(EMU) – St. Kitts, January 18, 2019: Strongly embedded in the Education Sector Plan 2017-2021 is the reform and development of a curriculum to, ‘strengthen the quality and relevance of education at all levels to improve learning outcomes.’
To this end the Ministry of Education has enlisted the services of MindBloom Consulting and St. Francis Xavier University to perform a comprehensive assessment towards curriculum reform within the Federation.
“They are experienced educators who have a lot of expertise dealing with local communities and empowering locals to develop educational programs that are relevant to the specific needs of the community,” stated Olston Strawn, Science and Technology Coordinator at the Curriculum Development Unit. He disclosed that MindBloom Consulting is no stranger to the academic landscape of the Federation as they are intimately involved with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Early Learners Programme initiative.
The team of consultants will be in the Federation between January 21st – 25th to meet with various stakeholders and host consultative workshops. During this initial visit, key stakeholders within the education sector will be involved in a series of sessions at the Ocean Terrace Inn from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.
Individuals that will be involved in the sessions include Curriculum and Education Officers, representatives from Early Childhood Development, TVET, principals, Heads of Departments and resource teachers across the federation working to develop an education system that suits our national needs by looking at best practices for curriculum development.
“The consultancy is to look at the entire education system, from early childhood to government managed post secondary institutions. The work that we are doing will impact every level of our education system,” announced Mr. Strawn.
The general public is also invited to a forum hosted by the consultants on Monday 21st January at 4:30 at Wesley Methodist Hall/Old Boys School, where the wider community will be given an opportunity to make their contribution to the discussion about the curriculum. “They (consultants) want to engage the general public in consultations and listen to hear the ideas and thoughts on the curriculum and what they think our curriculum should do for our people in St. Kitts and Nevis.”
“We are in a technology driven era and we must therefore look at how best can we implement or integrate Information Technology in our curriculum,” stated Mr. Strawn, indicating that the country needs a curriculum that would embrace the different learning styles and subjects that would respond to emerging educational needs. “What it shapes up to be is entirely up to our partners and collectively what we decide would be the curriculum framework.”
The consultation team will pay courtesy calls on the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Hon. Shawn Richards, along with the Chief of Education Planning, Chief Education Officer, Principal Education Officer, and Senior Assistant Secretary all of whom will deliberate on what our revised curriculum and assessment system should entail, They are also expected to map out the path to realizing these goals.
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