Pathways to Success: Supporting Foreign-Trained Teachers in Canada

Defining “Foreign-Trained Teachers”

We use the term foreign-trained teachers (FTTs) to refer to educators who completed teacher training abroad and are either already teaching or are in the process of transitioning to teaching FSL in Canada. These professionals bring valuable skills and diverse perspectives to our education system. However, they often face unique challenges as they adapt to both the Canadian teaching environment and a new culture. These challenges can include adjusting to different pedagogical approaches, understanding local curriculum standards, navigating unfamiliar administrative processes, and adapting to the nuances of Canadian classroom culture and relationships with students and parents.

Project Objectives and Outcomes

This project will address the chronic FSL teacher shortage in Canada by providing targeted support to FTTs and the school administrators who work with them. It will focus on three objectives:

• Help FTTs adapt to the Canadian teaching environment
• Provide targeted support to enhance the retention and professional success of FTTs in FSL programs
• Equip school administrators with effective tools for supporting and integrating FTTs

Our comprehensive approach to supporting FTTs will feature four main deliverables:

• Administrator Toolkit: A comprehensive, adaptable guide for school administrators offering strategies and best practices for effectively supporting FTTs across Canada’s diverse educational landscape.
• Asynchronous Online Professional Learning Courses: Three self-paced courses for the CASLT CoLab. The courses will offer comprehensive learning for administrators on supporting FTTs.
• Interactive Webinars: A series of three interactive webinars that will showcase the project’s resources and foster a community of practice among participants.
• Mentorship Support Groups: A collaborative online community in the CASLT CoLab for school administrators and FTTs, centred around a series of podcast episodes highlighting success stories, challenges, and innovative teaching strategies.

Project Lead

Florence Sedaminou Muratet is a distinguished educator with over 20 years of experience in French and humanities education. Florence has a wealth of experience in fostering critical thinking, creativity, and a passion for lifelong learning. Her extensive background in language didactics and FSL instruction, coupled with her strong experience in pedagogical consulting, makes her a strong project lead.

Throughout her career, Florence has developed and implemented innovative teaching strategies for diverse, multilingual, and multicultural contexts, including in Hong Kong, France, South Africa, and Canada. At McGill University, she spearheaded the modernization of French study programs, incorporating digital technologies for francophone lecturers. This experience provided her with crucial insights into the integration challenges faced by FTTs in the Canadian educational system. Florence’s commitment to accessible, inclusive, and universal education, combined with her innovative pedagogical practices, will contribute significantly to supporting FTTs in Canada.

Get Involved

We are currently seeking participants for our podcast series, Pathways to Success. This podcast will feature stories, classroom challenges, innovative teaching strategies, and moments of success, providing a platform for FTTs and administrators to share and learn from one another.

If you are an FTT working in Canada’s language education system or an administrator who works with FTTs, we want to hear from you! Your experiences, challenges, and successes can provide valuable insights and inspiration to educators and administrators across the country.

projects@caslt.org