Grammar school Essay

From 1834, the family of emancipation of slaves in Dominica and the proto(prenominal)(a) British West Indian colonies to 1845, the popular command that was existent was re entirelyy spectral direction. The concept of a state form of teaching method in the West Indies emerged in Britain in 1833 as part of the cloak to emancipate slaves in British custody. previous to that, the masses of the people had practic everyy no formal education. In Dominica, from 1834 onwards, the British subsidized native education by means of grants but basic bothy, education was imported and promoted mainly by missionaries.The content of education was divorced from the interests and needs of the masses and the community. Emphasis was on the classics and the arts. There is little dubiety that the churches original interest in education was the creation of influential educated elite. In practice, their interests were denomi home(a), especially seen in the establishment of lower-ranking inculcate s. Proposed educational policies depended greatly on the availability of funds, which were always insufficient. Therefore, changes and reforms were minimal. The newly elected legislative councils and their leaders gave little support.In reality, education, in practice was for a privileged minority. The populace remained virtually carnal and illiterate. The pre-emancipation society was hence not in any sense an educated superstar. Where slaves received any aiming at all it was of a religious nature provided by the church at long intervals. The political science had no aims or standards hence there was no system of formal education. It was against this background that the British violet G everyplacenment incorporated an education grant in the 1833 cloak of Emancipation to assist in the educational development of the Negroes.Establishing informs for the masses was provided for by the Act, which included grant m superstary from the imperial government to provide education in the ex-slave colonies. This grant money is k presentlyn as the Negro Education Grant. It was regarded as an urgent matter. The wide-cutity grant amounted to a mere ? 30,000 per annum for five familys for all the BWI of almost one million people. The purpose to allocate the grant was executed through the local legislatures and the religious bodies. The grant was decreased each year and ended in 1845.The denominations were offered financial help to build directs, and later to assist in the payment of teachers salaries as the best means of developing a system of education. Dominicas sh be of the Grant amounted only to ? 600 to be spent on 14,000 ex-slaves. This amount was very insignificant and was spent mainly by the Society for the filename extension of the Gospel (SPCK). After two years it became app atomic number 18nt that the desired and intended results were not forthcoming because of the umpteen difficulties faced. Some churches were unable to accept more grants because they could not bear the recurrent expenditure on their rails.In noble-minded 1837, the grant was switched to pay one-third of teachers salaries instead. This was insufficient, and the societies did not expand their operations further. As the expected refinement did not materialise the imperial government was disappointed. Hence, the union of the imperial government, local legislatures and the churches could not fulfil the early ambition to create a viable education system. Thus, in 1841, the imperial government sustained to withdraw the fund. The Mico trustees who had through the most protested, but to no avail.In 1845 it came to an end, and so the burden fell on the West Indian legislatures and leaders to increasingly support the education of their witness children. In Dominica, the drive towards education for the masses was assisted by the local legislature, thus complimenting the work done by charities and the churches so that by July 1840, Dominica had 20 schools, 10 teachers, 1,086 pupils and match average attendance was 750. The British Imperial Government gave two main reasons for ending the NEG 1. English workers were give tongue to to be worse-off than West-Indian workers 2.The Baptists were said to be prospering although they had refused all aid Both claims were false. The churches lacked both money and resources. The British felt in the case of Dominica that the Catholic Church could not and would not provide appropriate education. They therefore supported alternatives to church schools. They mulish to provide secular schools and to withdraw grants to the church schools. This was strongly opposed until a compromise was reached. The main success of the period of the NEG was the idea of popular education.The Provision of thirdhand Education in Dominica Providers and Gender Issues From the foregoing, one can appreciate the fact that the provision of education was a task that refer the participation of salwaysal providers or stakeholders The Bri tish Imperial Authority, the Local Legislature or Assembly, the Church (especially the Catholics) and the Charities (especially the Mico Trust). Prior to emancipation, the provision of education was the responsibility of the churches and the charities. Education was