Ining for Early Childhood Educators in Haiti
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DEVELOPMENT OF TRAINING FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS IN HAITI By Barbara Eileen Blazek Submitted to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts m Intemationajraraining an$ Chair: Dr. Flavia Ramos ichael Gibbons Dean of College of Arts and Sciences Date 2003 American University Washington, D.C., 20016 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY in cfi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1417391 Copyright 2003 by Blazek, Barbara Eileen All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 1417391 Copyright 2004 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ©COPYRIGHT by BARBARA EILEEN BLAZEK 2003 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEVELOPMENT OF TRAINING FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS IN HAITI By Barbara Eileen Blazek ABSTRACT This case study examines thedesign and facilitation of a training ofcaregivers in early childhood care and development for a newly-established orphanage community in Haiti. The overarching goal of this organization is to provide the best inputs possible to enrich the physical, cognitive, social and emotional development of the children while instilling them with a purpose dedicated to the betterment ofHaiti. This study addresses the effectiveness of an early childhoodcaregivers’ five-day training as based upon the transference of knowledge, skills and attitudes to the home situation with the children. Determining the best practices in early childhood care and education, adult education while respecting Haitian culture informed the design of the training. Playing the role of participant observer served as the principal data collection and analysis method used to develop the case study. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS At this time I would like to acknowledge my professors, Dr. Flavia Ramos and Dr. Michael Gibbons. Their continued support and guidance provided me with the necessary skills and confidence to see my project from training design, to the facilitation of the training and finally to the writing of the thesis. I am appreciative of the Orphans International Board for inviting me with them to Haiti, welcoming mywork for the training ofthe house parents and supplying mewith the resources necessary to carry out the training and my research. Finally, I am grateful to my family whose limitless encouragement and love hassupported me through various projects regardless of where in the world they have taken me. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................................... is ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...........................................................................................................................iii LIST OF TABLES.........................................................................................................................................vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS....................................................................................................................... vii GLOSSARY................................................................................................................................................ viii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................1 Purpose of Study Problem Statement Description of Research Site and Population PrimaryResearch and Implementing Questions Research Methodology Methods and Tools Data Analysis Limitations and Delimitations Chapter Summaries 2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON HAITIAN CULTURE.............................................. 9 Proverbial Insight Questionnaires and Evaluation Unstructured Interviews Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Observation Text Analysis Demographic Analysis Summary 3. INFLUENCES ON TRAINING DESIGN. .23 Support for Attentionto Early Childhood Care and Development Connections between Early Childhood and Adult Education Programs in Early ChildhoodEducation Theories in Adult Education Training Design Summary 4. Training and Discussion..............................................................................................................37 Orphans International - The Organization The Location and Participants Summary 5. Analysis and Conclusions........................................................................................................ 63 Lessons Learned Primary Research Questions Answered Challenges I Faced Conclusions Recommendations APPENDICES 73 REFERENCES 109 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLES Table Page 1. Life Expectancy in Haiti andthe Dominican Republic............................................................................. 19 2. Multivariate Statistics.............................................................................................................................. 21 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Points of Comparison in Early Childhood Care and Adult Learning.......................................................25 2. Our Role at Orphans International............................................................................................................43 3. Interactionbetween the Child in Orphans International, Haiti with his/her Global and Home Communities...................................................................................................................44 4. Positiveand Negative Forms of Discipline...............................................................................................46 vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. GLOSSARY Andragogy: adult education practices focusingon active participation from the learners with a respect for previous experience; and focus on real life problems (Ramos, 2002 and Srinivasan, 1992). Conscientization: refers to the process in which people, in control of their own thinking; becomes aware of their own sociocultural context andthe factors influencing it and strive to make changes (Freire, 1985). Constructivism: Cognitive development based upon continuous mental manipulation of structuring and restructuring pieces of learning into ideas (Morrison, 2003). Formal Education: institutionalized structure - clearly defined roles of teacher and student; typically a set curriculum (Ramos, 2002). Non Formal Education: cooperative approach to purposeful learning with a focus on learning from colleagues and from own experiences; may occur in a variety of settings. (Ramos, 2002). Pedagogy: education of children at times connected with the negative connotationof learners as passive recipients of knowledge; in reality many experts in child education advocate for children being actively engaged in their own learning process (Ramos, 2002). Praxis: the reflection on action; used with adult education theories(Vella, 2002). viii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION It is never too early to become involved But it can easily be too late. Message relayed at the first Early Childhood Conference held by the World Bank.(Young,2002) Purpose ofStudy This study isa literature-based evaluation ofa training program in early childhood care and education for house parents of an orphanage in Haiti. Thefindings, conclusions and recommendations of this study have implications for subsequent training of orphanage staff in Haiti and other countries where internationally-recognized good practices need to be integrated with non-Westem cultural norms. The intent of this first training was to prepare the newly-hired house parents with the tools necessary to positively impactHaiti’s most valuable resource - its children. The participants at the Jomtien Conference in Thailand in 1990 examined the Rights of the Child and agreed that all children deserve a right to an education. As more funding goes into improving the child mortality rates, it is found that 12 in 13 children will survive infancy, so now the question is not so much that of infant survival but of enabling the child