the instruction of social studies at the primary level, as well as the course’s contribution to the development of the threefold socio-educational mission of the Quebec school system. The results show that teachers primarily believed the course’s contribution to be focused on the development of
socially acceptable attitudes in students, as well as a knowledge and understanding of history and
societal functioning geared toward the students’ optimal adaptation to their society. These results
raise questions about the impact of initial teacher education on pre-service teacher reflections pertaining to the social studies program, its epistemological foundations, ultimate goals, subjects of teaching-learning and evaluation, and its related teaching and learning processes.