Since September 2022, Hénallux and UNamur have been collaborating with IFEC (Institut de Formation de l’Enseignement Catholique) with the goal of raising awareness and training secondary education professionals in differentiated instruction, as advocated in the Pact for Educational Excellence. 

To this end, various approaches have been designed and implemented: professional development days in schools, follow-up visits to schools that request them, training programs for teachers serving as differentiation liaisons, and training programs for CSA (support and guidance counselors).

The agreement is coordinated by Sandrine Biémar (UNamur) and Alain Bultot (Hénallux), and the research team consists of Anne-Catherine Dessy (Hénallux), Anne Libert (UNamur), Virginie Meyer (UNamur), and Sylvie Van der Linden (Hénallux). 

This collaborative research is part of a broader project focused on differentiated instruction, which encompasses several tracks with different objectives and target audiences. 

These include, in particular, professional development programs in schools; training for lead teachers designed to equip them to facilitate the development of differentiated instruction practices in their schools; training for all IFEC CSA staff, as well as regular meetings with IFEC’s in-house trainers interested in this topic. 

Collaborative research is part of this ongoing effort, in which each track feeds into the others. It aims to anchor the discussion of differentiation in classroom practices through a mutual enrichment of theory and practice.

Empower teachers by mobilizing and interpreting objective data collected in the field.

Collaborative research is built through negotiation between participants and researchers. Therefore, each stage of the research is developed jointly to align as closely as possible with the concerns and challenges related to differentiated instruction that arise in each participant’s specific context.

For example, the research question and sub-questions are co-formulated to best address the concerns and challenges in the field regarding the impact of a differentiated teaching approach on students’ motivation and autonomy.

This research is inspired by the protocol developed by Schildkamp (2018, 2019) within the “Data TEAMS.” It aims to develop and promote teachers’ agency through decision-making based on data collection and the evaluation of classroom practices.

The data generated by this research project will inform reference and training programs. In addition, data and outputs from this collaborative research will also be shared with colleagues and organizations representing various stakeholders (schools, CSA).