very limited and very few benefited. In reality, what ever was taught was basically religious education.With the passage of the Act of Emancipation, an attempt was made to establish popular education. The NEG thus provided the compulsory funds for this purpose but eventually ended in failure. These funds were channelled through the bodies mentioned above, especially through the charities and the churches. By 1868 the main providers were mainly the state (the Local Legislature) and the church. It must(prenominal) not be forgotten that the Brobdingnagian majority of the population were Catholics and therefore co-operation and compromise between the two bodies were of paramount importance.By that date, the majority of p rimary schools belonged to the state i. e. 18 out of 33 (54%). This was funny, for no new(prenominal) West Indian society had much(prenominal) participation by the state in educational provision. In the case of second-string education, the provision was by the Church (Catholic). The first establishment for the provision of vicarious education was the Convent advanced train (CHS) in 1858. This was solely for the children of the local elite. The children of the rural peasantry and the working classes were excluded. The state provided some funds for the school. besides there were no lower-ranking education provided for the masses. It is again unique to Dominica in that early period that post-primary education was being provided only to girls when this sex activity was marginalized in the rest of the W. I and in Britain itself. Even today, in 2000, over 65% of supplementary school students are girls. The figures for the Clifton Dupigny Community College, University of Technol ogy (Jamaica) and University of the West Indies are most the aforesaid(prenominal). In the case of Dominica, male marginalization has had a long history, contrary to popular opinion.Due to mounting pressure and clamour for utility(prenominal) education for boys and the children of the masses, the state established the Dominica Grammar initiate (DGS) on the 16th of January 1893, with a registration list of 25 boys low the headmastership of one tutor, Mr. W. Skinner (M. A a graduate from Catherines College, Cambridge, England). It was to be run as a government school, with the aim to provide higher education for boys. The building being used was a personalised gift from Mr. Dawbiney, a respectable Jamaican who had settled in the island.The DGS remained a boys school until 1972. This occurred at a time when the number of girls requireed by the Common gate Examinations far surpassed that of boys. The first DGS girls came from the CHS and the WHS. The total number of girls on t he roll for that year totalled 34 out of a total of 560 students. Thus a reluctant but necessary era commenced in that year the DGS becoming a coeducationalucational institution chthonian the headship of Mr. J. K. Gough (B. Sc Dip. Ed. from Scotland). In that same year there were 14 Dominican staff members who were university graduates.Not to be outdone by the Catholics, the Wesleyan Society (Methodists) following the tradition of their rivals, opened the second high school for girls in the island, the Wesley elevated give lessons (WHS) in October 1927. By that year, 80% of the students admission feeing secondary education were girls. This again was a unique situation second to none in the W. I. This further marginalized the boys given the restrictive and limited nature of access at the time. At this juncture, it is necessary to appreciate the great effort expended by the churches in the provision of secondary education in the island of Dominica, albeit for denominational reas ons.In 1932, the Christian Brothers (Catholics) opened the second educational establishment providing secondary education for boys, the Saint Marys Academy (SMA). By that year educational provision was roughly equal for both genders with boys straightway having the slight edge, notwithstanding the fact that the girls were doing better in entrance and intelligence exams. There were insufficient spaces available. An entrance examination would short be rigorously applie to ration out, select and match the number of students to the available supply of places.This state of inequitable affairs became unbearable as the girls were now being marginalized in favour of boys who were securing less passes than girls in the exams. In other words, the selection was a billet of available places. The two boys schools had more places than the two girls schools. Therefore, fewer girls were selected although their average scores were higher than that of boys who secured places. In the1972/1973 scho ol year, the Labour government of Mr. Edward Oliver Leblanc took the bold step to make the DGS co-educational.This occurred at a time when the number of girls who had succeeded at the Common Entrance Examinations far surpassed that of boys. Since then, girls eat up kept on increasing the education gap or divide to the extent that in Dominica and the West Indies this problem of male marginalisation and male underachievement and the like, have now snuff it so serious that it threatens the whole concept of male patriarchy. The year 1972 has been