JAMPACT
RESPONSE TO THE
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION GREEN PAPER
(Delivered
to Minister of Education the Hon. Burchell Whiteman, 2 March,
2000)
As
a policy document, The Green paper incorporates the findings
of the 1998 KPMG/Peat Marwick Report and sets out goals
and objectives for education reform on the island in an
attempt to elicit thoughts and action from concerned stakeholders
and Jamaicans in general. In our opinion, however there
are two crucial omissions: (i) the inclusion of the informal
education system (community institutions - libraries, museums,
families, etc.) as more than a part of civil society and
(ii) programmes targeting the education of the nation's
young males given the crisis we face.
The
members of JAMPACT believe that the suggestions contained
in The Green Paper are a step in the right direction. Its
goals and objectives are generally consistent with international
models of "education for development policy,"
but it is conservative in terms of the specific goals that
it outlines. One such example is the one per cent annual
increase in the age cohort advancing to tertiary education
between the year 2000 and 2005. We believe that it would
be beneficial to all education stakeholders if mechanisms
to track the effects of the policies contained within The
Green Paper are developed and the results shared with the
public.
JAMPACT's
two areas of focus are education and economic policy and
as a result we propose that our best contributions to these
policy debates are not in the realm of more policy debate
but rather in the mode of potential considerations for practice.
To that end the following is a list of areas within the
education system that we feel were not given due consideration
in the Green Paper and which we feel are most urgently in
need of further research and development:
- Parents/Families
as Educators
- Teacher
Training
- Literacy
as including technological and cultural literacy - the
role of computers and cultural organizations.
-
The Media as Educator
- Play
as a Learning Tool
- Conflict
Resolution in the Classroom/li>
Our
collective experience to date has exposed us to numerous
types of education systems, both formal and informal, existing
in inner city areas whose economic and social conditions
do not differ greatly from Jamaica's. As such, we propose
to engage in dialogue with relevant MOEC, the JTA and private
sector personnel in Jamaica, and with relevant school administrators
and ngos in the New York/Tristate area to assist in the
development of concrete and cost effective project proposals
and implementation strategies (including budgeting and partnership
financing) related to the areas listed above.
We will
elaborate on the six areas listed above by including suggestions
and references to projects that have the potential to serve
as models for consideration. The first is connected to a
recent study conducted by the US Westchester Institute and
The Center for Social Organization of Schools. It established
a correlation between pupil achievement in educational settings
and the levels of parental involvement, finding unsurprisingly
that higher levels of student achievement were associated
with higher levels of parental involvement. The second involves
"Teach For America," a ten-year old, US non-profit
organization that has to date placed 5,000 outstanding recent
college graduates in US primary and secondary schools around
the country. The third includes greater investigation of
the role of cultural organizations such as the island's
museums that represent underutilized cultural education
resources. The fourth relates to the role of television
and radio programmes in "edutainment," the fifth
to the importance of play for all children in the classroom
and at home and the sixth to models of teaching for non-violent
conflict resolution.
-
The Creation of Community Based Parent Advocacy Centres
(CPACs) through the parent education unit at the MOEC
PACs
will be non-partisan, volunteer based organizations that
serve as a nexus for information collection and dissemination
regarding the development of parent advocacy skills relative
to their children's educational programs and services. This
would include parent counseling sessions explaining the
importance of family influence on and involvement in their
children's education, information on parental due process
rights and procedures and explanations of available community
resources and the roles of relevant government agencies.
These CPACs would incorporate existing parent/teacher associations
and assist in the creation of new ones. They would also
serve to address the overriding need, at the organizational
level, for coordination and collaboration among parent centers
in the urban and rural areas so that there can be effective
sharing of experience and expertise that will help to maximize
information distribution and access to basic social services.
Obvious targets include the link between poor and improper
diet and student achievement, as well as the risks of alcohol
abuse, smoking, drug abuse, and improper diet on a child's
prenatal development. CPACs are one potential way to address
the need to increase parent understanding of the educational
process as it directly relates to their children's education
as well as better incorporate their thoughts and suggestions
as implied in The Green Paper. They are also an example
of the collaborative effort mentioned in The Green Paper
that involves creating linkages with government agencies,
community-based organizations, schools, churches, and private
sector organizations.
2.
The Creation of a Young Teacher Corps through the MOEC and
Lift Up Jamaica.
