Jean-Louis Berger

PhD in Education, Geneva University 2008

photo

 jean-louis.berger@unifr.ch
 +41 26 300 7542
 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2629-2622

Educational psychology

Motivation to learn

Metacognition

Self-regulated learning

Epistemic beliefs

Professor
Department of Education and Teaching Sciences

RM 02 bu. S-3.103
Rue P.A. de Faucigny 2
1700 Fribourg
Hours of presence
RM 02, S-3.103
+41 26 300 7542

Biography

My research interests lie at the intersection of education and psychology. Specifically, I study self-regulated learning, metacognition, learning strategies, help seeking, motivation and instructional practices that influence it, teacher motivation, and teachers' knowledge and beliefs.

CV

Liste des publications

Google Scholar

ResearchGate

Research and publications

  • Publications
    153 publications

    Apprentissage autorégulé. Formation, pratiques et conceptions des enseignants
    Jean-Louis Berger, Berger, J.-L, Cartier, S. C., Fagnant, A. (Alphil, 2024) | Edited book

    Motivational self-regulation strategies : A synthesis of three studies
    Berger, J.-L., APA Convention : (3.8.2023) | Conference

    Motivational Typologies among Teachers and Differences Within
    Jean-Louis Berger, Margareta M. Thomson, Zarifa Zakaria, International Journal on Studies in Education (2023) | Journal article

    Motivational Beliefs, Metacognition, and Self-Regulated Learning: Investigating the Learning Triumvirate with Stuart Karabenick , in Advances in Motivation and Achievement
    Berger, J.-L., Jean-Louis Berger (2023), ISBN: 9781804557112 | Book chapter

    L’apprentissage autorégulé
    Berger, J.-L, Jean-Louis Berger, Cartier, S. C. (De Boeck. (Collection Pédagogies en développement), 2023), ISBN: 9782807351233 | Edited book

    Motivation et perspectives professionnelles d’apprenti·es du commerce de détail
    Jean-Louis Berger, Jan, D. , Berger, J.-L., Jan, D., David Jan, Didactique (2023) | Journal article

    De l'importance de se mettre d'accord sur le plan terminologique , in L'apprentissage autorégulé
    Berger, J.-L., Cartier, C. S. (2023), ISBN: 9782807351233 | Book chapter

    Rôles multiples des croyances motivationnelles dans l'autorégulation de l'apprentissage : état de la question , in L'apprentissage autorégulé
    Berger, J.-L. (2023), ISBN: 9782807351233 | Book chapter

    Perceptions des enseignants et des formateurs de la formation professionnelle initiale suisse à l’égard des motivations et des connaissances des apprentis
    Jutras Dupont, C., Sauli, F., Wenger, M., Berger, J.-L. , Semaine internationale de l’éducation et de la formation.: (12.9.2022) | Conference

    Comment persévérer dans un métier qui n’est pas le mien? Une étude auprès d’apprentis en gestion du commerce de détail
    Jan, D, Berger, J.-L., Semaine internationale de l’éducation et de la formation: (12.9.2022) | Conference

  • Research projects

    Scholars at Risk support for Tetyana Vereshchahina
    Status: Completed

    Start 01.05.2022
    End 30.04.2023
    Funding SNSF  Open project sheet

    How is the quality of upper-secondary-level VET understood by its players, and how does it influence learner commitment?
    Status: Completed

