Browsing by Author "Jennings, Zellynne"

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    Agricultural education and work experience programmes in schools in a Third World country: What prospects for human resources development?
    (1982) Jennings, Zellynne;
    This paper (a) examines recent developments relating to agricultural education and work experience programmes in secondary schools in Jamaica, (b) questions whether such "radical rethinking" is needed in their educational policies/priorities, and (c) challenges whether the view that the whole future of developing countries like Jamaica is heavily dependent on effective agricultural programmes in schools can continue to be supported. It suggests certain actions that Third World governments could take to facilitate more meaningful educational reform in the short term
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    Belize's REAP Programme
    (1988) Jennings, Zellynne
    This paper discusses the Rural Education and Agriculture Programme (REAP) in Belize. Its major thrust is the discussion of the main factors that have contributed to the programme’s success. More specifically, this article assesses the extent to which REAP is achieving its objectives of developing positive attitudes towards agriculture and influencing young people to remain in rural Belize and engage in agricultural work.
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    Belize's REAP Programme
    (1988) Jennings, Zellynne;
    This paper discusses the Rural Education and Agriculture Programme (REAP) in Belize. Its major thrust is a discussion of the main factors that have contributed to the programme's success. More specifically, this article assesses the extent to which REAP is achieving its objectives of developing positive attitudes towards agriculture and influencing young people to remain in rural Belize and engage in agricultural work
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    Belize's Rural Education and Agriculture Programme: Some factors that have contributed to its success
    Jennings, Zellynne;
    Belize has achieved a good deal of success with its Rural Education and Agriculture Programme (REAP). REAP was initiated in 1976 to create the attitudes and provide the skills necessary for rural youth to make meaningful contributions to the country's agricultural development. Initiated by an intra-ministerial and international agency group, REAP was conceived in three phases extending over a 10-year period. During the pilot phase (1976 to 1979), the programme was tested in eight primary schools in three of the country's six districts, and in one secondary school. A special programme was developed to train teachers for the REAP programme, and outdoor education centres were constructed in each pilot school to give students an opportunity to apply their learning in an agricultural setting. The main thrust of the district level phase (1979 to 1982) was the expansion of REAP to all six districts in Belize, with the gradual transfer of much of the technical and material assistance received from foreign agencies to the government ministries, district-level officials, and community groups and service organizations. REAP's national-level phase began in 1982. REAP has received favourable evaluations from students and teachers alike, and 80 percent of the programme's graduates have remained in rural Belize in some form of agriculture. The programme is not without shortcomings including, perhaps, too much stress on gardening at the expense of academic training. Despite these, there is little evidence to suggest that the programme's goal of becoming a real force in Belize's socio-economic development is overly ambitious
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    Causes of absenteeism at the secondary level in Jamaica: Parents' perspective [PowerPoint presentation]
    (2013-07-08) Jennings, Zellynne; Cook, Loraine D.; Anderson, Susan
    Inclusion has been broadly defined to include the elimination of social exclusion due to differences in social class and ability, inter alia. Chronic absenteeism occurs when a student is absent from school without reason 20 percent or more of school time. Students who are habitually absent from school will generally fall behind their classmates in their academic success. Research has underscored that low attendance and dropout rates are problematic in the Jamaican school system. This study sought to investigate parents' perspectives on the causes of student absenteeism at the secondary level. How their levels of education, their relationship with the school, and family background influenced their views on the causes of students' absenteeism were also examined. Using a convenience sample, a survey was carried out involving 227 parents in 10 secondary schools located in various parishes of Jamaica. The findings so far suggest that the factors influencing students' absenteeism are the home and family, and school factors
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    Changing landscapes in Caribbean education: Are our teachers being adequately prepared for this? [PowerPoint presentation]
    (2013-07-08) Jennings, Zellynne; Anderson, Susan
    Didacus Jules contends that we need to adopt a radical approach in rethinking education in the Caribbean to make learning fun, more closely related to the digital world, and more relevant to the social issues that beset schools today. This challenge was reiterated by Jessop (2012) who highlighted critical points on transforming education made at the 18th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers in Mauritius. Jessop noted that the current decline in Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) exam results is a signal that young people are leaving school unprepared for the job market-a trend that will have adverse effects on Caribbean economies. Among the suggestions for the way forward is the need to reassess teaching methods so they become more technology-driven and relevant to national development. This paper presents research that critically examines the effectiveness of the different models of teacher education used at The University of the West Indies over a 10-year period (1997-2007), drawing on the experiences of the graduates of the programme, current students, and other stakeholders. The findings point to crucial changes that need to be made if teachers are to be appropriately prepared for the challenges of today's classrooms
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    Creating a constructivist learning environment: The challenge of Jamaica's Revised Primary Curriculum
    (School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2008) Jennings, Zellynne
    For two decades, Jamaican primary school children were exposed to a curriculum which, though conceived as integrated in its approach to teaching, in actuality was more discipline-based, accentuated by the use of didactic pedagogical strategies in its delivery. In re-engineering this curriculum, a child-centred, integrated holistic curriculum was adopted at the lower primary level, with a more subject-based approach at the upper levels. A constructivist pedagogical approach was adopted. The changes expected in the learning environment included a change in the role of the teacher, the use of questioning techniques that stimulated higher-order thinking in the children, a more activity-oriented environment in which children were frequently engaged in collaborative learning, and changes in the mode of assessment. The revised curriculum was implemented in schools in 2001. This paper explores the extent to which such changes are evident in the classrooms of Grades 1-3 in selected primary schools. It pinpoints challenges such as resources, contextual factors, and examinations, which some teachers can overcome to ignite a passion for learning in their pupils
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    Curriculum change strategies: Their impact on West Indian education
    (Institute of Social and Economic Research, UWI, 1996) Jennings, Zellynne; Craig, Dennis R.