regarded as a milestone in Dominicas educational history as far as secondary education is interested.From that year all new secondary schools have opted to become co-educational with the exception of the Saint Martins lower-ranking civilize in 1988. Another important milestone in our educational history is the year 1971. For the first time, secondary educational provision moved out of Roseau with the establishment of the co-educational Por tsmouth supplemental instruct (PSS). This greatly reduced the make up burden to parents in the northwest, north and northeast of the island, who, hitherto had to make tremendous sacrifices to provide education for their children in the capital, Roseau.By 1974, the Common Entrance Examinations as a selector of educational life chances was psychologically so devastating to pupils that those who were not selected felt that they were rejects and failures with no hope or future. It was against this backdrop that a group of concerned persons headed by Ms. Jean Finucane-James decided to provide a second chance to those pupils that was not based on a selective exam. This co-educational school was named the Dominica Community High take aim (DCHS). Apart from the PSS, the early 1970s were characterised for having secondary education concentrated in the capital city of Roseau.The 70s was a period of political upheaval. In August 1979, Hurricane David struck and the island was devastated 43 deaths, massive destruction of crops and the forest, wildlife was decimated, schools and the social and economic infrastructure was destroyed. The economy came to a standstill. Educationally, the students suffered greatly. A large number of students from the northeast could not attend the Roseau schools. In the aftermath of the hurricane, two schools were opened in the northeast St.Andrews High School (SAHS) in 1979, located in Londonderry which is run and operated by the Methodists and in 1980, the Marigot Foundation High School (MFHS) headed by Mr. Martin Roberts, a former Methodist minister. The last named school was eventually renamed the Marigot Secondary School (MSS) when in 1999 it passed over to the state. These two schools are co-educational institutions. In this catchment area the Common Entrance Exams consistently selects more girls than boys. In the 1980s four schools were established. In 1981, the Seventh-Day Adventists began to provide secondary education.The Seventh- day Adventist Secondary School (SASS) is located in the Portsmouth suburb of Granvillia. It is a co-ed school. In that very same year the co-ed St. Joseph Campus of the DGS was opened which later became a separate entity as the St. Joseph Secondary School. In 1996 it was renamed the Isaiah Thomas Secondary School. In 1988, two government co-ed secondary schools were established from what were formerly Junior Secondary Programmes the Goodwill Secondary School (GSS) and the Grand Bay Secondary School (GBSS). In that same year, the Catholicrun St.Martins School for girls upgraded its technical/vocational wing into a fully-fledged secondary school called the St. Martins Secondary School (SMSS). With the opening of these new schools and the continued use of the Common Entrance Exams the gender balance continue to be in favour of girls to the detriment of boys. In October 1994 the Nehemiah Christian Foundation headed by Mrs. Rhoda George opened the Nehemiah Comprehensive School with 60 bo ys and girls. The school is located in Jimmit, Mahaut.In the financial year 1995/96 the government entered into a loan agreementwith the World Bank to fund the Basic Education Reform Project (BERP). one of the collar main objectives of the project was to expand access to secondary education. Under the project, this objective was fulfilled in the co-ed Castle Bruce Secondary School (CBSS) in 1998. TABLE I DOMINICA Academic Secondary Schools, 2002/03 School Year Founded Boys Girls Total Status Convent High School 1858 0 493 493 Assisted Dominica Grammar School 1893 518 281 799 declare Wesley High School 1927 0 287 287 Assisted St.Marys Academy 1932 420 0 420 Assisted Portsmouth Secondary School 1971 402 435 837 State Dominica Community High School 1975 79 46 125 Assisted St. Andrews High School 1979 233 292 525 Assisted Marigot Secondary School 1980 86 59 145 Assisted Isaiah Thomas Secondary School 1981 312 393 705 State SDA Secondary School 1981 108 87 195 Private St. Martins Secondary School 1988 0 306 306 Assisted Goodwill Secondary School 1988 380 262 642.State Grand Bay Secondary School 1988 334 343 677 State Nehemiah Comprehensive School 1994 64 73 137 Assisted Castle Bruce Secondary School 1998 266 291 557 State hunting watch Academy 2003 Private Total 3 202 3 648 6 850 Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth Affairs, 2002/03 The School Curriculum some(prenominal) factors impinge on the development of the syllabus in Dominica slavery, colonialism, politics, economics, religion, socio-cultural biases, parents, teachers and the learners themselves.In the pre-emancipation era the computer programme that existed was of a religious nature. The society was largely illiterate and ignorant. There existed no notion or idea of popular or mass education. With emancipation