ABSTRACT Investigating the Cultural Identity of The Bahamas through a Study of Bahamian Primary Education Jennette Felicia Louise Walkine, Ed.D. Mentor: Perry Lynn Glanzer, Ph.D. Thirty-six years ago, The Bahamas attained independence from Britain. With this change, the nation’s leaders determined that a core element in building an independent nation was forming a sense of cultural identity among its people. Since then, there has been a continual effort by the government to develop cultural identity among its citizenry, particularly through education. The purpose of this study was to investigate how curriculum and instruction in Bahamian public primary schools are presently serving to develop cultural identity among Bahamian students. Oral traditions are considered to be a significant part of Bahamian history and culture. Moreover, Bahamians widely practice and depend on oral forms of communication. For these reasons, the cultural expression chosen to facilitate this investigation of Bahamian cultural identity was oral traditions. The theoretical framework of this study was based on the ideologies of cultural literacy and multicultural education. Although these ideologies are usually seen as opposites within the discourse of American education, I propose that these two approaches may actually be used in conjunction with each other as a means to develop cultural identity within the Bahamian context. Based on this premise, this study explored how a select number of primary school teachers use Bahamian oral traditions in several content areas to help primary schoolchildren develop a sense of cultural identity. This study used an ethnographic case study design, which included document analysis, questionnaires and interviewing. Findings from this investigation revealed that oral traditions were integrated across several content areas to various degrees, but received the greatest support in language arts and social studies curricula and instruction. Other observations included the use and influence of Bahamian dialect in the practice of oral traditions, and the prevalence of native oral traditions in mostly indigenous learning resources. Implications of these results are discussed in relation to the development of cultural identity among schoolchildren. I offer several suggestions for improving the present practice of content integration, alternative means to produce more native learning materials to stimulate increased pedagogical inclusion of oral traditions, and discuss possible effects of social attitudes towards Bahamian dialect on oral traditions instruction. Investigating the Cultural Identity of The Bahamas through a Study of Bahamian Primary Education by Jennette Felicia Louise Walkine, B.Sc., M.Ed. A Dissertation Approved by the Department of Curriculum and Instruction ___________________________________ Larry J. Browning, Ph.D., Chairperson Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Approved by the Dissertation Committee ___________________________________ Perry L. Glanzer, Ph.D., Chairperson ___________________________________ Tony L. Talbert, Ed.D. ___________________________________ Douglas W. Rogers, Ed.D. ___________________________________ Larry J. Browning, Ed.D. ___________________________________ Stephen M. Sloan, Ph.D. Accepted by the Graduate School December 2009 ___________________________________ J. Larry Lyon, Ph.D., Dean Page bearing signatures is kept on file in the Graduate School. Copyright © 2009 by Jennette Felicia Louise Walkine All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS List of figures viii List of tables ix Acknowledgments x Dedication xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Definitions of the study 3 Historical background of the study 6 Overview of slavery in The Bahamas 7 Changes in Caribbean demographics during the slave trade 12 Attitudes toward education during the 1700s to early 1900s in The Bahamas 15 Racial relations and educational advancements in the modern Bahamas 23 Nature of oral traditions in The Bahamas 29 Overview and assumptions of the study 32 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 35 Introduction 35 Cultural identity in general 35 Bahamian cultural identity 38 Roots and identity in The Bahamas 38 Routes and identity in The Bahamas 40 Cultural literacy, cultural preservation, and multicultural education 48 iv Conclusion 63 CHAPTER 3: METHOD 65 Introduction 65 Theoretical background for research design 65 Overview of the research design 67 Documents 68 Questionnaire 71 Ethnographic enquiry 71 Instrument 71 Description 71 Sample 72 Analysis of documents and questionnaire items 77 Personal interview 77 Selection of interviewee 78 Data collection 79 Analysis of interview 81 Internal validity 81 Generalizability 82 Reliability 84 Conclusion 84 