This
programme will involve the creation and training of a corps
of recent university graduates as teachers. While the initial
number of corps members selected will be small, the numbers
will be expected to grow as recognition and support of the
programme grows. Corps members will be selected based on
the qualities proven to make excellent teachers - an ability
to thrive on overcoming challenges, a relentless drive to
achieve results, a commitment to setting only the highest
expectations for themselves and their students. New corps
members come together for an intensive training program
where they gain experience teaching while receiving guidance
from veteran educators. They would then be placed in urban
or rural sites selected on the basis of need and private
sector sponsorship for their salaries as regular, beginning
teachers is sought. Corps members would also qualify for
student loan deferral and payment of accrued interest during
their two years of service, which means that corps members
need not make any payments on qualified loans during the
two years. This programme would also be an example of a
partnership - this time between universities, the MOEC and
the private sector.
3.
Technological and Cultural Literacy
Greater
collaboration between the Jamaican Computer Society and
with charity organizations overseas should be organized
to ensure: (i) the provision and maintenance of computers
within all of our schools and libraries; (ii) the integration
of computers into the school curriculum and both in service
and pre service teacher training programmes; (iii) increased
public awareness regarding importance of computers in the
global age; (iv) the formation of partnerships between more
museums and schools so as to provide greater access to cultural
teaching and learning objects; (v) the integration of museum
education methods into teacher training so as to increase
use of museums as teaching resources; (vi) the development
of curricula based on Jamaican music and art forms. New
York City contains a wealth of information on models of
various distance education programmes, technology in education
programmes and museum education programmes. JAMPACT can
help ensure connections with Teachers' College, Columbia
University, a leader in technology education interventions,
and with various museums such as the Boston Children's Museum,
The Children's Museum of Manhattan and the Metropolitan
Museum of Art.
4.
The Media as Educator
Greater
use of the media in the implementation of educational programmes
and objectives is a must given the strength of its impact
on our children and families. Some examples include (i)
the promotion of television and radio programmes such as
The School's Challenge Quiz and the Cavity Fighters' Club.
(ii) The production of child-friendly educational documentaries
AND/OR interstitials (the commercial fillers between shows)
highlighting famous Jamaicans, famous dates in Jamaican
history, facts about Jamaica, math/science tips, reading
strategies, etc. (iii) The coordination of public figures
(athletes, musicians, etc.) promoting the importance of
education. (iv) The promotion of literacy skills through
print and electronic media - tips on reading strategies
- how to use objects in the home to educate…funded
by establishing partnerships with private sector organizations…so
that advertising and learning go hand in hand.
5.
Play as a Learning Tool
Much
research exists documenting the social, emotional and intellectual
gains to be had from the inclusion and facilitation of play
in the classroom and at home. More safe outdoor spaces need
to be created that foster gross motor skill development
and promote social interaction. Ways in which play can become
part of the curriculum should be included in both in service
and pre-service teacher training programmes particularly
at the early-childhood level where free play and the types
of materials that can be used to facilitate such child centred
and child directed exploration are investigated.
6.
Conflict Resolution in the Classroom
Similarly,
numerous studies show the impact of non-violent conflict
resolution techniques in the classroom and their impact
on life outside of the classroom. The tremendous groundwork
laid by the PALS programme should be capitalized on and
the subject matter mandated part of the national primary
school curricula. All children should be exposed to mediation
techniques and non-violent problem solving methods. The
strides made in those schools involved in PALS should be
analyzed and disseminated and the PALS project officers
contracted as consultants to investigate and adapt new methods
of teaching conflict resolution particularly at the early
childhood level as well as to spread their present primary
school methodology across the island with their textbooks
subsumed under the MOEC's purview.
The
above is simply an example of how JAMPACT might act on its
commitment to become involved in the education policy debate
in Jamaica and where we feel we would be most useful - as
a research and development liasion between education programming
in Jamaica and in the US. We look forward to discussing
these issues further with you and further delineating how
we might best contribute.
/RT2/00
About
this Document
This
policy paper was prepared by JAMPACT's Education Committee,
in collaboration with JAMPACT's Executive
Committee.
Your
input is important.
Broader
private sector participation is vital to the improvement
of the educational system. Please send all feedback regarding
this document to education@jampact.org
.
JAMPACT:
Promise, Potential, Progress.
www.JAMPACT.org
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