Running head: UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO SECONDARY EDUCATION 1

DIVISION OF TEACHER EDUCATION

COURSE: JBTE/EDSF 101/201: Introduction to Social and Cultural Foundations of Education

NAME OF ASSIGNMENT: UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO SECONDARY EDUCATION

STUDENT ID: 1907037

DATE: November 6th, 2019

LECTURER: RODERICK MCKREE

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From the birth of the regional integration movement, the spotlight has always maintained

the focus on people as the key in the process of bringing the Caribbean together. In an attempt to

do so, an effective functional framework for education and human resource development must be

established. (Jules, n.d). It is the overarching goal of education within the Organisation of

Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and in the OECS Education Sector Strategy (OESS) “to

contribute to the socio-economic advancement of the OECS through a quality system of

education that will enable all learners, no matter their age to reach their true potential" ( 2012 –

2021, OESS, p.11).

In light of this and against the backdrop of poverty alleviation, human resource

development, social and economic advancement, and a firm grounding in the existing

frameworks and conventions for educational reform, countries within the OECS moved to

accelerate educational reform.This new era of educational reform developed about eighteen years

ago and reinforced in the Pillars for Partnership and Progress (PPP)in 2000, point to the need to

pay serious attention to the provision of a diversified secondary education system for all students

(Hinds, 2007).This paper will discuss four factors that led to the implementation of

Universal Access to Secondary Education (USE) in the OECS countries and will further

discuss the impact of such an implementation among the aforementioned countries along

with specific highlights of the impact in St.Vincent and the Grenadines.

The first factor which led to the implementation of USE in the OECS countries is the

educational frameworks and conventions outlined in various international organizations which

have been adopted by the governments within the sub-region. One such framework and

convention is the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child. Central to the principles
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in that document were the right to education and equality of opportunity for all children. Articles

28 and 29 arebriefly summarized as follows:

(28) -The child has the right to education; …

(29) -The child’s education should be directed to the development of the child’s personality,

talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential (UN, 1989).The ‘No Child Left

Behind Act of 2001’ (NCLB) - an Act of Congress signed by Former U.S. President George

Bush - which reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act. In addition, the eight (8)

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) developed in the UN Millennium Summit in 2000 all

play a pivotal role in the shaping of the OESS and hence, the OECS Education Reform Unit

(OERU).

Marks (2009) agrees by stating that educational reform within the sub-region is also

guided by international conventions. She listed the United Nations Millennium Development

Goals (2000), the Education for All initiatives led by theUnited Nations Educational Scientific

and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the work of UNESCO generally, all direct and shape

the focus and content of education globally. Hinds (2007) reiterated further that “developing

countries usually are enmeshed in a complex web of ideas and practices developed by powerful

international agencies and the developed countries in general” (p.6).Jules (2010) reinforced the

idea by stating that ‘a major driver of educational progress in the Caribbean in the past 20 years

has been international trends in education that have been pushed and promulgated by the

intellectual financial complex (World Bank, UNESCO, and major donor agencies)” (p. 2).

Third world countries follow the pattern of first world countries in order to become as

efficient and productive as they are. Moreover, due to the diminutiveness of the economical and
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geographical structure of the countries, they become ‘slaves’ to developed countries and are

often ‘forced’ tofollow suit or do their biddings. Hence, the saying ‘when America sneezes, the

Caribbean catches cold’ comes into being.

Furthermore, several gaps and deficiencies were evident in the Caribbean education

systems. According to Forde (n.d) the education systems in the OECS countries were modeled

on an old British system which had at least two disadvantages. The first being its elitist focus,

and the second is the fact that the struggling, undeveloped, and predominantly primary

economies that exist (within the OECS countries and the Caribbean on a wider scale) could not

deal efficiently with the British educational systems. In light of the issues and problems

mentioned above and the perception among citizens that the standards in education were actually

falling, tremendous pressure was placed on the Governments to review the education systems. It

is against this background that Ministers of Education of the OECS decided at their Fourth

Annual Meeting held in Tortola in October 1990 to embark on a long-term collaborative

comprehensive OECS Education Reform Strategy. Jules (2010) stated that over the past 20

years, education in the Caribbean has experienced several reforms and changes with most of

them seeking to address perceived deficits or problems in the system.

