Growth and Development Education

INTRODUCTION

For any country to realize growth and development education is a very important tool to achieve success. This should be made available and effective to achieve desired outcomes. Oftentimes it is challenging to recognize these and when they are identified they are hampered by the negative elements in the educational system in particular, and the society in general.

Education is the platform on which individuals develop their skills and are able to contribute positively to the work force and to play their part as worthwhile citizens. This platform has been affected by cultural, social and financial weaknesses. All of these can be traced back to our history, which has shaped and continue to influence our existence.

"The history of a country's educational development must be seen in the context of its general history, since the establishment of educational institutions is influenced by religious, social, political and economic factors", Millicent White, (1983). During the Plantation society era, planters generally did not want their slaves to receive an education. This was partly due to the fear that once they had acquired literacy skills, especially in English, it would become even more difficult to monitor their access to new sources of information and knowledge. "If the planters attempt to educate the slaves, they do little for their own safety in persisting to debar him from the privileges to which he would soon feel that he has acquired an equitable right. It will be impossible to march Negroes on the road to knowledge and compel them to stand at ease within the old entrenchments of ignorance" (Coleridge, 1825). It was in the planters' interest therefore to keep their slaves illiterate, as it was felt that a slave with some degree of education would be prone to civil disobedience. Consequently, no formal education system existed then and the masses of the people were denied any opportunity of acquiring an education, to advance their educational and social needs. Since independence however, our educational challenges have played a dominant role in the efforts to develop our economy. Hence the weaknesses and strengths of the education system are highlighted and recommendations will be made to correct these weaknesses. Jamaica's education system both at the primary and secondary levels is plagued with mismanagement, biases and inadequate education for all.

STRENGTHS

"The national literacy programme for grades 1-3 and grades 4-6 with targeted support by literacy specialists" (ESSJ 2011). This was seen as a positive step in preparing students for their secondary level education. Also the implementation of the National Education inspectorate as a "watch body" over the system is a step in the right direction. The implementation of the alternative secondary transition education programme (ASTEP) is another good move by the Ministry of Education in ensuring that students are not left behind, ASTEP is geared towards students who have not mastered their grade 4 literacy tests."Reform of secondary Schools" project, was a success story for Jamaica. Indeed Jamaica produces a society which is technically competent as the technical and vocational subjects at the CSEC level recorded the highest overall average with 80.2 per cent of the entries attaining grades 1-111 (JSLC2009).

Ideally, our educational experience should mirror the standards and practices of one of our more successful secondary institutions, Campion College. Since its inception only 50 years ago, Campion's students have been awarded numerous national and international scholarships including, the Jamaican Government Scholarships, UWI Scholarships and the prestigious Rhodes Scholarships. Campion's performance in the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) examinations has been phenomenal. This has not happened by chance but as a result of the hard work of its teachers, who through careful analysis of the results each year, identify areas of weakness and develop strategies at each departmental level to address the weaknesses identified. This has resulted in a steady improvement in performance each year. At the National CXC Award Ceremony Campion students each year receive innumerable awards for placing amongst the top three in the island for various CSEC and CAPE subjects. A number of students have also received recognition from the Caribbean Examinations Council. In addition, based on data on the 2010 CSEC and CAPE results from the Caribbean Examinations Council, Campion had more students placed in the listing of top ten performers in each subject than any other school not only in Jamaica, but also the Caribbean. With Campion College as a model school the MOE should use it as an engine of change in the transformation of our educational sector.

WEAKNESSES

Through the centuries Jamaica has not managed to provide adequate school facilities and infrastructure in their pursuit to deliver quality education to the nation's children at the primary and secondary levels. The MOE mandate states 'every child can learn every child must learn'. However some schools continue to experience shortage of spaces and furniture. The MOE has tried to remedy this problem by use of the shift system in some schools, to accommodate the large student populations and to eliminate overcrowded classrooms. With the good intensions of trying to accommodate all, there is a compromise in the time given for student/ teacher interface. Students are left behind or pack with too much information in the short time span made available to them. In these schools 12% of classes had a student to teacher ratio of 1:36 and the average teacher to students' ratio was1:29 (JSLC2009). The condition of some schools is deplorable, and this can have an effect on students' motivation for learning (Evans 2001). The provision of quality education should be of paramount importance to any country, as education can be seen as one of the greatest equalizers. It should be providing well qualified teachers, good quality materials, and well- equipped schools, but Jamaica has failed to honor these responsibilities.

In Jamaica the MOE is the agency responsible for the curricula used at grades 1 to 9. This formal curriculum includes all the courses offered by the schools, the topics for these courses, the content for books, the teaching materials that teachers use, the emphasis that the teacher takes in teaching, the guidelines in preparing for tests, the actual tests that students take and so on (Evans 2001,68). At the grades 10 to11 level and sixth form level students are prepared for external exams and are guided by that external body. With so much instruction in the curriculum teachers have failed to effectively impart knowledge