Professional Competencies for Accompanying Change: A Frame of Reference

208 Pages·2009·1.3 MB·English

by  Louise Lafortune

FUSION
ColleCtion
The Fusion Collection published by Presses de l’Université du Québec is the product of
observations and concerns about the need for innovation, the possibility of transposing
ideas for training, and the crucial importance of bringing about change in a variety of
fields. This general interest collection, edited by Louise Lafortune, features works on
training and accompaniment that explore themes, theories, reflections, and theoretical
and practical perspectives.
professional
competencies
for
accompanying
change
FUSION
ColleCtion
Professional Accompaniment
Model for Change
For Innovative Leadership
Louise Lafortune
2009, 238 pages, isbn 978-2-7605-1610-6
GUIDE FOR ACCOMPANYING CHANGE
Louise Lafortune
2009, 110 pages, isbn 978-2-7605-1611-3
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professional
competencies
for
accompanying
change
A FRAME OF REFERENCE
Louise Lafortune
With Chantale Lepage, Franca Persechino
and Avril Aitken
Preface by Sylvie Turcotte
Afterword by Margaret Rioux-Dolan
With the participation of
Kathleen Bélanger, Nicole Boisvert, Karine Boisvert-Grenier,
Bernard Cotnoir, Bérénice Fiset, Sylvie Fréchette, Grant Hawley,
Carine Lachapelle, Nathalie Lafranchise, Reinelde Landry, Carrole Lebel,
France Plouffe and Gilbert Smith
2009
Presses de l’Université du Québec
Le Delta I, 2875, boul. Laurier, bur. 450
Québec (Québec) Canada G1V 2M2
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
and Library and Archives Canada cataloguing in publication
lafortune, louise, 1951-
Professional competencies for accompanying change : A frame of reference
(Collection Fusion ; 4)
Translation of : Compétences professionnelles pour l’accompagnement d’un
changement : un référentiel
includes bibliographical references.
isbn 978-2-7605-1609-0
1. employees - Coaching of. 2. Organizational change. 3. employees - Coaching
of - Québec (Province) - Case studies. i. lepage, Chantale. ii. Persechino, Franca.
iii. Title. iv. series: Collection Fusion ; 4.
HF5549.5.C53l33213 2009 658.3'124 C2009-940402-8
We are grateful for the financial assistance received from the Government
of Canada under the book Publishing industry development Program (bPidP).
Publication of this book was made possible through the financial support
of société de développement des entreprises culturelles (sOdeC).
layout : inFoScAn collette-Québec
Cover : richArd hodgSon
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 PUQ 2009 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
All rights reserved. No reproduction, translation, or adaptation without authorization.
© 2009 Presses de l’Université du Québec
legal deposit – 2nd quarter 2009
bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec / bibliothèque et Archives Canada
Printed in Canada
PREFACE
In the past decade, education systems have undergone signifi cant change
across Europe, Africa, and the Americas. This has been the case in Québec,
too. Societal expectations, as expressed during Québec’s estates general
on education in the mid-1990s, and the latest research in the fi eld, led
the education community to reexamine its conceptions about teaching,
learning, and evaluation. Changes were seen as necessary given that
schools were expected to prepare students for life in a constantly
changing world fraught with increasingly diffi cult challenges.
For organizations, change on this scale represents a number of
stimulating challenges. Transforming conceptions and practices takes
time, and the people involved need guidance to navigate the complex
process, because change—even prescribed and directed change—cannot
be imposed. This is why it is so important to help organization personnel
take ownership of change and better understand its positive impact.
In light of this, Québec’s Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du
Sport decided to support a six-year research-accompaniment-training
project (2002–2008) to implement the Québec Education Program. This
project resulted in Professional Competencies for Accompanying Change,
the frame of reference presented in this book. This frame of reference is
largely based on the results of the research conducted under this project,
but is also inspired by research conducted around the world.
viii
Professional Competencies for Accompanying Change
Although the “accompaniment” competencies described here are
associated with implementing prescribed change in education, they can
easily be translated to other organizational contexts where major changes
are needed.
In addition to describing and reporting the results and impact of
the research-accompaniment-training project, this frame of reference can
serve as a tool for refl ection and intervention in initial staff training and
professional development, notably for exploring in more depth concepts
related to the development of a knowledge culture crucial to “accompa-
nying” the employees of an organization. This requires that those provid-
ing accompaniment develop professional practices consistent with the
foundations of the change at hand.
During the course of the research-accompaniment-training project,
