Introduction

The new Advanced Master in Teacher Education’s program in teacher training (MSFE2MC) is aimed at teacher trainers. This program is jointly offered by UCLouvain and three partner Hautes écoles (EPHEC, Haute école Louvain en Hainaut and Haute école Léonard de Vinci). Each of the four partners has recognised expertise in teacher training. UCLouvain has long been involved in teacher training through the continuing education it offers to practising teachers (via the Master's programme in educational sciences, FOPA2M) and, in particular, its "teacher training" option, which trains future psycho-pedagogues.
As part of the reform of initial teacher training (FIE Decree, 2019), the training of teacher educators in teacher training programmes has been rethought. It requires this Advanced Master in Teacher Education to teach teaching units in axes 3, 4 & 6 of the decree, as well as in axis 1 for what concerns the didactic aspects of the topics to be taught by the future teacher (cf. article 48, § 1 - DFIE).
This Advanced Master (MSFE2MC) meets this requirement. Graduates of this programme will be deemed to have the CAPAES, which is the qualification required for appointment to a Haute école (cf. decree CAPAES).
Since 2002, it has contributed to the training of higher education teachers through the organisation of the CAPAES (co-organised with the CPFB, a social promotion organisation) as well as through the organisation of its Advanced Master in teaching and learning in higher education, which aims to enable teachers and assistants from universities and colleges to carry out applied research in its field (a programme offered since 2002, and co-organised with the University of Namur since 2008).
Since 2014, UCLouvain has also been offering a university certificate in professional practice supervision, in partnership with the three Hautes écoles, partners in this programme.
Since September 2023, UCLouvain has been jointly awarding degrees with each of the partner Hautes écoles for the new Bachelor's and Master's programs in teaching for Sections 1, 2 & 3, organized within each Haute école. It also offers, with these same partners (except for Hénallux), a new university certificate in internship supervision for teachers in training (CUES - https://uclouvain.be/fr/etudier/formation-maitres-de-stage.html).

 

Your profile

This Advanced Master is offered for professionals in the field of teacher education who wish to develop new skills as teacher educators.

Your programme

The main assets of the proposed programme can be summarised as follows :

• Accompanying in-service professionals : the opportunity of being trained, in group activities organised specifically for teacher educators, and of exchanging with colleagues in the same profession.
• Analysis of one's own training practices : this allows for a dynamic of professional development, encourages feedback from the analysis of practices with a view to organising a one-day sharing of practices, based on the captstone activity of axis 1. This allows for the exchange and transfer of practices in the HE.
• Improvement of one's practices, by being able to argue for innovations and changes implemented : return and sharing of research carried out for dissertations, via a seminar or one-day seminar and the possibility of disseminating this work (oral communication, even publications)
• Possibility of organising joint work, in part with colleagues from HE
• Training is supported by its partner higher education institution and by the University (contractualisation)
• Obtaining this Advanced Master allows you to hold the CAPAES (cf. art. 48, §2, DFIE)
• This Advanced Master is required to teach in axes 3, 4 & 6 of the decree, as well as in axis 1 for what concerns the didactical aspects of the subjects which will be taught by the future teacher (cf. article 48, § 1 - DFIE)

The teacher educator teaches future teachers how to practice and develop for their future profession. This requires a different kind of expertise from that of a teacher in his/her own discipline. This programme focuses on a strong interaction between practice and theory: in this programme the emphasis is on relevance to and transfer to one's own practice.

One's own practice as a teacher educator serves as a starting point and is worked on throughout the programme. These professional experiences are critically examined, challenged and supported by relevant scientific research and theoretical frameworks. In addition, students are encouraged to 'question' / study their own practices. In this way, they deepen their understanding of the "why" behind the "how", acquire a scientifically grounded language to look at and talk about their professional activities more accurately and become more competent to improve this practice.

This is why the programme consists of ten teaching units (TUs) divided into the following two training axes: (1) analysis of practice and (2) reflective perspective on initial teacher training programmes and their effects.

Given the professional practice of the candidates in this programme, the two training axes have been designed to be followed in succession and to be taken over two academic years, at the request of the student (in which case axis 1 is taken in year 1 and axis 2 the following year). However, they may be attended in parallel, depending on the student's choice to complete the entire programme in a 60-credit year.