In addition to addressing these issues, as a result of the developments across the world since our last major reform initiative, we must also focus attention on preparing our students for jobs which do not currently exist. According to the 2016 Future of Jobs Report of the World Economic Forum, 65% of the students who entered school in that year, will work in jobs which do not currently exist. These jobs will be based on, and enhanced by, the use of technology. Therefore, if our students are to be competent to operate in these jobs and to assist Barbados in achieving sustainable economic development, it is imperative that the education system prepare them appropriately. We have therefore set out an ambitious and extensive reform agenda to address the existing issues and to bring our system up to date with the needs of a modern and responsive education system.
The proposed reform agenda includes institutional strengthening as well as infrastructural enhancements. We recognize that there is a pressing need to enhance student outcomes since students are the primary clients of the system. Therefore, a major plank of the reform agenda is restructuring of the basic education system to meet the needs of all students. This will include abolition of the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination, a change in the mode of transition from the primary to the secondary level, and a new secondary structure made up of lower secondary institutions, and academies of excellence at the upper secondary level. It will also include specific policies and programmes for addressing children
with special educational needs, and in the context of the current Covid 19 environment, programmes for building the physical and mental resilience of our children.
Also, since teachers are critical to the quality of the instruction which is delivered to our children, the reform agenda also focuses in a meaningful way on improving instructional quality. This means that we must implement mechanisms for providing oversight of the teaching profession. This includes licensing and professional development standards, and the introduction of new pedagogical approaches to facilitate different models of learning. We will also identify and disseminate best practices so that all children have an opportunity to benefit from them.
In addition, in keeping with the conclusions of the Future of Jobs Report, we recognize that reform of the system has to include the incorporation of technology. This has been significantly underscored by the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic which has shown us the importance of enhancing the technological underpinnings of instruction. The reform agenda therefore focuses not only on the development of a broad electronic education framework which embraces all electronic technologies, but it seeks to produce content across all media, to provide appropriate support resources; as well as to deliver continuous training and orientation for teachers to ensure that they become proficient in the delivery of electronic instruction.
Curriculum reform is also an important element of the reform agenda. Apart from the fact that some of our programming is out of sync with the needs of the economy, the advent of the Covid 19 pandemic has made it abundantly clear that we can no longer continue to put all of our eggs in the tourism basket. Therefore, there is an immediate need for diversification of the economy. Such change commences in the classroom and therefore, in addition to bringing current curricula in line with modern needs, part of the reform agenda is to develop linkages and partnerships with entities like the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation, so that curricula can be developed for new growth areas which the agency may be seeking to bring to the country. When these new industries arrive, because we have prepared beforehand, Barbados will have the skills to service them. Part of the agenda also focuses on the implementation of programming in areas of innovation like coding and robotics that provide our children with the opportunity to become not only users, but moreso, developers of the technology. Coding and Robotics has already been implemented and is receiving excellent reviews from both students and teachers.
However, none of these initiatives will be successfully implemented unless we hone the skills required for effective and efficient leadership of the system. Therefore, in the reform agenda, significant attention is also being given to the organs that provide oversight of the system. These include the overall system, the school, as well as the teacher training institution. A cyclical process will be established for ensuring that there is always communication and feedback within these three organs so that when issues arise, they can be immediately addressed. Standards to guide these organs, as well as the entire system will also be established and implemented and will be subject to consistent review.
Naturally, all of these areas will need to be supported with an appropriate regulatory framework. The current Education Act and Regulations were developed in the 1980s. It goes without saying therefore that they will be out of sync with the reforms being proposed. The regulatory framework will therefore be a significant aspect of the reform.
Lastly, the environment in which teaching and learning takes place is a significant contributor to the achievement of students. Therefore, as we focus attention on teaching and learning, we must give attention to the physical environment as well. Furthermore, this is even more critical in the era of the pandemic and therefore new build as well as refurbishment, will also take the elements required for health and safety into consideration.
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Currently, the education system in Barbados caters to almost 60,000 students annually and across the system, there are 136 institutions designed to cater to the diverse needs of the population. Find out more.
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Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training
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St.Michael
Barbados, W.I.
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