Mount Saint Vincent University Trains Jamaican Primary School Principals

Despite a substantial increase in literacy and access to primary schooling over the past decade, low educational levels in most of the workforce in the Caribbean continue to undermine social and economic opportunities among citizens in that region. In Jamaica, where primary education development is currently a major priority, Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) was recently commissioned to provide management training to all Ministry of Education officials. Part of the Primary Education Support Project funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), this contract follows another IDB-backed contract won by MSVU, valued at $5 million, to train 800 Jamaican primary school principals.

The Jamaican Primary Education Support Project, in which MSVU is playing a leading role, is designed to improve student performance through a revised curriculum and national assessment standards in all primary schools; increase the efficiency and quality of teacher education; strengthen education system management; and enhance the delivery of educational services to children from disadvantaged social and economic backgrounds.

In collaboration with the Jamaican Ministry of Education, MSVU is providing professional development support to some 800 principals of primary schools across the island. Launched in 2003, the program is enabling principals to acquire core training in administration and leadership through partnerships with qualified institutions such as MSVU. One hundred principals are taking part in the project in Nova Scotia in order to learn first-hand with the Halifax Regional School Board about the role of principals, while the remaining 700 are being trained in Jamaica.

Better principals, better students
"This initiative furthers MSVU's ongoing partnership with educational institutions in Jamaica and strengthens our international commitment to making higher education more accessible," says Dr. Andrew Manning, Director of MSVU's Faculty of Education. "We believe that sharing ideas, experience and knowledge with international partners fosters the diversity and richness of students." The Jamaican government expects that this program will expose the principals to innovative thinking and provide them with better managerial and communications skills and a stronger sense of empowerment, leading to an overall improvement in the social and academic performance of the nation's primary schools and student population.

The principals are being trained at four locations in Jamaica: St. Joseph's Teachers' College in Kingston, Bethlehem Teachers' College in St. Elizabeth, Sam Sharpe Teachers' College in St. James and the College of Agriculture, Science and Education in Portland, where MSVU lecturers are conducting several modules. All participants have access to the University's library facilities by way of an Internet-based classroom tutor called WEBCT, providing them with research capabilities and enabling them to communicate with each other and with MSVU faculty.

Credentials and government services pave the way
With extensive experience in supplying education programs to the Caribbean, MSVU was an ideal candidate for these projects, while winning the tenders was facilitated by the combined support of federal and provincial government departments. As part of the IDB-funded Secondary Education Modernization Project (SEMP) in Trinidad and Tobago, for example, MSVU provided consulting services and a diploma program in technical education. In Barbados, the University delivered a Master's program and a Bachelors program in inclusive practices (the integration of children with special needs into the classroom), as well as a Master's program for the visually and hearing impaired. "Both the International Trade Centre in Halifax and the Nova Scotia Office of Economic Development helped by bringing notification of the tender to our attention," says Dr. Manning. "Staff at the Canadian High Commission in Kingston have assisted in many ways, notably by arranging meetings and briefings about the local education sector."

Alliances at the local level are also paramount. At home, MSVU collaborates with the Nova Scotia Department of Education, the Halifax Regional School Board and the Nova Scotia Educational Leadership Consortium. In Jamaica, with guidance from the High Commission, agreements have been struck with the College of Agriculture, Science and Education, St. Joseph's Teachers' College and the Jamaica Council on Adult Education. These programs allow students to participate in MSVU classes via teleconference, the Internet and television broadcasts and, upon successful completion, to be awarded bachelor's and master's degrees in education. The strategic importance of these partnerships, as Dr. Manning explains, includes "expertise, access to materials, solid networks and experienced teachers."

For more information, contact:

International Financing Division, International Trade Canada
Tel.: (613) 995-7251
E-mail: ifinet@international.gc.ca

or

Dr. Andrew Manning
Director, Faculty of Education
Mount Saint Vincent University
Tel.: (902) 457-6148
E-mail: andrew.manning@msvu.ca
Internet: www.msvu.ca