Soft Skills and Teacher Training, A Gap Between Recognition and Implementation: The Case of the CRMEF in Al Hoceima, Morocco

In a Moroccan educational context marked by multidimensional challenges, the teaching profession requires, in addition to subject-specific skills, the mastery of cross-disciplinary skills (soft skills), the acquisition of which must be systematised from the outset of initial training. However, teacher training programmes remain largely rooted in a subject-specific approach, with limited emphasis on the development of cross-disciplinary skills. This study aims to examine the consideration of soft skills in the training programme for the ‘Primary Education – Bilingual Option’ course at the Regional Centre for Education and Training Professions (CRMEF) in Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, specifically at the Al Hoceima branch. Using a quantitative descriptive approach, the survey was conducted among all teacher trainers (15) using a questionnaire. The data collected shows that 80% of teacher trainers consider it essential to integrate explicit teaching of soft skills into the curriculum, while identifying active teaching methods as the most effective vehicle for their development. Paradoxically, the analysis reveals that 86.66% of participants note that these skills are currently addressed in an incidental and informal manner in training practices. This finding highlights a clear lack of structure in the development of soft skills among future teachers, making their institutionalisation in initial training programmes a pedagogical imperative.