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS 86 Introduction 86 General overview of questionnaire results 87 v Distribution and response rates 87 Demographics of respondents 88 Background of respondents 90 Teachers’ use of and attitudes towards oral traditions in pedagogy and curriculum 90 Materials used in teaching oral traditions 92 Teachers’ perceptions of Bahamian dialect in teaching oral traditions and Bahamian identity 94 Overview of document analysis 94 Art and design 96 Physical education 96 General science 98 Mathematics 99 Religious studies 101 Social studies 104 Language arts 108 Preserving our Heritage 113 Overview of interview 117 Conclusion 121 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 123 Implications of the study 124 Integration of oral traditions in curriculum and instruction 124 Publication of oral traditions 128 Dialect and preservation of oral traditions 134 vi Significance of the study 142 Limitations of the Study and Suggestions for Future Research 149 Limitations of the study 149 Suggestions for future research 151 APPENDICES 155 APPENDIX A: Report of the 2000 census of population and housing in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas 156 APPENDIX B: Questionnaire 167 APPENDIX C: Bahamian government’s permission to administer questionnaires 174 APPENDIX D: Questionnaire informed consent form 175 APPENDIX E: Bahamian government’s permission to conduct interview 177 APPENDIX F: Interview informed consent form 178 APPENDIX G: List of interview questions 180 APPENDIX H: Tables 182 APPENDIX I: Empirical examples of teachers’ major arguments for including Bahamian oral traditions in curriculum and instruction 188 APPENDIX J: Empirical examples of Bahamian proverbs, stories and riddles collected from questionnaire respondents 190 BIBLIOGRAPHY 193 vii LIST OF FIGURES 1. Age of questionnaire respondents 89 2. Nationality of respondents 89 3. Number of respondents employed at government primary schools in each settlement 89 4. Bahamians’ preference for foreign versus native products 133 viii LIST OF TABLES 1. Demography in Barbados before, during and after the Sugar Revolution 13 2. Schools Comprising Population Sample of Study 76 3. Schools included in Population Sample 87 4. Social Studies Concepts Taught from Grades 1 – 6 106 5. Distribution and Collection of Questionnaires among Sampled Primary Schools 182 6. Teachers’ Perceptions of the Suitability of Native Oral Instruction in the Selected Content Areas 183 7. Teachers’ Frequencies of Bahamian Riddles, Proverbs and Stories Inclusion in Operational Curricula 184 8. Teachers’ Frequencies in Allowing their Students to Share their own Versions of Bahamian Riddles, Stories and Proverbs 185 9. Teachers’ Frequencies in Including Native Oral Traditions in Hidden Curricula 186 10. Teachers’ Perceptions of the Ministry of Education’s Support of Oral Folklore in National Curricula 187 ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my mentor, Dr. Perry Lynn Glanzer, for his assistance and direction in writing this dissertation. His constant patience and understanding have been instrumental in motivating me to complete this study. I am also grateful to Dr. Tony Talbert, Dr. Douglas Rogers, Dr. Larry Browning, and Dr. Stephen Sloan for their participation in my dissertation committee and defense. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Lyford Cay Foundation (Bahamas), and Mrs. Toni Kaska and the School of Education who have assisted in funding my education at Baylor University. Most of all, I would like to thank my family and friends who have continually given me their support throughout this endeavor. x DEDICATION To my parents, Fr. Crosley and Mrs. Janet Walkine, who mean everything to me. Thank you for the endless doors of educational and personal development that you continually open to me and for the sacrifices you selflessly incur to make it all possible. Without those opportunities, I would not be the person I am today. I hope I always make you proud in everything that I do. Thank you for loving me the way you do, and thank you for never giving up on me. xi CHAPTER ONE Introduction Family is the pulse beat of every society. Through it are passed on customs and history. Into this context old stories and riddles are our heritage, Told by lamplight and never written on any page. There comes a time when people are maturing, And they seek to preserve cultural traditions in writing. We are four years old as a nation; maturing I would say! So preservation must be the order of the day. Psychologically, to know roots is most important. Cultural identity consists of past and present. Hence to be a full person and secure Includes accepting ancestry, even the obscure. Many of our youth now do not know Their heritage and what it is all about, Parents do not