How to prepare your college pre-agreement?

You want to pass your collegial pre-agreement, but you don't know how to prepare for it? Then this article is made for you!

What is college pre-agreement?

Le préaccord collégial est nécessaire pour enseigner dans l’enseignement catholique en France, que vous soyez candidat au coucours ou en suppléance. Il s’agit d’un accord préalable qui établit une entente entre le candidat et l’établissement d’enseignement quant aux exigences spécifiques liées à l’enseignement dans le contexte catholique. Il est alors question de tester si vous êtes en accord avec les valeurs de l’enseignement catholique et de manière plus générale si vous avez le profil pour devenir enseignant.

The preliminary agreement was created with the aim of simplifying the process of recruiting teachers in Catholic Education establishments. This collegial approach means that candidates do not have to submit an individual application to each establishment where they wish to teach. Instead, headteachers review records on behalf of all of their colleagues. The collegial pre-agreement resulting from this process thus has national value.

How to register?

• Meeting on My Portal I Become a Teacher (CAACWEB) and log in.
• Click Collegiate Agreement
• Fill in the different fields. You will be asked for various information including your CV, a cover letter, your experiences and your training. During this step, you will be able to choose the department in which you wish to take your college pre-agreement.
• Once all the information has been completed and the documents submitted, you must validate your request. You will receive an email a few days later with an interview date.
• Please note that before you can pass your college pre-agreement, you must have attended an information meeting at your academy.

Conduct of the interview

During this interview, you will be in front of headteachers (1st and/or 2nd degree). You will then have to explain your professional project and demonstrate your motivation to become a teacher. The juries will therefore ask various questions to test your conformity with the values of Catholic teaching.

After completing this interview, you will receive an email within a few days to inform you that your verdict is available on the CAACWEB application.

Que faut-il connaître ?

First of all, you have to know that there are no right answers, just be yourself. You must answer honestly. It is useless to stress, this interview is a formality, few candidates do not get it. In addition, in case of refusal, you can appeal the decision.

Nevertheless, some knowledge can be useful:

• Values of Catholicism: love of oneself and of one's neighbour, respect, hope, joy, peace (living in harmony with oneself and with others, respect for differences, forgiveness, reconciliation), justice (same treatment for all), courage
• Diocesan educational project of your department
• Pastoral time: allow those who do not know him to meet Christ, offer Christians the possibility of deepening their faith, make humanity grow in students.
  Exemples : visualisation d’un film, messe de Noël, course solidaire, visite d’une banque alimentaire, collecte de denrées alimentaires, intervention d’une personne en situation de handicap, préparation aux sacrements, bol de riz…
• Differences between public, private and private establishment under contract
  • Public: educational institution that is financed and managed by the State. These establishments are accessible to all pupils, without discrimination, and they are financed by public funds. Public schools are required to adhere to educational rules and guidelines established by the state, including with respect to curricula, teacher qualifications, and student recruitment procedures.
  • Private: educational institution that is funded and operated by private entities, such as individuals, associations or religious congregations. These private establishments generally have more freedom in defining their educational project, their school program and their admission policy. They may also charge higher tuition fees than public institutions.
  • Private under contract: private establishment which has signed a contract with the State. This contract establishes collaboration between the private establishment and the State, generally the Ministry of National Education, for the organization of education. Private schools under contract are partly funded by the state, which allows them to offer lower tuition fees than private schools not under contract. However, they must follow the rules and educational guidelines established by the state, similar to public establishments.

Examples of questions asked during the interview

Vous vous demandez sûrement quels types de questionnements peuvent être abordés durant le préaccord collégial, en voici quelques-uns pour vous donner une idée :

Can you present starting from your CV?
Why did you choose this department?
Would you like to teach first degree or second degree?
Why did you choose Catholic education?
What are the values transmitted in Catholic establishments?
What are the differences between a private institution under contract and a public institution?
Did you encounter any difficulties during your internships? What do you remember from these internships?
At the start of a career, the age difference with students can be small, especially with high school students, is this a problem?
How will you manage the different student profiles? How to deal with students who do not want to work?
Would you mind working in a professional setting?
What missions would you be willing to accept to allow students to have a Christian culture?
If the director of your establishment comes to see you to tell you that some of your classes will be replaced by pastoral time, what is your reaction?
Should students be liked? Should students be valued?

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments. 🙂