the project team was called upon to play an accompanying role, even as
team members themselves were learning the socioconstructivist accom-
paniment approach. As a result, the need to clarify the nature of “profes-
sional competencies for accompaniment” quickly became clear. This
frame of reference is based on the work of these educators and academics
who visited a cross-section of institutions throughout the Québec edu-
cational network, observing initiatives to accompany change. Without
their commitment, this project would never have achieved so much or
shown such creativity.
I would also like to underscore the remarkable contribution of
Professor Louise Lafortune of Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, who
coordinated the project over its six-year span. The project owes much of
its success to her discipline, determination, and leadership, and to the
attention she paid not only to her team, but also to the people from all
across Québec whom she helped, encouraged, and empowered to play a
signifi cant role in their workplace communities. We are proud to share
some of the fruits of her team’s labors in this book.
Happy reading.
Sylvie Turcotte1
Director, Direction de la formation et de la titularisation du personnel scolaire
Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport
1. Sylvie Turcotte was director of Direction de la formation et de la titularisation du
personnel scolaire throughout the duration of the project.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Research-Accompaniment-Training Project for Implementing the
Québec Education Program was a major six-year project (2002–2008)
involving sweeping educational reforms. The project required major
funding as well as collaboration from numerous individuals. I would
particularly like to thank the Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du
Sport for providing fi nancial support, but also for authorizing various
members of the education community to act as accompaniment providers
at the provincial level for groups scattered all across Québec. I would
also like to thank Robert Bisaillon, the assistant deputy minister at the
launch of the project, and his successor Pierre Bergevin for authorizing
the project to go ahead. I thank Avril Aitken for a professional collaboration
with the translation.
I am indebted to ministry representatives Sylvie Turcotte and
Margaret Rioux-Dolan for their unwavering support and encouragement.
A special thanks goes to the team at Direction de la formation et de la
titularisation du personnel scolaire and its director, Sylvie Turcotte, for
the vital resources they made available to the project team, their regular
attendance at meetings, and their always-pertinent comments and sug-
gestions. Thanks, also, to Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières for
encouraging this partnership and providing access to the material
resources and people needed to make it a success and facilitate its
operation.
x
Professional Competencies for Accompanying Change
Many people had a hand in producing this frame of reference on
professional competencies for accompanying change. Through their con-
tributions, they helped us identify, clarify, and validate these c ompetencies.
I would especially like to thank Chantale Lepage and Franca Persechino,
who worked closely with me to develop the structure of the frame of
reference using data from research, accompaniment team discussions,
and project team discussions in order to take into account participants’
comments and refl ections.
I am grateful to the members of my accompaniment team, who
completed the project and provided constructive and critical comments
on the fi nal versions of the frame of reference. Their contribution has
been vital. They are Avril Aitken, Nicole Boisvert, Grant Hawley, Carrole
Lebel, France Plouffe, and Gilbert Smith. I also wish to thank the other
accompaniment providers, Simone Bettinger, Bernard Cotnoir, Ginette
Dubé, Jean-Marc Jean, Reinelde Landry, and Doris Simard, who also
helped fuel our refl ections at various moments.
Thanks must also go to the research professionals and assistants
who were ongoing contributors to the project—Kathleen Bélanger, Karine
Boisvert-Grenier, Bérénice Fiset, Sylvie Fréchette, Carine Lachapelle, and
Nathalie Lafranchise—as well as to those who contributed on a more
sporadic basis, including Karine Benoît, Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe,
Marie-Pier Boucher, Marie-Ève Cotton, Moussadak Ettayebi, Élise Girard,
Lysanne Grimard-Léveillé, Marie-Claude Héroux, David Lafortune,
Bernard Massé, Vicki Massicotte, Geneviève Milot, Jean Paul Ndoreraho,
Andrée Robertson, and Caroline Turgeon.
Lastly, throughout this endeavor, I have had the immense pleasure
of working with educational professionals such as school principals,
consultants, teachers and other members of the education community
who joined in the coconstruction process to help create this frame of
reference. By sharing their expertise and knowledge, they fueled my
refl ections, helped me clarify my thoughts, and propelled the provincial
accompaniment team forward. Without their involvement and commit-
ment, this project would never have seen the light of day. For this, I offer
them my heartfelt thanks.
Louise Lafortune