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Universalising Secondary Education in the Caribbean: Contrasting Perspectives

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Universalising Secondary Education in the Caribbean: Contrasting Perspectives Caribbean Educational Research Journal The University of the West Indies Vol. 4, No. 1, April 2016, 97-114 Cave Hill Campus Universalising Secondary Education in the Caribbean: Contrasting Perspectives Verna Knight University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados Having adopted a regional conceptualisation of basic education as being necessarily inclusive of secondary level schooling, emerging research on Caribbean countries’ experiences with Universal Secondary Education (USE) highlight a plethora of concerns which have implications for educational quality at the secondary level (Knight, 2014; Knight & Obidah, 2014; Marks, 2009; Thompson, 2009). Such concerns mandate a re-examination of national justifications and extent of support for USE. As such, this paper discusses the national justifications for USE, and uses data collected from students, teachers, principals and ministry officials as a basis for an evaluation of stakeholder reactions and support USE in the tri-island state of Grenada. The findings show that students strongly support being granted the opportunity for a secondary education, and share a belief in a direct relationship between completion of secondary schooling and improved life prospects. Principals and teachers however, have concerns that USE may have limited secondary schools’ capacity to provide a quality education for every child. Given new global support for USE as a post-2015 education goal (UNESCO/UNICEF, 2013; UIS/UNICEF, 2015) this paper adds to a growing body of work relevant to informing effective education planning and policy development at the regional and international levels. Keywords: Caribbean Education, Universal Secondary Education, Secondary Education Introduction “Education represents the hopes, dreams and aspirations of children, families, communities and nations around the world – the most reliable route out of poverty and a critical pathway towards healthier, more productive citizens and stronger societies.” (UNESCO/UNICEF, 2015, p. 03) Increasing demand for secondary education during the post-emancipation and post- independence era in the Caribbean evidences the high value attached to secondary education by Caribbean nationals. Secondary education was accepted as being the most productive route to social mobility as it facilitates access to both university-level study as well as careers in various professional fields (DeLisle, 2012). The limited number of school places and the high demand in these early years necessitated a selection mechanism, and so two decades after its introduction in England in 1944, the Eleven Plus examination was introduced into the Email: [email protected] ISSN 1727-5512 ©School of Education, The University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus http://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/fhe/hum/publications/EducationCERJ.htm 98 V. Knight Caribbean as a means for selecting the highest performing students for free secondary level study. This approach was challenged at the beginning of the 21st century by both the Education For All Initiative (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) initiative which compelled world countries into action towards the provision of what became known as Universal Basic Education by 2015. Being signatory to the goals of these initiatives, and having adopted a definition of compulsory education as being from ages five to sixteen, most Caribbean countries re-doubled their efforts towards pursuing not only universalised access to primary education, but also increased access to secondary education. This emphasis on increasing access was evident in overt changes in education policies and plans across the region. Some countries took a comprehensive education-reform approach (such as Bahamas, Barbados, the countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), and Trinidad and Tobago), and others took a project-driven approach (such as Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, and the Turks and Caicos Islands) (Miller, 2000). Key to note at this stage is that prior to 2015, the international EFA and MDG initiatives had been careful to emphasise the goal of universal education access as being necessarily inclusive of access to primary education, and as far as possible access to the lower levels of secondary schooling. Therefore, while for other developing countries in areas such as Pakistan, South and West Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa, the EFA/MDG struggle was mostly limited to a focus on achieving universal primary education, in most Caribbean countries the focus had moved on to universal secondary education (Cohen, 2006; Cohen & Bloom, 2005; Latif, 2009; Omotayo, Ihebereme & Maduewesi, 2008; Sperling, 2005; Uko-Aviomoh, Okoh & Omatseye, 2007). Although there had been improvements in access to secondary education in the Caribbean during the 1980’s, at the end of that decade, student access to education at that level remained highly restricted and limited to the number of school places available, and students’ academic ability. A sub-regional assessment of the status of education in the OECS in 1989 revealed that the provision of educational access at the primary level was generally satisfactory (with the exception of students with disabilities who still faced challenges to access). The vast majority of students who entered primary schools were generally being promoted annually, remaining in school, and completing the primary cycle in the prescribed time, and so the system was deemed efficient. With efficient completion rates at the primary level, the limitations in access to the secondary level then became a major concern. A decision was therefore taken to expand, re-conceptualize and improve secondary education across the sub-region (Miller, 1991). The Plan for Restructuring Secondary Education in the OECS OECS member-states agreed that secondary education would be restructured to include the following key features as presented in Table 1. The Caribbean Educational Research Journal 99 Table 1 Summary of the Key Features of Planned OECS Restructure for Secondary Education 1991-2000 All OECS member states agreed to work towards the following reforms in education at the secondary level: Provision of secondary schooling to all children up to the age of 16 years; The transfer of all children who were not developmentally disabled; Provision of special schooling for the developmentally disabled up to age 16; Ensuring that the transfer from primary to secondary schooling be based on satisfying functional standards of literacy and numeracy at the primary level, and that this would lead to the phasing out of the Common Entrance Examinations overtime; That the age of transfer would be allowed to vary between 10-13; That secondary education would provide a general education through a common curriculum at the lower secondary level, followed by two years of broad specialization at the upper secondary level. Improving the quality of secondary education through comprehensive training for school principals and teachers , strengthening of foreign language teaching, and lengthening of school days to five and one half hours of instruction; Articulate secondary schooling with upper primary grades; tertiary programs; continuing education; and regional, sub-regional, and national TVET programs; Strengthen support services at the secondary level in areas such as guidance and counseling; social welfare; and libraries and learning resources. Adapted from “Foundations for the Future: The OECS Education Reform Strategy” (Miller et al., 1991). The general consensus was that secondary education was to be provided for all students in both regular and special education institutions until the age of 16, but that the transition would be dependent on students’ achievement of the functional standards of literacy and numeracy at the primary level. In 1998, an assessment of the status of progress on the secondary education strategies reported moderate to low implementation. The same strategies were therefore retained in the revised regional education reform strategy (Miller et al., 2000) with a few adaptations as evident in Table 2. 100 V. Knight Table 2 Adaptations to the Planned Strategies for Restructuring Secondary Education in the OECS Sub- Region 2000-2010 The following are some additions and clarifications included in the revised plan for restructuring secondary education 2000-2010: Provide secondary education for all children whose developmental status and level of educational attainment permit their acquisition of this level of education; Students meeting the functional literacy and numeracy standards at the primary level should receive certification of their achievement in the form of a primary school certificate; The age of transfer from the primary to the secondary education programme should be allowed to vary from 10 to 15 years. All students transferred to secondary education should be guaranteed five years of secondary schooling from the time of their transfer. At the upper secondary level, all students should be required to take English Language, Mathematics, a foreign language, a Science and a Technology subject as the core of their programme of study, to which would be added any other interested areas of study. Source: “Pillars for Partnership and Progress: The OECS Education Reform Strategy” (Miller et al., 2000) Specific mention must be made of the variation period provided for students in transferring to the secondary level – the age of transfer was allowed to vary from 10-15 years, and all students who transferred to the secondary
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