Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory on Didactics, Education, and Training

Work, Training, Professional Skills

In professions characterized by human interaction and/or certain life sciences professions involving contact with animals or plants (professions in education, vocational training, healthcare, sports, social services, nonprofit organizations, agriculture, crafts, etc.) , the “Work, Training, and Professional Practices explores work both as a system of constraints—sometimes a source of suffering—and as one of the most important arenas for social existence, self-fulfillment, and well-being. Research in this area focuses on a central question related to career trajectories: How do people learn a trade, invent new ways of working, turn away from work toward a marginal activity, and re-professionalize themselves throughout their lives?

By drawing on a variety of theoretical frameworks (activity theories, comprehensive sociology, psychology, anthropology, psychoanalysis, etc.), the research explores new forms of work—and through them, specific activities—as well as contractual or salaried work, volunteer work, and informal activities, which are sometimes marginalized and not recognized by institutions or public authorities. To understand these activities and their contemporary transformations, the research focuses on two main themes.

Trajectory Work

We analyze all the processes that enable a career path to be built, maintained, or transformed. This includes pre-professional training in an educational setting, entry into a profession, the development of skills, as well as phases of deprofessionalization or career transition. These dynamics involve the gradual construction of professional identity and skills. Thus, within this framework, questions of the sustainability and vulnerability of professional identities—understood as the capacity and/or fragility of individuals and groups to sustain, adjust, or reorient their career paths—form the core of our work.

Trajectory Points

We are interested in profound and significant changes in career paths. These “turning points” may correspond to major reforms in the education, training, or health sectors; to ecological, social, or technological transitions—such as the rise of artificial intelligence or digital technology; or to events that disrupt work organizations and people’s activities. Often associated with situations of vulnerability and raising questions about sustainability—understood in this context as the robustness, innovation, or resilience of the actors involved—these trajectory points represent opportunities for reconfiguration, learning, and the transformation of professional practices.

Methodology

From this perspective of analyzing career trajectories, our research draws on methodologies derived from work analysis, ethnography, action research, and participatory interventions. By combining various methods—observation of work in real-world settings, surveys, self-reflective interviews, and questionnaires—our research approaches aim to document work and its transformations.

Summary prepared by Eric Maleyrot, Anita Messaoui, and Sylvie Moussay

SOME CONTRIBUTORY PROJECTS

in progress

COMPAS (2020-30) Students Transitioning from High School to Higher Education (Compas) – T. Perez-Roux, R. Lopez, Ph. Glâtre, C. Gauthié

TRANSI-TAF (2025–27) (Multi-)Professionalism Put to the Test by Public Participation and Student Vulnerabilities —From the Study of Changes in Social Work to Experimental Projects in Training Centers. With Eric Maleyrot

MAPro – Motivation, Learning Approaches, and Student Professional Development (2024–2029) – Marilou Belisle (University of Sherbrooke), Manuel Bächtold (LIRDEF), Anita Messaoui (LIRDEF), Sawsen Lakal (University of Sherbrooke), Maryam Akkouh Oualkadi (OTP)

The Work of Volunteer Groups (2025–27) Collaboration with Trait d’Union MSH Montpellier – Sébastien Chaliès and Sylvie Moussay

EDUSEA ( 2025–…): Health and Environmental Education through Physical Activities – Simon Isserte and Sébastien Chaliès 

AMACO Architecture ( 2023–…) – Sébastien Chaliès 

METABIO Project: “Organic Vegetable Farming” (2024–…) – Sébastien Chaliès and Simon Isserte

The Impact of Collaborative Approaches on Teachers’ Professional Development in Challenging Contexts (YEAR) Aurélie Chesnais

The Shift from Instructional Design to APC (a milestone in a reform process) and the Development of Student Skills by Xavier Teisseire 

ERPE-IUT “Effects of the BUT Reform on the Professionalism of IUT Faculty” (2025–2027) – Anita Messaoui (LIRDEF), Patrick Pamphile (LMO), Chrysta Pélissier (LIRDEF), Jacques Olivier Klein (CNN), Isabelle Bournaud (EST), and Sonia Lefeuvre (ECP)

TRAM PROJECT: Study of the Work of Volunteer Groups (2025–2027) Collaboration with Trait d’Union MSH Montpellier – Sébastien Chaliès and Sylvie Moussay

Past Projects

  • Supporting Home Health Care in the Regions of Occitanie Through Training Programs (ACSADOM, Philippe Gabriel, and Elodie Roebroeck, 2022–2024).
  • Interprofessional Collaboration and Partnerships: What New Practices Are Emerging in Initial Training? (INTERPROPART, Eric Maleyrot and Thérèse Perez-Roux, 2019–2022). 
  • Analysis of Learning Activities in Simulator-Based and Real-World Training Environments: The Case of Driving a One- or Four-Horse Team (OPTIMATTPRO, Serge Leblanc, 2016–2019).
  • Support for the Professional Development of Equestrian Artists: ARtistes EQuestres Training Program (FARTEQ, Thérèse Perez-Roux, 2017–2022).
  • Professional Identity and Attitudes Toward the Profession Among Judo Teachers in France (IPRADEJU, Thérèse Perez-Roux, 2015–2019).
  • Redesigning Physical Therapy Programs and the Impact of the 2015 Reform on Educational Activities: Tensions, Compromises, and Developments (REMKAF, Thérèse Perez-Roux, 2016–2019).
  • Action research on the preservation and transmission of knowledge and skills related to traditional horse-drawn carriages (ATTRAD, Serge Lebanc and Guillaume Azéma, 2018–2019).

Existing and Contributory Seminars

  • Transdisciplinarity and Multi-Level Research in Education and Training: Theoretical and Methodological Issues
  • ViSA Days