Ready to Learn: Early Childhood Education of Quality to Prevent School Failure in Trinidad and Tobago

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Ready to Learn Early Childhood Education of
Quality to Prevent School Failure in Trinidad and
Tobago
OAS HEMISPHERIC ECCE TEAM REPORT OCTOBER, 2004
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Early Childhood EducationThe Solution to Grade
Repetition, Overaged Students, Dropouts and Low
Educational Achievement.
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Trinidad and Tobago
The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is the most
southerly of the Caribbean islands with a
population of 1.3 million people.
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Trinidad and Tobago Continued
The vision of the Government is to make Trinidad
and Tobago a developed country by year 2020 and
has ranked education as the top national priority
and the key to human resource development. The
Ministry of Education has therefore aligned its
key activities with the goals set for national
human development. Cognisance has been taken of
the objectives to improve the quality and equity
of access to education and training at all
levels, which includes Early Childhood Care and
Education (Ministry of Education Strategic Plan
2002-2006).
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An Overview of ECCE
In 1970, the Government began a pilot project in
La Pastora Community in partnership with the
Bernard Van Leer Foundation and the Trinidad and
Tobago Association of Village Councils.
Subsequently, a total of 50 centres were set up
in various communities with the assistance of the
Association of Village Councils. The Ministry of
Education also collaborated with SERVOL Ltd, a
Non-Governmental Organisation to establish
community-based government assisted early
childhood care and education centres in Trinidad
and Tobago.
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Overview Continued

• In 1995 a National Early Childhood Care and
  Education Survey was conducted.
• Findings revealed that greater access and
  enhanced quality provision as well as adequate
  equipment and materials were needed for programme
  success.
• Government in corporation with the World Bank
  provided for the improvement of Early Childhood
  Education through the Fourth Basic Education
  Project.
• Some new centres were constructed and some of the
  existing Centres were upgraded and material and
  equipment were supplied.

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Overview Continued

• Midterm review was done in 2000
• Final review in 2003 2004 with Report to be
  submitted. The results will inform policy.
• National ECCE Standards were developed and
  launched in 2003, public comments were made on
  the Green Paper in September 2004, with a White
  Paper and legislation as the expected outcome.
• An ECCE census was conducted in 2004. Preliminary
  data revealed approximately 168 public ECCE
  centres, comprising government, government
  assisted joint-ownership, and community based
  government assisted ECCE centres (see Fig. 1) as
  well as over 900 privately run ECCE centres
  throughout Trinidad and Tobago. Analysis of
  census data is being done and results will also
  inform policy and determine intervention
  strategies.

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Overview (Continued)
 
Figure 1 Illustrates the Ownership of Public
ECCE Centres
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Guiding Philosophy

• The Ministry of Educations guiding philosophy is
  that all children regardless of ethnic group,
  religion, socioeconomic status , gender have a
  right to become all they are capable of
  becoming.

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Commitment
One of the major commitments is to prevent the
cycle of School Failure. Our Priorities are
grade repetition, over-aged students, dropouts
and assessment of learning outcomes, which are
based on the statistics in Tables 1 2.
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Table 1- PROMOTION RATE REPETITION RATE AND
DROP-OUT RATE IN PRIMARY EDUCATION BY GRADE
1998/1999- 1999/2000.YEAR 1998/2000
INFANT YEAR 1 INFANT YEAR 2 STD. 1 STD. 2 STD. 3 STD. 4
PROMOTION RATE 94.9 96.6 96.3 98.2 98.1 95.8
REPETITION RATE (7.4) 3.7 3.2 2.1 2.2 (4.2)
DROP-OUT RATE 0 0 0.5 0 0 0
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Table 2- PROMOTION RATE, REPETITION RATE AND
DROP-OUT RATE IN PRIMARY EDUCATION BY GRADE
1999/2000 2000/2001
INFANT YEAR 1 INFANT YEAR 2 STD. 1 STD. 2 STD. 3 STD. 4
PROMOTION RATE 92.8 95.8 93.9 96.6 92.3 64.2
REPETITION RATE (9.3) 4.7 4.5 3.7 4.6 6.6
DROP-OUT RATE 0 0 1.6 0 3.1 29.2
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Overarching Goal

• To reverse the downward trend in school failure
  in Trinidad and Tobago by engaging all early
  years educators, including those who work in the
  primary school settings in professional
  development practices that will help to transform
  the education system into vibrant learning
  avenues for young children and early childhood
  educators, with the children at the core .

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Justification

• Most educators and researchers believe that
  early childhood is a critical time to begin
  preventing achievement gaps.
• Early childhood has been shown to enhance school
  readiness prevents stunted cognitive development,
  improve primary school performance, lower
  repetition and drop out rates .