in 1834, the rudiments of a system of education began to take order. The limited course of instruction was non-scientific and bookishly academic based on rote and memory teaching and learning. By 1868, as the primary system took root the three rs were taught namely reading, writing and arithmetic. The system that was taking shape was one that would provide labourers and servants and no more.At the secondary level, the syllabus catered for the children of the elite Maths, Science, Geography, English, Greek, and Latin. The colonial powers and the local legislatures controlled the educational system. In other words, the ruling elites/classes decided who should be taught, what should be taught, when, how and where. The entire process from start to finish was decided for the learner. In 1899, Agriculture was being promoted as a subject to be taught so that the learner would become an agricultural labourer or worker on an estate or join the ranks of the impoverished peasantry.So agricultural schools were encouraged. In this way the islands would remain as sources of primary agricultural produce. When the British abolished the local legislatu res and compel direct crown colony rule the curriculum again was being used as a tool to keep the masses in their place. It limited them to learn the basics and agriculture. Attempts were made to improve education at the end of the First World War (1914-1918) salaries to teachers, payments by results and attempts at compulsory education. The West Indian Conference in Dominica in 1932 urged the region to struggle for compulsory education among other things.This failed. In 1957, the ministerial system was brought to Dominica with some exercise of authority by the house of assembly. But power still lied with the British parliament. Budgets could be passed, but had to be approved by Britain. In 1967, Dominica became an associate state with Gt. Britain. all(a) internal matters were under local jurisdiction, but unknown affairs, trade and defence resided with Gt. Britain. Dominica could now influence and shape educational progress, but very little happened. The primary system continued to develop. The high schools became stagnant.The last one to be established was in 1936 (SMA). Thirty-seven years passed before the next one, the PSS was established. By 1978, the curriculum at the primary was now being driven by the Common Entrance Examinations to the detriment of all else. The same thing could be found at the secondary schools. The entire curriculum was driven by foreign external examinations. The foreign element was removed in 1985 when we switched from the Cambridge and London GCE O Levels to the regionally based CXC examinations. But the GCE A Levels still continue to dictate the curriculum at the post-secondary level.In 1998, CXC began to test pilot its own A Levels known as CAPE, which will soon replace the English-based GCE A Levels. The School Curriculum and Examinations The CXC and the GCE curriculum dictate the locus and focus of secondary education in Dominica. These exams cater for the 30-40% of the ability range of secondary students. The entire curric ulum was driven by foreign external examinations. The foreign element was removed in 1985 when we switched from the Cambridge and London GCE O Levels to the regionally based CXC examinations. But the GCE A Levels still continue to dictate the curriculum at the post-secondary level.In 1998, CXC began to test pilot its own A Levels known as CAPE, which will soon replace the English-based GCE A Levels. The HSC, LSC and GCE dominated the curriculum of secondary schools since the 1880s. The failure rates were very high at both the O and A Levels. It was also a drain on the scarce resources of the region. The minimum of 5 O Level subjects were required to move into the sixth form and five subjects were needed of which 2 must be at A Level for university entry. The Caribbean was influenced by educational and curriculum developments in North the States and Europe, especially Britain.Revolutionary curricular changes in maths and science were being undertaken in the USA as a result of the Rus sian success in Sputnik I. In the U. K, the Nuffield Foundation invested heavily in a science development project. In 1969-70, the West Indian Science Curriculum Innovation Project (WISCIP) began at St. Augustine, UWI, and Trinidad. It was a new approach with emphasis on enquiry and experimentation, understanding and constructive thinking. This was introduced in the DGS and the other high schools of the time. During that same period New Mathematics was introduced in the schools curriculum.All five of the secondary schools in Dominica adopted it. The Convent High School had their first O Level candidates in 1971, and the DGS in 1972. Results in all Caribbean schools were not so good at first because of the unfamiliarity with the new approaches and topics such as inverses, identities, algebra of sets and matrices, decimalization and metrification, vectors, inequalities and topology. At first most of the schools used the School Mathematics Project (SMP) books, but these were replaced b y the roast Schools Project (Caribbean edition) series, as part of the CEDO/UNESCO/UWI