Education In Focus Part I
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By: Delene Bharat
From its inception, the introduction of ‘formal education’ in the post- independence Caribbean has been the key instrument for engineering development and social order. The institution of education has however, not remained separate from the societal forces that affect the dark side of a ‘modern’ economy or state, vis a vis, ‘economic disparities’ and ‘social stratification’. Nevertheless, institutionalized education remains a primary staple of any modern society and a powerful determinant of productivity, standards of living and the human development index.
From its inception, the introduction of ‘formal education’ in the post-
Thomas Donlan in his book, ‘A World of Wealth’, notes that ‘when productivity is rising in a society, wealth is being created, more wealth is available- through the trickle- down effect- to satisfy the wants and needs of the whole population.’ He goes on to cite three ways in which a nation can enjoy more income, first, ‘more people can go to work’, second, ‘people can acquire more skills’ (e.g. by opening educational opportunities to women and easing their entrance to highly paid professions) and third, encouragement to ‘invest in plant, equipment and organization.’ The task of creating as many citizens as possible with the knowledge, skills and attitude to contribute productively in our society remains the charge of current Ministries of Education. It is here, at the primary level of most Caribbean education sectors, that a concentration of reform efforts have been emphasized within the last decade.
From the first wave of massive budgetary investments in school infrastructure and an injection of ‘technology’ in the classroom, we have come a long way from equating successes with a checklist of how many computers were available at a school and how many facilities were renovated or built per year. In general, school overcrowding, failure rates at primary school leaving exams, gender disparities in achievement, dropout rates and even student violence have become some of the main issues that confront Caribbean societies. In Barbados, for instance, a decade has passed since the introduction of the EDUTECH reform initiative. However, there is consensus that the entire education system cannot be geared solely towards the production of scholars and academic achievement.
Fast forward to 2014, North American states are caught in debates over the implementation of ‘Common Core’ curriculum reform and likewise, countries like Trinidad and Tobago have achieved a massive turnaround in the delivery of the Primary School curriculum via the introduction of the ‘Continuous Assessment Component’ (C.A.C.). Students are now introduced to more comprehensive components of drama, dance, physical education, science, citizenry development and character development, with a proposal for some grades to be forwarded to the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) and not just the Secondary Assessment Examination (S.E.A.) body.
Overall, the latest C.A.C initiative, though praiseworthy for its emphasis on continuing teacher education and diversification of the curriculum, lacks intrinsic adaptability value in its methodology and an even more concerning, lack of physical infrastructure to implement it.
With teachers in protest over the long hours for re- training, unclear programme objectives, doubled course loads and heightened pressures to meet teaching deadlines for the basic S.E.A. exam preparations, the confusion and anxiety have no doubt impacted on the impressionable minds of Primary School students caught in this era of rocky reform.
In February, the Trinidad and Tobago National Commission for UNESCO launched its education based project on ‘Leading for Literacy and Numeracy’. The goal of this project is to ‘provide a more holistic environment conducive to learning.’ Under this consideration, the concept of ‘Differentiated Instruction’ comes into play, highlighting the need for teachers to be mindful of different strategies necessary to effectively foster learning in children of varying levels of learning ability within the same classroom. The current pilot programme in Trinidad is said to have begun in forty primary schools and is currently engaging students at Infants year one and two.
Training and development is also being targeted towards School Administrators who will undergo specialized leadership instruction.
The Ministry of Education in Trinidad and Tobago contends that the new primary curriculum is a step towards moving away from the ‘assessment culture’ and ‘exam- driven’ nature of education. However, one of their main focus areas (“A focus on assessment for learning, with emphasis on improving the performance of each child rather than on stressful testing”) maintains the lofty rhetoric of success. With a recent call from the Education Minster to welcome ideas about alternatives to the ‘S.E.A’ examination, the apparent vision for producing productivity remains within the confines of curriculum reform.
The Primary School system is possibly the most crucial zone for fostering the intellectual and emotional growth of future citizenry. Within this emerging shift away from education’s ‘Industrial Age’ we must be mindful that our reform objectives are not simply a reactive stance to declining ‘P.I.S.A.’ ranking scores or any other statistical assessment that demonstrates merit based on students’ exam scores.
The provision of ‘quality education’ and the role of ‘schooling’ must be recognized for their distinction from each other and then re- examined for recommendations on where they can mesh positively. Furthermore, linkages can be explored between larger societal ills like crime prevention strategies and school policy reform from the primary level. Education, in this regard, should encompass broader goals of nurturing the psychological, emotional and physical needs of a child with added urgency on integrating suggestions from all stakeholders, parents, teachers and the youngest of students as to what these needs are and how the institution of formal education can best meet them. This focus would do well to inform the policy directions of a Caribbean region that has uniqueness and diversity as its backdrop. With a larger world experiencing a ‘post- development’/ ‘post- modern’ era, the Caribbean remains caught in its stage of assertion as ‘post- independence’ however, its uniqueness could very well be the key for fostering innovation and possibly re- defining the very standards of ‘success’ and ‘productivity’.
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