In St.Vincent, more specifically, the Education Revolution, as it is called, was introduced

at a time when the production of goods in the economy was becoming obsolete so that the focus

was then changed to the production of services as against the production of goods.This new

condition of economic diversification was imperative due to the significant loss in income in

banana revenue. However, at the same time, revenue from tourism earnings grew. Those who

graduated from primary school had fewer banana holes to dig but they were not accorded

secondary education or post-primary training to equip them for a different and transforming
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economy (Gonsalves, 2010). The educationsystem was definitely deficient and had become

dysfunctional in preparing people to do service in the service industry. In order to account for

this change and to deal with this deficiency, Jules (2010) highlighted that the move towards a

service economy requires universal secondary education as the new educational standard that

will guarantee the human resource capacity to successfully make the transition. Consequently,

there developed a need for universal access to secondary education.

Another factor hinges on the rapid pace of globalization and the impact of the

technological revolution. This factor is supported by Jules (n.d) who stated these two will

necessitate a redefinition of basic education to include secondary education, thus making higher

education a developmental imperative.To facilitate this pace of globalisation and revolution, he

calls two philosophical ideas into being. The first is thestatement of the ‘ideal Caribbean person’.

This statementwasapproved by the Heads of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in 1996

four years prior to the goals construed by the UN Millennium Summit. Hinds (2007)

reemphasizes the idea by stating that the concept of the ideal Caribbean person depends largely

on the formal educational system. He further purports that a sound education during childhood

and adolescence is the base to the fundamentals of the expected behavioursof CARICOM.As a

result the ideal person

“should be able to demonstrate multiple literacies, be independent and think critically,

question the beliefs and practices of past and present and bring this knowledge to bear on

innovation and problem solving. The citizen should also demonstrate a positive work

ethic, value and display creative imagination and nurture its development in the economic

and entrepreneurial spheres and all other areas of life” (p.7).

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The second finds its roots in the UNESCO’s imperatives for learning in the 21st Century.

These imperatives are described as: learning to learn; learning to be; learning to do and learning

to live, together. They are the catalyst required for navigating the challenges in this new

historical era. For these to be accomplished, all citizens must have access to a secondary

education.

Finally, universal access to secondary education is essential in achieving national and

regional goals that promise development of human resources via education. Hinds (2007) argues

that: 1. a human capital approach to development lies in the provision of the highest level of

education as a stimulus to human economic development and 2.a secondary education to all

adolescents creates a wider pool of human talent that has to be nurtured. In St. Vincent

particularly, universal secondary education (USE), instituted by 2005, was intended to propel

social and economic advancement. This was grounded in the philosophical thought that

education was pivotal to the development of human capital. It was recognized that increased

access to secondary education wouldaddress the issue of equality of opportunity and support the

national goal of a universitygraduate in every household by 2020 (Marks, 2009). In other words,

the more educated people become, the more the overall productivity of that country. Therefore,

to adequately handle the new and rapid trends in the working environment, one must, according

to Jules (2010) possess “an education system which is an effective vehicle of human

empowerment and social transformation” (p. 3).

As we expand and move into the impact of the implementation of USE, the following

statement is crucial and consequently provides a proper understanding of what is meant by

universal access to secondary education. The statement reads

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Universal secondary education should not be interpreted simply to mean a place in a

secondary school for every child who has attained the appropriate age. It should mean

quality education provided by suitably qualified teachers to every child of secondary

school age, regardless of ability, means, race or creed (p.64). (Italics implied by

researcher)

(UNESCO/CARICOM Teacher Education Study, November, 1989)