Caribbean Mathematics Project.The CXC was established in 1972 to serve the Commonwealth Caribbean. The process took over 10 years. The CXC was to replace the GCE exams. It would develop syllabi, conduct exams and issue certificates. This was a form of asserting cultural and skilful independence from our colonial past and from Britain. Politically, the Caribbean has eschewed integration. There was the West Indian Federation as colonies of Britain (1958-1962). It ended in failure due to insularity, nationalism and dependency.With independence, the nations can dictate their educational goals and match these to national needs. In Dominica, we have not had a long history of educational reforms established in law. In 1949 an Education Act was passed to regulate and govern the sector. This was changed in 1997 when the new Education Act was passed. This was part of an attempt to harmonise education legi slation in the Eastern Caribbean. In 1995 the Basic Education Reform Project was launched (BERP). The Project had three main objectives 1. to strengthen the management and planning capacity of the Ministry, 2.to enhance the quality of education, and 3. to expand and conserve school places. Economically, we live in an interdependent world, a global village. We are partners bargaining from a position of weakness. mismatched terms of trade, onerous foreign debts, trade deficits and balance of payment problems deplete our resources so that our educational budgets are severely constrained. In general (1999 2004), Dominica spends somewhat 17% of its recurrent budget on education, 1-2% on materials and supplies and about 80% on personal emoluments. New Curriculum Developments.Primary schools follow a curriculum, which has recently been reviewed by the Curriculum Development Unit (CDU). Schools have been provided with curriculum guides for English Language, Mathematics and General Scienc e for Grades K to 6. Curriculum guides for Social Studies, Mathematics, Science and English Language were to become available in September 1999 for grades K to 6. A curriculum guide for Social Studies has been prepared for Form 1 at the secondary level. Workbooks for Grades k to 3 for English were to have been made available from September 1999.In addition a curriculum guide for Health and Family Life covering primary and secondary age ranges is being monitored and supported in schools. A draft national policy for this was presented to Cabinet in August 1998 but has not in time been officially approved. The CDU has planned to review Music, PE, Art and Craft, and Agriculture in 2001 as well as to start writing and production of support materials for pupils and teachers. The revised primary schools curriculum appears to be appropriate at the national level. The main problem appears to be in its delivery.The main need at the primary level for curriculum development is in relation to a dapting the teachers guides for multigrade teaching and provision of differentiated activities for all subjects and all classrooms. Dominica does not have a National Curriculum and therefore, the curriculum de facto is determined by each school and in practice is closely related to the requirements of the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) other external examinations and higher ability students. A balance needs to be struck between the academic and practical skills education in the secondary sector in any future national curriculum.The Ministry of Education has outlined the following process to go at the promulgation and implementation of the National Curriculum (NC) National Curriculum Committee (NCC) established in school year 1999/2000 NCC reviews existing curriculum locally and regionally Under the NCC, composition Teams and type Areas are established Development of Syllabi, and Curriculum Guides in Core Subject Areas Curriculum Training of Staff/Subject Team Members Resourc e Provision First Draft National Curriculum in Core Subject Areas Review of Draft Curriculum Development of Curricula in other subject areas.Establishment of National Norms and Standards for all subjects Piloting of National Curriculum in a cross-section of schools Promulgation of National Curriculum by Minister of Education Use by all schools of the National Curriculum as of September 2003 The Secondary Education Support Project (SESP) had been working with the Curriculum Development Unit (CDU) to write and pilot a revised curriculum for Forms 1 to 3 in the core subjects of English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies, incorporating activities for average and to a lower place average ability pupils.Drafts of curriculum guides for Form 1 have been completed and were made available to schools in September 1999. All the guides for the four core subjects were made available in 2001. The CDU also has completed work in Music, Art, Craft, and Agriculture. However, the major curriculu m need resides in the consideration of a curriculum which will contact the needs of all students academic, technical/vocational, aesthetic, spiritual, moral and for citizenship and fulfill the ambitions set out in the 1997 Education Act. This would be especially so when Universal Secondary Education is achieved.