UNESCO

Paula Daley-Morris
January 1, 2000

As a developing nation, Jamaica continues to experience economic challenges that have far-reaching implications for all sectors of the society. Education For All (EFA) is a concept that Jamaica has tried to embrace for more than two decades. One of the nation's goals for the 21st century is to raise the quality of education for all its citizens, thus equipping them to be productive contributors to societal growth. Recently, Jamaica turned its attention to information technology (IT), with particular attention to the education sector, because it saw its introduction as a proverbial “Black Starliner;” a means by which the country’s economic prospects could be changed. In the early 1990s, the Jamaica Computer Society Education Foundation (JCSEF) launched an initiative to facilitate the establishment of computer laboratories in secondary schools. These laboratories were to be used to train students to use computers in the workplace, and to prepare them to sit external examinations that were internationally accredited. As a result of this initiative, 90% of the island’s secondary schools were equipped with computer laboratories which facilitated students doing the Caribbean Examinations Council’s (CXC) IT examination. The impact of this project enabled the focus on computerisation to be expanded to include primary schools, enabling them to be equipped with computers and to have their teachers trained to use them to aid learning.

This monograph describes the initiatives that enabled the introduction of computers in Jamaican primary and secondary schools. It also describes the student performance on the CXC IT examination over a period of six years. The results show that each year more candidates were entered for the Technical Proficiency level than for the General Proficiency level of the examination. It further shows that student performance at the General Proficiency level steadily improved over the six years, while it fluctuated at the Technical Proficiency level. It highlights the fact that the performance of Jamaican candidates improved significantly in the year CXC instituted the six-point grading system. However, most of the passes were below the Grade I level. The data suggest that there may be deficiencies in the education system that caused IT teachers to show a preference for teaching the Technical Proficiency syllabus. The implications for this occurrence as it relates to tertiary level training in computer science are discussed.

 

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Sijtze Bergsma

ABSTARCT

“Education for all,” or inclusive education, appears to be, on the one hand, a new educational philosophy aimed at creating an educational environment conducive to all special learning needs of students in primary education but, on the other hand, in its implementation, it is also an innovative educational strategy with many consequences and implications for the existing education structure at all educational levels. This monograph explores the possibilities of the implementation of inclusive special needs education as educational philosophy and innovative strategy in the Commonwealth Caribbean. This exploration is based on prevalence data of special needs students in the primary and special education system; data on service delivery to special needs students; and the availability of teachers both for special education and for a support delivery system. On the basis of these data, it looks at the different implications for the primary and special education systems. If inclusive special needs education for all children is to be implemented, it appears that a paradigm shift in primary education from mostly curriculum-oriented education to a more pupil-oriented education is necessary
and, in special education, from a pupil-oriented education to a more support- and resource-oriented education.

The exploration leads to the conclusion that implementation of inclusive special needs education would be feasible if there was a support and resource system in place for the primary education system. The most feasible model for full implementation of inclusive special needs education is the use of the principle of placing special needs children in the least restrictive environment within the framework of a continuum of educational services; the existing special education system should be part of this continuum of educational services. Some of these services already exist in Commonwealth Caribbean countries. In order to develop and implement such a non-segregated, inclusive special needs education system, a comprehensive approach and strategy, with a great deal of ingenuity and persistence on the part of all those involved, is necessary, especially the “active agents” in this process, namely, the management of the schools, the teachers, and parents who should be part of the decisionmaking process.

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UNESCO

This is a Jamaica Country report concerning inclusive education in Jamaica, which was presented at the Caribbean Symposium on Inclusive Education in 2007. The Jamaican perspective on inclusive education, curriculum considerations in the inclusive education environment, teacher preparation, initiatives and achievements are highlighted.

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UNESCO
February 1, 2001

Every child has a right to an education. Multi-grade classes and single teacher schools have made it possible for many children in remote rural areas and communities to exercise this right. These classes exist in both developing and developed countries. In countries such as Norway and France, they have worked reasonably well.
However, in many developing countries, these classes and schools often lack educational materials, appropriately trained teachers and effective supervision. The teachers rarely receive training in how
to deal with them, and are ill-prepared for managing large numbers of pupils, of different ages and levels of learning, that they confront in the classes.

If progress is to be made towards Education for All, the challenges of multi-grade classes and single teacher schools must be urgently met. Children in small communities must have access to good quality education.

To this end, in cooperation with various institutions, UNESCO conducted a series of case studies in fourteen countries namely: Australia, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, China, Korea, France, Greece, Lesotho, Mali, the Philippines, Portugal, Tanzania, Russia and Zaire. Following this experience, UNESCO, jointly with the Royal Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs in Norway, initiated a programme to enhance the effectiveness of multi-grade classes and single-teacher schools. On the basis of information gained through the case studies, an interregional workshop on “Single-Teacher Schools and Multi-grade classes” was held in Lilleham-mer, .N orway 2 to 6 September 1996.

The participants were drawn from the countries in which the studies were undertaken. Norway was considered an apt partner because of its long history of offering education in small effective schools. The participants discussed the issues of multi-grade classes and single teacher schools and decided that it was necessary to prepare a handbook based on the experiences of the countries. The two volumes of this handbook reflect the shared experiences of the workshop. They are not intended to replace existing materials in use in formal teacher education courses, but for use in the in-service training of teachers working in multi-grade schools, and as a handy daily reference book for them.

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