In lieu of this, the Pillars for Partnership and Progress [PPP] (Miller, Thomas & Jules 2000),

strategy document outlines six principles of educational reform for attention by OECS member

countries, facilitated by the OERU. They are briefly summarized as follows: 1. restructure the

school system to provide or maintain the provision of universal secondary education up to

the age of 16 years; all students transferred to secondary education should be guaranteed five

years of secondary schooling from the time of their transfer; 2. re-conceptualize the nature, form

and content of secondary education; 3. encourage innovation in schools regrouping for

instruction, modularization and internal assessment and promotion strategies; 4. improve the

quality of secondary education by establishing formal training for secondary school principals

and teachers, strengthening foreign language teaching, and supporting the use of creative and

performing arts and information and communications technology; 5. Strengthen and enhance the

delivery of support services in guidance and counselling, social welfare and library and learning

resources and 6. strengthen and expand the articulation of secondary schooling with the upper

grades of the primary school, tertiary programmes, continuing education, and national, sub-

regional and regional TVET programmes. These strategies point to the need to pay attention to

the provision of a diversified secondary education system for all students. A focus on these

strategies brings to view a number of policies regarding access to secondary education by

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students; pedagogical knowledge of teachers and support and training for school management

(Hinds, 2007).

So far this section of the paper has listed the inputs necessary for expanded access to

secondary educationwithin the framework of a policy that advocates secondary education for all.

The focus will now turn to the actual achievements that have been made to raise the probability

that all students in secondary education gain worthwhile experiences from social and educational

interaction in a school environment. This focus will consider the OECS countries as a sub-region

along with specific impact on St.Vincent and the Grenadines.

According to Jules (2010), the local and regional context for education and training has

changed significantly over the last two decades following the educational reform mentioned

above. Several key achievements have thus emerged, the first being the harmonisation of the

education system in six OECS Member States. This has been accomplished through the adoption

of new National Education Bills within the sub-region resulting in the new OECS harmonization

curriculum. This harmonization has taken place in four core subject areas: Mathematics,

Language Art, Social Studies and Science at the primary level and two subjects at the lower

secondary level have been developed. It has also seen the introduction of ‘Standards’. These

‘Standards’ will be required by both student and teachers (OECS, 2007) and are presently being

introduced in Primary schools across St.Vincent and the Grenadines and the rest of the

Windward Islands.

Significant progress has also been made in some states in implementing universal early

childhood education, in partnership with the private sector. There is expanded access to primary

and secondary education to universal levels with enrolment rates, approaching 100% in some

member states for students of compulsory school age. In addition, there has also been improved
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social support services available to vulnerable and at-risk students. Governments have also

increased their spending in the area of education resulting of up to 5% of GDP on education.

The State has also assumed full responsibility for tuition at the secondary levels. In 2004, St.

Vincent 22 schools were involved the ‘Book Loan Scheme’ to assist parents with the cost of

books at the secondary level (George, n.d). This scheme still continues and has also extended

itself to private secondary schools.

Career guidance and counselling services were also put in place to cater to the emotional,

personal and academic needs of students. Additionally, some educational systems have instituted

remedial education programmes in order to improve proficiency in literacy and numeracy.

To accommodate this change in students’ learning, teachers are undergoing numerous changes in

ideology, methods of teaching and qualifications. The number of teachers with degrees have

increased significantly (Hinds, 2007). In 2004, a number of teachers were trained in the use of

computers in an effort to incorporate technology in the classroom. More students with diverse

learning needs, demand better trained teachers to be effective when teaching.

The Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) has also revise their method of assessment in

order to fit within the Caribbean Qualifications Framework. The OERU, working with

assessment professionals in the OECS, has broaden the application of student assessment, by

including the classroom teacher in the assessment process (OERU, September 2007). One such

assessment component is the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) (Hinds, 2007). This

introduction is critical in the light of therenewed emphasis being placed on TVET in secondary

and tertiary education.

In St. Vincent and the Grenadines USE was instituted by 2005. In addition to what was

mentioned previously, here are some more results. All students are placed into a secondary
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school whether they pass or fail the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA) exam. This has

had a personal impact on the researcher and many other students who would have otherwise

been unable to enter secondary school because of failure were able to graduate with several CXC

passes. To facilitate the secondary school expansion programme, extensive physical

infrastructural development to construct new classroom buildings, refurbishand expand existing

institutions, construct new institutions and convert some existing primarysinstitutions into

secondary institutions. Changes were also made in the curricular for the lower forms in the core

curriculum areas and theaddition of four co-curricular subject areas referred to as enrichment

subjects. In relation to the teachers, Gonsalves (2010) reported that

never in the history of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, or indeed of any other OECS

member-country, has there been so much post-secondary, university, and professional

training of teachers over such a concentrated period of time. . . Undoubtedly, the

teachers are better trained, formally, than ever before; and practically all of them in the

classrooms have been trained. . . So, too, have been the salaries, allowances, bonuses,

benefits, terms and conditions of the teachers’ employment. (p. 44).