    This chapter seeks to: 1) give a brief description of the strategy used to introduce four curriculum innovations into West Indian educational systems: The Primary Language Arts scheme in Jamaica (often referred to as the Language Materials Workshop (LMW)); the UWI/USAID Primary Education Project; the Caribbean Examinations Council Secondary Education Certificate; and the Sixth Form Geography Project (Jamaica); 2) highlight the impact each innovation has had on the respective education systems; and 3) point out implications for the management of curriculum change
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    Education and productive work linkages in the formal and nonformal education systems of the Commonwealth Caribbean
    (Commonwealth Secretariat, 1988) Jennings, Zellynne; Commonwealth Secretariat
    This study has the following main aims: 1) to present an overview of relevant education with productive work (EPW) programmes in the formal and nonformal education system of the Commonwealth Caribbean, which produce either a physical product or a service; 2) to identify the rationale of EPW programmes and their success or failure as perceived by those in charge of the programmes; and 3) to ascertain the extent to which these EPW programmes provide for the particular needs of girls for vocational and prevocational education
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    Education-productive work linkages in secondary schools curricula: Lessons from the Jamaican experience
    (Feb. 1986) Jennings, Zellynne;
    The paper discusses the Jamaican experience of linking education and production in the curriculum of secondary schools. It focuses particularly on the period of the Democratic Socialist government of Jamaica--1972 -1980, when close links between education and work were central to the government's education policy and to its political vision of a more egalitarian society
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    Facilitating the transition from school to work: A study of the effectiveness of work experience programmes in secondary schools in the Commonwealth
    (Centre for the Study of Education in Developing Countries, 1990) Jennings, Zellynne; Ad Boeren, J. J. M.
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    Innovation in tertiary education in the Caribbean: Distance teaching in the Faculty of Education at the University of the West Indies
    (CESO, 1990) Jennings, Zellynne;
    The University of the West Indies Teaching Experiment (UWIDITE) is an example of a conventional institution with a distance teaching department. UWI is one of two regional universities serving a region covering 17 countries, some of which are fairly prosperous while others are suffering severe economic difficulties. All the territories are culturally diverse, but their continuous political and economic ties with Britain have left the mark of the British on their educational systems. Governments have been critical of UWI's failure to respond to the needs of the various territories. UWIDITE enabled UWI to respond to the challenge of making education accessible. The system consisted of a telephone link-up among seven countries. Each UWIDITE Centre had a teleconferencing room equipped with microphones, loudspeakers, slow-scan television, a telewriter, a scrambler, and a microcomputer. A priority of distance teaching has been teacher training, and a programme leading to a Certificate in Education has been offered since 1983. The same lecturers who taught the conventional courses taught the UWIDITE courses and developed the materials. The programme did not attract as many students as expected. Student performance was not as high as that of students in conventional programmes. Hardware maintenance, material development, and student feedback needed to be improved
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    Introduction to curriculum theory, planning and practice: ED 450
    (UWIDITE, 1984) Jennings, Zellynne;
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    Jamaica's work experience programme
    (1982) Jennings, Zellynne;
    This study investigates the reactions of students, teachers, and work supervisors to the work experience programme (WEP) implemented in Jamaican New Secondary schools in 1975. Factors that militated against the achievement of the objectives of the programme and how the WEP influenced the working lives of young people were also investigated. Students, teachers, and employers felt that giving experience in the world of work, and providing opportunities for practical experience in vocational fields were the main purposes that the WEP served. Lack of proper supervision at the workplace, having to do menial tasks shunned by other workers, lack of opportunities for getting experience in areas related to their vocational training were seen as the main obstacles to the achievement of the programme objectives. More graduates of the WEP were unemployed than employed. The paper points to the need for improved organization of the secondary school curriculum, a centralization of vocational programmes, changes in negative attitudes towards practical/manual work, and the need for employment generating strategies in any future efforts to improve the WEP