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4141 -
SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS
(Enseignants/enseignantes au niveau secondaire)
In Quebec, all people have a right to a high school education. Naturally, it would be impossible to provide this education without all the teachers who lead the learning activities inside each and every classroom.
Many aspects of teacher's jobs are self-evident as, for better or for worse, most Quebecers have at least some memory of the teachers who helped shape their teenage years. Teachers do the relatively obvious tasks of preparing classroom learning activities for their students as well as assigning and correcting their tests, assignments and homework. All this material must conform to a pre-approved curriculum that their students must eventually master.
Teachers will often specialize in a particular discipline (such as a Math teacher, an English teacher, an Art teacher and many others). When students have difficulty with the material, teachers must prepare new methods such as remedial programs to provide extra help. As well, they may advise students on course selections and personal and career matters.
As well, teachers must participate in staff meetings, educational conferences, and teaching workshops with other teachers to help ensure that their teaching methods are effective. They may also supervise student teachers so that the student teacher may obtain on-the-job training before working independently.
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At present, employment prospects are excellent.
A good sign is that the current workforce is relatively old, which means that many teachers will be retiring, thereby creating job openings. However, most of the openings are currently due to reforms that changed the number of hours taught in various subjects, and it is expected that this new shortage will be resolved rather quickly.
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Given the nature of their work, it should come as no surprise that a university education is required to become a teacher. More specifically, a bachelor's degree in education is a necessity for becoming a teacher.
To become a teacher of an academic subject (math, biology, etc.), a bachelor's degree in the arts or sciences should be obtained prior to pursuing a bachelor of education degree. A History teacher, for example, should first obtain a Bachelor's degree in Hisory.
To become a teacher of a vocational or technical subject, it is necessary to obtain the appropriate training and/or experience in the appropriate field before pursuing the bachelor of education degree.
Teachers with enough experience may become department heads, or even move up to become a senior administrator (such as a vice-principal) at their schools.
University-level program are offered in the Townships in English at Bishop's University and in French at the Université de Sherbrooke.
Particularly important high school courses include:
English
Math
Social Studies
Science
Secondary school teachers comprise similar numbers of men (46.2%) and women (53.8%).
83.5% of Quebec's secondary school teachers work full-time, slightly above the provincial average of 79.8% across all occupations. However, since many teachers do not work during the summer holidays, only 39.2% of them work both full-time and full-year. This is well below the provincial average of 52.7%.
86.2% of Quebec's teachers possess at least a bachelor's degree, which is well above the provincial average of 18.7%.
8.7% of Quebec's teachers are immigrants, which is slightly below the provincial average of 10.2% in all professions.
The unemployment rate for secondary school teachers across Canada is 3%, which is below the average of 7%.
The average yearly salary for secondary school teachers in Quebec is $47,852, which is above the provincial average of $39,150 across all professions.
In all of Canada, the average wage is $27.57 per hour, which compares favourably with the national average of $18.07.
LANGUAGE SKILLS
Visit http://www.topportunity.ca/improvefrench.aspx for more information on how to improve your French!
Sources:
- Guide pratique des études universitaires au Québec 2007 (pp.182-195)
- http://www150.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/asp/emploi/emploiAG.asp
- http://www.jobfutures.ca/noc/4141p1.shtml
- http://www.usherbrooke.ca/
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