    Start 01.02.2018
    End 30.06.2022
    Funding Other 

    The notion of training quality is becoming increasingly important in the political discourse on vocational training in Switzerland and has been enshrined in the Vocational Training Act for over ten years. Although the Swiss VET/PET system is recognized nationally and internationally as performing well, this recognition is based primarily on economic indicators such as the youth unemployment rate. However, in order to develop the quality of the training attended by the majority of adolescents and young adults in Switzerland, we maintain that it is essential to take an interest in how those involved in training (apprentices, vocational school teachers, and company trainers) define and perceive the quality of this training. Promoting training quality should, in particular, reduce the risk of trainees dropping out of training and improve their commitment to their training. These indicators enable us to understand the impact of quality from a more psycho-pedagogical perspective, and this project therefore has three objectives, which will be achieved through three consecutive studies. Firstly, the focus group method will be used to understand how the above-mentioned players perceive the characteristics of high (and low) quality training. Secondly, based on the findings of the first objective, a questionnaire will be developed to enable apprentices to express their views on the quality of their training through the two main venues, and thus provide training managers with formative feedback. This instrument will be theoretically and scientifically based; its validity will be examined as part of the project. Thirdly, a questionnaire survey will be used to analyze the impact of the quality of training perceived by apprentices on their commitment. The aim will be to understand which quality characteristics - as perceived by apprentices - promote or, on the contrary, restrict the apprentice's commitment (behavioral, cognitive, and emotional) in the two main training locations, i.e. the training company and the vocational school. Four vocational fields, in which apprenticeship contracts are most frequently broken, will be concerned: a) hairdressing and beauty care, b) hotel and catering services, c) construction, and d) retail. The aims of the project are both scientific and practical. The three studies will provide the scientific basis for a pedagogical tool that can be used by various training managers to assess the quality of training (from the apprentice's point of view) and thus adjust their practices and the organization of training. Examining the links between perceived quality and commitment will underline the relevance of examining these perceptions to support apprentices in their training and enable them to become competent professionals. In terms of contribution to scientific knowledge, the project will deepen work on teaching quality by considering an often neglected training context, that of initial vocational training. It will broaden current conceptions of the quality of vocational training by looking at the two main training sites and will be anchored in specific professional fields. The project will take a fresh look at training quality and illustrate its relevance.

    Teaching Practices and Students’ Engagement: Public Perceptions and Scientific Conclusions
    Status: Completed

    Start 01.09.2017
    End 31.08.2019
    Funding SNSF 

    Based on the results and conclusions of a Swiss National Science Foundation-funded research project on teaching in vocational schools, the proposed communication project is designed to (a) raise awareness about the role of teachers’ classroom management practices in students’ engagement in learning and (b) transform the public’s perceptions of teaching. Specifically, the research project investigated two topics. The first topic was the evolution of 71 teachers during their education in terms of their beliefs and practices relating to classroom management. The second topic was how teachers’ classroom management practices affected the students’ engagement in learning.
    Based on the findings of this research project, the objectives of the communication project are to make an impact on the public by (a) enabling the exchange and challenging individuals’ perceptions of teaching and school memories with the conclusions of the scientific project; (b) organizing an artistic picture exhibition around the topic of classroom situations and teaching; and (c) increasing awareness that scientific research is pertinent to determining what makes a good or mediocre teacher. While science can seem inaccessible to the general public, the exhibition will make science more accessible to the visitor.
    Some of the messages that the project will communicate to the general public are as follows: (a) There are diverse ways to manage a classroom and interact with students, and the teacher’s choices have significant consequences for the students’ engagement; (b) the students’ engagement depends largely on the teachers’ practices, and thus both students and teachers have a responsibility to display engagement in learning; (c) teachers change according to the pedagogical preparation that they follow, notably by focusing more on the students’ needs and abilities and by strongly supporting the students’ autonomy and their inner sources of motivation.
    The proposed project’s main communication method is an interactive, itinerant picture exhibition to be displayed in several public places in major towns in French-speaking Switzerland. The visitors will be invited to imagine themselves “in the teacher’s shoes” and decide how to react to various classroom situations. Feedback based on the research findings will be given regarding the likely consequences of their decisions. Two groups will be targeted: (a) people over 12 years old (estimated minimum age to be able to grasp the meaning of the picture exhibition) with an interest in education and (b) vocational school students. The Cultural Network© application will allow the development of the interactive and multimedia visits. To promote communication between the visitors and the researchers, a Facebook page will be open for the visitors to provide feedback on their experience and to spark a public debate about the conclusions of the exhibition and how they compare to the visitors’ perceptions of teaching. The researchers will participate in the discussion by answering the visitors’ messages and debating with them. For a lasting effect, an interactive picture book based on the picture exhibition will be created. The aim will be to translate the message of the exhibition in this book to reinforce the message. Finally, two forms of evaluation will take place: (a) a short survey on the visitors’ levels of enjoyment and their experience of viewing the exhibition and (b) focus group interviews aimed at investigating the extent to which the visit modified the public’s perceptions of teaching. Finally, this communication project is relevant for several reasons. First, it is relevant to nearly everyone in the general public; second, it has an educative function; and lastly, it aligns with current political debates on teaching across Switzerland.