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Justification Continued

• Early education may be the single most effective
  intervention for helping poor children,
  families, communities and nations break the
  intergenerational cycle of poverty.
• Source Young , E.M. (1996) .Early Child
  Development Investing in the future.World Bank

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PROBLEM CAUSE ANALYSIS OF SCHOOL FAILURE AND
EARLY REPETITIONThe Trinidad And Tobago
Perspective
 
         
                   
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Problem Scenario Factors Promoting School
Failure.

• Lack of access , affordability to high-quality
  early childhood care and education programmes.
• Superficial and inappropriate adult/child
  interactions.
• High teacher/child ratio.
• Increase in grade retention , repetition at
  infant year one (1) and two (2) of the primary
  school level (See Tables 1 2).
• Absence of quality standards for caregivers and
  early years educators.
• Lack of use of authentic assessment strategies.

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Reality Check Problem Scenario

• Early years practitioners , especially in primary
  school settings lacking appropriate
  qualifications and competencies.
• Lack of support system and remedial resources
  that could help children especially those at
  risk, reverse the pattern of academic failure.
• Inconsistencies in the quality of services being
  offered to young children and their families.
• Curriculum Programmes not developmentally
  appropriate.

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Reality Check Problem Scenario

• Teachers not adequately prepared to deal with
  the wide range of student diversity and
  experiences.
• Limited opportunities for professional growth
  and development of early years educators ,
  including those who work in primary school
  settings.
• Learning environments especially at the primary
  school level are not appropriate to the
  childrens developmental needs.

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Problem Scenario Continued

• Unsuccessful transition from pre-school to
  primary school.
• In many instances physical facilities are
  inadequate and educational resources.
• In many instances services not based on
  developmentally sound principles.
• Over-crowded , poorly equipped classrooms at
  primary school level.

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Factors Promoting School Failure

• Lack of focus on smooth transition from
  pre-school to primary school setting.
• Inconsistencies in standards and services
  offered to young clients and their families.
• Ad-hoc policies pertaining to field of early
  childhood education.
• Inadequate system of monitoring / supervision of
  early years educators to ensure
  accountability.

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ECCE SWOT ANALYSIS
 EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION SWOT
ANALYSIS
                   
CURRENT STATUS AND ANALYSES
STRENGTHS
    PRIORITIES       AND       STRATEGIES
WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
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SWOT Analysis
 
EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
Minister of Education/Political Directorate committed to the provision of quality early childhood care and education (ECCE). An established ECCE Unit that is being strengthened with human, physical and financial resources. A Cabinet appointed National Council ECCE (NCECCE) to provide an integrated approach to ECCE. A cadre of committed qualified ECCE personnel. Consistency of the national philosophy, vision and mission and the ECCE Units. Provision of Standards for regulating EC Services leading to legislation. Absence of a shared programme, philosophy, vision mission by service providers in TT with the Ministry of Education at most centers. Exclusion of the ECCE level in the seamless education system. Need for clear policies to be developed by the Ministry of Education (M.O.E.)/NECCE regarding roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders. Additional resources needed to fully staff the ECCE Unit. Overlapping of responsibility, which have resulted in a lack of clearly defined role for ECCE Units staff and other providers. Lack of inclusion of the ECCE in the cohesive system. Legislation of Standards still to be finalised. Lack of provision of programme evaluation e.g. of Government Assisted Centres. Support of regional and international organisations. Caribbean networking/support. Legislation of standards will create opportunities for improved quality. An apparent reluctance of EC service providers to meet the standards in the absence of legislation
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SWOT Analysis Continued
 
         
INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
Working towards universal access and quality ECCE for 3 and 4 years old children by 2010. Some increase in the number of certified teachers based on 120 scholarships offered in January 2003. Any loss of ECCE professional staff. Non re-establishment of NCECCE immediately after current term. Programme evaluation not completed and returned on a timely basis. Approximately 9400 children do not have access to quality ECCE. Still too many uncertified ECCE teachers/caregivers particularly in the private sector. 81 teachers in Government-assisted centres are still uncertified. Increased funding will help to increase access. Establishment of the new Teacher Development Unit to improve quality of Teacher Education and teacher development in general. There is a career path for EC teachers to encourage them to remain in the system. Increasing number of non-accredited training institutions.
                   
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SWOT Analysis Continued
 
INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTS INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTS EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTS EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTS
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
Building and upgrading of ECCE Centres The programme is community-based. EECE boards have shown commitment. Although approximately 850 private centres serve to increase access for about 21,250 children, many of them do not provide minimum quality. In spite of training many ECCE teachers unable to translate theory into practice. E.g. their training has not always assisted them in developing skills in dealing with developmental delays, diversity, social and cultural and emotional needs. Lack of appropriate resources and physical facilities in many of the ECCE centres. Lack of equipment of modern day technology. Imbalance in the rates of staff members to ECCE centres to carry out the responsibility (there is an inadequate adult/child ratio). Because of the involvement of ECCE centres with the community, ECCE Centres can help to build communities and strengthen families. Working with international agencies/organisations is an opportunity to obtain financial and technical assistance.
                   
