Jamaican Primary Education. A Review of Policy Relevant Studies

Errol Miller, Green Lizard Press, 1997
BY Sharon Kelly-Stair

If our children are ill-mannered, disrespectful, foul mouthed bullies.....blame the system! If our children are greedy, grasping ne'er do wells....blame the system! And who may the system be, one might ask, why everyone. So says world renowned Professor of Teacher Education, Errol Miller, in his latest work. From some 500 studies, he selects 50 that best represent work of those who have investigated primary schools in Jamaica in the past twenty-two years This worthy collection of the scholarship of professional educators offers insights into what might improve education in Jamaica. It is research whose influence on policy is likely to be more readily appealing and acceptable by its presentation in this compact ,well-organized book, with its first-class cover design.

Intended for policy makers, it is written in that technical style which makes it of inestimable value to everyone who is a student of education. For all who care about the role of education in national development, it offers a timely gift of the ideas of great and often uncelebrated educators. That is, those who accept the awesome responsibility for ensuring the organization and delivery of appropriate educational experiences for primary school children

Miller places upon the body of work, his own inimitable style and stamp of authority. In this way, he contributes once more to increasing educational knowledge and to a greater awareness of accountability. He strongly moots a system of mutual accountability in which all of the partners in education, the trinity of education, so to speak - the school, the home and the community - are "held responsible for that aspect of the education enterprise that rests within their sphere of control."

A return to standards!' is the plaintive cry, a cry that is itself an admission that standards previously held, values and perspectives long treasured, have been eroded to our loss! These standards, which will help us all decide what kind of 12-year-old our nation should be developing, certainly beg universal consideration and acceptance. Will that child be gentle, polite, respectful, forbearing and considerate; will he be able to speak and write clearly and well; will he be well on the path to self-discovery and to unlocking his own potential, or what?

Once we all arrive at these standards and accept them, they can become the basis upon which there will once more be periodic assessment and regular monitoring of primary schools. This Model of Mutual Accountability, as Professor Miller calls it, provides the guidelines for each school's administration to determine how best to lead and manage the school so that students become the well educated persons the community and nation needs.

The studies are classified according to the areas of interest that may have guided the researcher's selection , as well as the specific areas of policy their findings might affect. Four main categories have been identified: studies concerned with the physical facilities and equipment in schools, textbooks, teacher-training, and school management and supervision; studies related to the child's home environment, his attendance, nutrition and health and school-community relations; studies which looked at the ways teachers teach, what children are taught and why and how teachers' attitudes may affect students' learning; studies which investigated student achievement, discipline and the students' perceptions of various subjects. Professor Miller, bemoans the fact that he and his investigators found no studies related to educating the "Moral Man" - education which builds character and strong nations; education about the development of man's spiritual qualities; education that brings forth those noble and fine qualities that lift man to new planes and new possibilities; education which is solely about forming and shaping the whole human persona.

This vacuum points to the urgent need for regular exchange of information between educators and to the current relevance of innovations such as the Mummy programme, an international strategy for educating sovereign citizens [a term used to denote self-direction and self-realisation within a context of harmony], which UNESCOendorsed for universal application in Montego Bay last year.

Professor Miller has placed his finger on qualities long neglected in our schools: the need to pay attention and to devote time to character building; those qualities that contribute to the development of the whole child; human qualities which the primary schools must nurture in every child. In other words, not merely accomplishing the "passing" of the Common Entrance Examinations, but the moulding of a whole human being!

What Professor Miller has done is to explore with academic tools relevant educational policies which will, in his view, benefit our children. He expertly sifts through the often turgid and cumbersome arguments with intellectual rigor and the buoyancy of an optimist. "Policy making should be the product of correct diagnosis and the application of the best available knowledge", he advises. Looked at thoroughly, his book contributes magnificently to this diagnosis. With such a wide view of what ails in education, can we afford not to adopt the remedies to which this expert leads us?