Educational ultimate goals inherent to practices of elementary pre-service teachers: A case study of the teaching of Social Studies in Quebec
This article examines the data collected from the semi-structured interviews of nine Quebec elementary pre-service teachers in a practice teaching context. The paper exposes the educational goals inherent in the teaching of Social Studies, the place that this school subject occupies in the pre-service teacher’s practices, and its contribution to the development of the three-part mission of the Quebec school system (to instruct, socialize, and qualify). Even though Social Studies are considered by the participants of this study to be a less important school subjects, they nevertheless remain significant. This importance refers mainly to the contribution of Social Studies to the development of socially acceptable attitudes in the student. It also refers to the development of an understanding and knowledge of history and of the functioning of society with the ultimate goal of adapting to this society.