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SWOT Analysis Continued
INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
Longitudinal National ECCE Surveys conducted (1995 to 2004) completed in three phases. Held National Consultation on the Green Paper on Proposed Standards for regulating Early Childhood Services and working towards white paper (legislative framework). Working towards draft National ECCE Curriculum Guide based on Caribbean realities. ECCE data collection census completed in Trinidad with present status data input. Increase ECCE Curriculum Facilitators to assist EC Service Providers through the transition period for meeting standards. Enhancement of some existing government assisted ECCE centres. Provision of adequate and developmentally appropriate material for all government and government assisted ECCE centres. Current database does not provide the vital information needed to improve quality. There is too much variation in curriculum with most of them developmentally inappropriate for children ages 3-5. Some caregivers/teachers do not follow any curriculum guide. ECCE caregivers/teachers are unable to translate theory into practice. Transition issues at the primary setting not adequately addressed as only a few schools are involved in the pilot project. Within a four year period there has been a significant increase in repetition in first and second year infant classes (see Table 1). Increase in dropout rate in primary school (see Table 2). Vital baseline information from National ECCE surveys which could be used to develop policies and plan intervention to enhance quality. Regional networking to develop culturally appropriate ECCE guide. If results of research are not used for improvement of quality on a timely basis. Inadequate financial assistance for curriculum reform and to address transition. Any setback hindering the Teacher Development Unit from putting programmes in place to enhance quality. If opportunities are missed tos
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Plan Of Action

• To identify priorities and develop strategies in
  the field of Early Education that will improve
  equity and quality of early childhood development
  as a mechanism for mitigating school failure at
  each succeeding level of a seamless education
  system.

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Priorities

• Developing policies to ensure highquality and
  equitable access to early childhood care and
  education services in Trinidad and Tobago.
• Providing a White Paper with Standards for
  regulating Early Childhood Services in Trinidad
  and Tobago.
• Developing a system that promotes and recognizes
  quality education through licensing, regulation
  and accreditation.

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Priorities Continued

• Equitable financial support to ensure access for
  all children to highquality child care services.
• Developing an National ECCE Curriculum Guide for
  children under five and an Integrated Curriculum
  for the early primary grades.
• Conducting training needs assessment

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Priorities Continued

• Investing in the Professional Development of
  Early Years Educators, including those who work
  in primary school settings.
• An effective system of early childhood
  professional development that provides
  meaningful opportunities for career advancement.
• Ensuring smooth transition from ECCE centres to
  primary school.
• Providing Universal early childhood care and
  education for all three and four year old
  children by 2010.

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Recommended Strategies

• Implementation of quality standards in the field
  of early education to ensure equity and quality
  in services offered to young children and their
  families.
• Continued implementation of an integrated
  approach to meeting the needs of young children
  and their families through policy development and
  collaborative planning by the National Council of
  Early Childhood Care and Education and the
  Ministry of Education.

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Recommended Strategies

• Develop Standards for teacher preparation,
  certification, in-service training and on-going
  professional development .
• Develop and support (with other partners)
  coherent training systems using regional and
  distance learning where possible.

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Recommended Strategies

• Institute policies to prevent early school
  failure by providing affordable, high quality
  child-care and education services to young
  children and their families, especially those
  from lower socio economic backgrounds.

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Recommended Strategies

• Provide on going professional development
  programmes and support system for all early years
  educators.
• All primary school teachers should be trained in
  teaching reading and early childhood education.
• Develop policies and provide incentives to
  attract and retain the best teachers.

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Recommended Strategies

• Class size should be reduced in the early primary
  classes.
• School districts should have support available
  for students in danger of failing.
• Provision of after school tutoring/ vacation
  programmes for at risk students.
• Creating stronger linkages between pre-school
  and primary school attach pre-school centres to
  schools with low student population.
• Placing competent trained early childhood
  personnel in infant and lower junior classes in
  primary schools.

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Recommended Strategies

• Schools identified with large number of at risk
  students should be provided with staff specially
  trained to meet the needs of those students.
• Institute policies to prevent early school
  failure by providing affordable, high quality
  child-care services to young children and their
  families, especially those from lower socio
  economic backgrounds.

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Recommended Strategies

• Development of Integrated Curriculum Modules for
  use with children in early primary grades to
  promote learning and development across domains.
• Development of a National ECCE Curriculum Guide
  as a methodological framework for young
  childrens care and education with the teachers
  and parents employing the framework to arrange
  the context of the programme, while the children
  provide the content.

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Conclusion

• Based on what has been done to date
• Valuable lessons have been learnt.
• New research will emerge
• Questionnaires have been developed using themes
  from the problem cause analysis.
• Further research is soon to be conducted.
• The sharing of lessons learnt among the
  participating
• OAS countries will enable us to provide effective
• intervention and will bring us closer to
  achieving the
• goal of preventing school failure through
• high quality early childhood care and education.