    L'évolution des croyances et connaissances des enseignants en formation sur la planification de cours et la gestion de la classe
    Status: Completed

    Start 01.08.2013
    End 31.08.2016
    Funding SNSF 

    La professionnalisation du corps enseignant, qui vise à assurer une certaine qualité de l’enseignement, est une préoccupation actuelle des sciences de l’éducation et des responsables politiques de l’éducation. Cette professionnalisation passe en particulier par un développement conscient et ciblé des croyances et connaissances (conceptions) des enseignants lors de leur formation initiale. Ainsi, la recherche empirique se penche de plus en plus sur la thématique de la pensée des enseignants. Toutefois, un certain nombre de questions, en d’autres termes des zones d’ombre, sont actuellement en débat. Le présent projet propose d’éclaircir l’une de ces zones d’ombre actuelles dans la recherche sur les conceptions des enseignants.Les résultats de recherche indiquent que les formations à l’enseignement n’ont que des effets limités sur les croyances et connaissances des enseignants. Ceci est dû à de multiples facteurs tels que des idées bien ancrées sur l’enseignement fondées durant la scolarité. Toutefois, étant donné le mélange conceptuel sous-jacent à cette conclusion, il est important d’éclaircir quels types de conceptions évoluent, lesquels n’évoluent pas et de distinguer de manière plus fine les conditions de ces changements et de la résistance à ces derniers.Par conséquent, l’objectif du présent projet est d’analyser la façon dont les croyances et connaissances des enseignants du secondaire général et de la formation professionnelle évoluent durant la formation pédagogique. De plus, le projet aspire à comprendre les facteurs de promotion ou de frein au changement de croyances et connaissances. Le projet intègre cette question à deux activités fondamentales du métier d’enseignant : la planification des cours et la gestion de la classe. De plus, deux populations d’enseignants en formation sont concernées par le projet, soit les enseignants du secondaire général (formation précédant l’exercice de la profession) et les enseignants de la formation professionnelle (formation pendant l’exercice de la profession), ce qui permet d’évaluer le degré de généralité ou d’éventuelles différences entre les deux populations.Deux études empiriques, combinant diverses méthodes de collecte des données, ainsi que des méthodes d’analyse qualitative et quantitative, sont proposées. Ensemble, ces études apporteront des informations scientifiquement fondées qui nourriront la base de connaissances sur le bagage cognitif de enseignants et permettront d’optimiser les formations à l’enseignement ainsi que de favoriser l’implémentation d’innovations pédagogiques.

    Cognitive validity of self-reports of learning strategies: Assessment with the cognitive pretesting method
    Status: Completed

    Start 01.10.2008
    End 31.08.2009
    Funding SNSF 

    This project focuses on the issue of learning strategies measurement by self-reported items. This topic is currently subject to debate in the community of educational psychologists. The measurement of learning strategies by self-reported Likert-type items is largely criticized, although it is providing valid information on the students' learning processes. The objective of the present study is to apply an innovative technique, called cognitive pretesting, allowing an in-depth understanding of the cognitive validity of the generally used items. This method is a structured interview that helps assess if the respondent understands the meaning of an item, and can refer to memories corresponding to the researcher’s definition of the construct and its expected range of interpretations. The cognitive validity of items can be quantified based on comparisons between the respondent’s answers and the researcher’s expectations. We intend to apply the method of cognitive pretesting to study the cognitive validity of the items from a well-known instrument, the Motivated Strategy for Learning Questionnaire, in samples of junior high students. The hypotheses are that some of the items are not appropriate for this population and that the cognitive validity of some scales may be low because of the high abstraction level of the construct these items intend to measure. The results will have implications for the measurement of such construct in students. Improvement in our comprehension of learning strategies will foster pedagogical interventions and teacher training.

Teaching and courses

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