Unfortunately, not all of the impacts have been proven as beneficial. There have been

several drawbacks to the USE in St.Vincent and within the sub- region. Learners complete

secondary schooling with insufficient formal qualifications to proceed to the next level of

education. There are inadequate levels of literacy and low competences in Mathematics, Science

and Technology. Performance in Mathematics continues to decline with pass rates reaching 40%

for most states. In 2011 a mere 23% graduated with the basic qualifications of five passes

including English and Mathematics. At the early grades approximately 50% of students score below

the national average in Mathematics and about 40% are under-performing in English Language.
UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO SECONDARY EDUCATION 11

Furthermore, attracting and retaining qualified teachers has been difficult, particularly in some

critical subjects like Mathematics, Science, English and ICT. This is demonstrated by a large

number of teachers being deployed to teach subjects in which they are not trained. Although,

more teachers have become trained, there is still a great need for more training of teachers. In

addition, teachers are overwhelmed with the influx of students who have come to secondary

school with literacy, numeracy and disciplinary problems (Hinds, 2007). Many teachers were

unprepared to deal effectively with the significant increase in enrollment as a result learning

support systems were not introduced to help buffer these new crises.

Consequently, students leaving secondary school are just simply ‘ passing through the

system’. They do not possess the critical thinking skills required for the workplace. Beyond

certificates, employers look for creative, critical thinkers along with the ability to work in teams

on complex tasks; and demonstration of appropriate work ethics.

Social exclusion and inequities in the education systems are also evident. In general,

children from lower socio-economic backgrounds attend the lower performing schools and

disparities are evident from the pre-primary level where poor children are less likely to

participate since parents must pay tuition fees. A higher percentage of children from lower socio-

economic backgrounds tend to perform more poorly at school, repeat grades, drop out before

completing secondary level and are most likely to be unemployed on leaving school, thus

continuing the cycle of poverty.

In conclusion, let's ask some relevant and pertinent questions, is universal access to

secondary education fulfilling its mandate or achieving its goal? Are we really producing the

‘ideal Caribbean person’? To be more specific, is 'The Education Revolution' in St.Vincent a

revolution or an educational motivation? We cannot as a region undo the past. However, in order
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to forge a steady future we must be able to assess the past, critically analyse the present and

synthetize both to create a successful future. Its introduction has seen the adoption of

international conventions and frameworks; the need to deal efficiently with gaps in the former

educational system (British); the need to keep abreast with the pace in globalization and

technological advancement and finally, the development of human resource. It has brought

numerous benefits and drawbacks both to students and teachers. Universal access to secondary

education has become a permanent part of our educational system. Therefore, lets embrace it and

work tediously in an effort to narrow the negative impacts that have surfaced.
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References

Forde, G. (n.d). Educational reform in the OECS countries. Retrieved September 24th from

http://www.educoas.org/Portal/bdigital/contenido/interamer/BKIACD/Interamer/Interam

erhtml/Millerhtml/mil ford.htm

Gonsalves, R. ( 2010). Lifting the education revolution to the next level. Office of the Prime

Minister.

Hinds, H. ( November, 2007). Universal secondary education in the OECS: Policy and access,

quality and rewards. Castries: OECS Education Reform Unit

Jules, D. (n.d). Concept paper: Development of a CARICOM strategic plan for primay and

secondary education services in the CARICOM single market and economy. Arthur Lok

Jack Graduate School of Business: UWI

Jules, D. (2010). Rethinking education in the Caribbean. The Caribbean Examiner. 8 (2), 6- 11

Marks, V. (2009). Universal access to secondary education in St.Vincent and the Grenadines.

Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies. 34(2), 56-70

OECS (2012). Every learner succeeds. OECS Education Sector Strategy