Education

INTRODUCTION

In 2003, the OECS Ministers of Education requested that research be conducted to investigate factors that lead to relatively high rates of indiscipline in school and suggest policy options. This request grew from rising concerns expressed by education system stakeholders in all OECS countries over issues of growing verbal and physical violence and disruptive classroom behaviour, all of which impair the capacity of the education system to effectively accomplish its main aims. In response to this request, the OECS Education Reform Unit (OERU) undertook this comprehensive study, building on its previous research work. The objectives of the study were:

· Describe and analyze the prevalence, nature, and sources of school discipline problems in
OECS schools, with special emphasis on violence (any type of violence involving pupils,
teachers, parents or others that affects the school environment)

· Identify policy implications and formulate recommendations to OECS Ministers of
Education for actions aiming to 1) prevent, 2) reduce opportunities for, and 3) effectively
manage school discipline problems.

Criterion‐referenced
examinations

• 
  • Performance is measured against
  specific objectives, set criteria or
  standards
  • Examinations are offered twice per
  year:
  January : Caribbean Secondary
  Education Certificate (CSEC) only at
  General proficiency

           May/June : CSEC General and Technical
            Proficiency; CAPE

Which curriculum?

The ideal curriculum – what scholars believe should be
taught;
The formal curriculum – what is written down in ministry
documents;
The perceived curriculum – what teachers say they are
teaching;
The operational curriculum – what observers see being
taught in classrooms;
The experiential curriculum – what the students
experience in their learning.

Executive summary
Proposed 10-year agenda for embedding curriculum reforms
and harmonization in schools

This paper presents curriculum reform as a significant change in the culture
and practice of teaching. It suggests that the school curriculum is dynamic
and can only succeed if it fully involves the participation of teachers. The
paper thus proposes curriculum development as a strategy for teacher and
school improvement. The strategy is envisaged as growing from the work of
the Eastern Caribbean Education Reform Project and the OECS Education
Reform Unit. The aim of any large-scale plan for school and teacher
improvement, based on that strategy, should be that every teacher will be
both involved in and empowered by the changes that are underway. The
following agenda is proposed as a means by which the original vision of a
more harmonized curriculum in the territories of the OECS can be effected.

Curriculum Development and Harmonization

Huge reforms attempted
Need to implement these reforms
Focus more on the classroom
Harmonized framework
KISS – common attainment targets/LOs
Look at networking, on line publishing
 Support for schools
Assessment for learning

Education:

                                                                                 The necessary Utopia                                                                          
                                                                            Looking ahead                                                      Jacques Delors
Tensions to be overcome
Designing and building our common future
Learning throughout life: the heartbeat of society
The stages and bridges of learning: a fresh approach
Getting the reform strategies right
Broadening international co-operation in the global village

Education:
the necessary Utopia Jacques Delors
Looking ahead
.
Tensions to be overcome
Designing and building our common future
Learning throughout life: the heartbeat of society
The stages and bridges of learning: a fresh approach
Getting the reform strategies right
Broadening international co-operation in the global village

PREAMBLE

This draft (IT) ICT Policy for Education is based on the Government's
recognition of knowledge as a necessary basis for sustainable human
development.

The Policy therefore seeks to define the roles of all parties in the new smart
partnerships of the public, private and community sectors required to drive
the far-reaching changes needed to achieve knowledge for all in the new
Information Age.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Goals and objectives.

(1) The Minister shall, subject to available resources, establish and pursue for the education system general and specific goals and objectives as provided in subsections.

(2) The general goals and objectives which the Minister shall
establish and pursue are -

(a) the establishment of a varied, relevant and
comprehensive educationa

BACKGROUND

The OECS Education Reform Unit (OERU) has deferred the decision on whether or not
General Pedagogical Information (GPI) the software used in the Education Management
Information System (EMIS) pilot project should be rolled out to the entire education in
St. Lucia and to other education systems in the sub-region. This deferment followed
careful consideration of the report on the evaluation of the EMIS pilot project and the
stage at which this evaluation was done, that is, prior to the generation of key school and
national reports.

In meantime, the OERU has decided to draft, through this consultancy, policies and
guidelines for the procurement of EMIS solutions in order to increase the likelihood of
success of future EMIS implementations that are undertaken by ministries of education
(MOEs) in isolation and to promote the need for compatibility among EMIS solutions
selected by various MOEs.

INTRODUCTION

The OECS Education Reform Unit has, over the years, supported a series of major
reforms in education in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MOE) in each Member
State. The Eastern Caribbean Education Reform Project (ECERP), with financial assistance
from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), has implemented a number of
initiatives aimed at strengthening the capacity of Eastern Caribbean States to plan and implement
education reform through sub-regional cooperation. To this end, two such initiatives involve the
identification and use of a set of core education indicators and a sub-regional Education
Management Information System (EMIS) for the OECS. These two initiatives provide the
“framework and mechanisms” which we can use to monitor the performance of education in the
OECS.

• Vision
  Creating lifelong learners who can adapt
  to regional and global realities