Achieving quality in early childhood education in the Eastern Caribbean depends on teacher preparation

Actualizing children’s rights through early childhood care and education: A focus on the Caribbean

“…Across the Caribbean Ministries of Education are responsible for compulsory government sponsored education as mandated by the various Education Acts covering ECCE ages 4½ to 6 years (Burns, 2018; Education Development Management Unit – OECS, 2015). As a consequence, though CRC has positively impacted the islands, it is not unusual across the region to equate early childhood programming with preschool programming geared towards children during the first 5 years of life.…”

“…This is often to the detriment of children who have entered the mandatory primary education cycle where they are rarely exposed to developmentally appropriate practices. Unfortunately the teachers are seldom versed in early childhood philosophy and strategies since training in early childhood is mostly targeted at pre-primary practitioners and caregivers (Burns, 2018).…”

“…A major goal of education was articulated in 1997 when CARICOM government leaders formally adopted the description of an ideal CARICOM citizen. As the main socializing agents outside the family, early childhood institutions and programmes play a significant role in laying the foundation for such a citizen (Burns, 2018). As a consequence, and, with the technical and financial support from regional agencies such as UNICEF, CARICOM, The OECS, the Foundation of the Development of Caribbean Children and the Early Childhood Commission (ECC) in addition to individual Caribbean governments, several actions are continuously being taken to provide access to quality care and education for the region’s young citizens.…”

“…Going forward, emphasis needs to be placed on providing enabling environments in which early childhood programmes can thrive. An enabling environment refers to the local, regional and international legislation, policy and practices that together guide the operations of all early childhood stakeholders (Burns, 2018). In addition to the ratified policies that exist throughout the Caribbean, there is need for accompanying regulations and standards in some CARICOM member states.…”

Providing a basis for interrogating early childhood practices in the Caribbean

“…Following up on a review of teacher quality presented by Lewis-Fokum and Thomas (2018), the third article written by Burns (2017) addresses how the lack of trained specialist early childhood teachers in the Eastern Caribbean has had implications on the quality of educational offerings in many pre-primary schools in that part of the Caribbean.…”