Early Childhood Education in Guyana by Liloutie Christina Taharally

Early childhood education became available to all children between the ages of 3 years 9 months and 5 years 9 months in Guyana in 1976. The initial plan was to gradually phase in free early childhood education. However, amidst the euphoria generated by high world prices for major exports in the first half of the decade, a political decision resulted in the establishment of a nationwide program of early education in September 1976. This program now serves all the eligible children in the country. This number is currently 30,000. Unfortunately, soon after the introduction of the program, the economy began to regress. The introduction of a national program of early education at that time, therefore, presented unforeseen challenges to those charged with the growth and development of the program. These challenges were experienced primarily in the provision of

physical facilities, teacher training, program administration, and the development and implementation of curriculum. This article presents an educator's examination of the problems and responses to a bold decision taken by a fledgling nation only ten years after its independence. Provision of Physical Facilities

Liloutie Christina Taharally was closely involved in the administration of the national early education program, and the training and supervision of nursery teachers in Guyana. An earlier draft of this paper was presented at the 1985 Conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children with Meg Barden Cline of the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

28

The few early attempts to establish centers for preschool education in Guyana were made by the Catholic and Anglican groups. They established feepaying kindergartens and nursery schools for children of the upper classes. The municipality also established day-care centers ("creches") in

response to the need for full-day care of infants and preschool children of civil servants. These pioneers in early education were trained mostly in England in the Montessori and British Infant School tradition. Over time, retired teachers also set up their own preschools and various sites were used. These included church hails, community centers, rooms of private dwelling houses, or the enclosed space underneath homes, which were normally built one story off the ground. The physical facilities in these schools ranged from excellent to unsuitable. When the Guyana government assumed control of early childhood education, there were about 150 such schools across the country. In addition,

DAY CARE AND EARLY EDUCATION

space was found for another 100 schools in a variety of settings to meet increased enrollment in 1976. Government provided child-sized wooden furniture, made by students at the Government Technical Institute, play materials and consummable preschool equipment for the first 20,000 children. The ratio of staff to three-year-old children was one to 10 in 1976 but by 1981 it was one to 15 and it currently stands at one to 25. The original plan was to build and equip an additional one hundred 'schools by 1981 to accommodate a projected 30,000 four-and five-yearolds by 1981. However, subsequent economic problems resulted in this goal being unrealized and schools and equipment did not materialize although enrollments kept climbing. Teachers and communities rose to this challenge by forming self-help 'groups which raised funds for school buildings. In some cases, foreign aid programs provided matching funds and twelve new schools were built in the first five years. Each school, through its respective Parent Action Committee, raised financial and material support for equipment and playground structures. Overall, teachers, parents, and the public appeared very gratified by the government's initiative to provide free education to this group of preschoolers in Guyana and they donated extra time and effort to ensure the success of the program. Despite these efforts, however, approximately 30 percent of the children are cared for in inadequate and unsanitary physical facilities. Recently, space was made available in some existing elementary schools to house preschool programs which were operating in untenable circumstances. While this has eased the problem of overcrowding in some cases, it has also created problems of its own since these preschoolers must now compete with older children for use of play space and play equipment.

The T e a c h e r T r a i n i n g P r o g r a m During the period that preschool education was provided by religious and other groups, less than two percent of the teachers were trained in early childSPRING 1988

hood education. At that time, a voluntary professional organization called "The Association of Kindergarten Teachers" provided limited training for persons who volunteered. The executive of the Association, along with senior Ministry of Education personnel, formed an advisory committee whose task was-to establish guidelines for training of staff nationwide. The major problem was transmission of basic information on growth and development of children and development of classroom techniques as quickly as possible. In 1976, the government obtained consultant services and a three-phase training program began. In Phase One, consultants from the Far West Laboratory in California teamed up with Ministry of Education personnel and trained a group of six teacher-trainers in two four-week periods over two years. The curriculum consisted of basic information in the theory and practice of early education. Participants also developed a curriculum for use with children. This was a commendable effort, but because of the short duration of their training, the graduates of this program lacked the depth in .Early Education theory. Although they possessed Bachelor of Arts degrees, it was very difficult for them to successfully train supervisors who were to train classroom teachers later on. The attrition rate of this group of six was very high in the first five years. In Phase Two, the teacher trainers trained in Phase One trained a group of thirty persons who in turn were to supervise the provision of on-site training for teachers and aides throughout the country. These thirty persons were experiened teachers of six-year-olds and were selected from all areas of the country. With financial assistance from UNESCO, training sessions were held every seventh week at a central location over a two-year period. The curriculum consisted mainly of child development theory and examples of practice in early childhood education. This supervisory group continued training sessions during Easter and summer vacations and subsequently obtained a Certificate in Education (probably equivalent to three years of college in the USA) through

the School of Education of the University of Guyana. During Phase Three, each supervisor began w e e k l y on-site training and supervision at schools in her respective town and village. Information reached all teachers and aides involved with children and the workshop sessions effectively equipped teachers with some of the practical skills needed to manage a nursery school classroom. This three-phased approach was excellent as an emergency training measure. Unfortunately, interest in the weekly training sessions waned after some time. It seemed that participants lost interest in continuous training since this did not lead to certification. Also, the supervisors themselves did not have the breadth and depth of information that could have sustained interest among teachers and aides. This less formal approach was complemented by formal two-year training program launched in 1979 to train and certify classroom teachers who had the aptitude and basic education level to succesfully complete this program. The Board of Examiners of the Ministry of Education reviewed and approved a program of study parallel to the Trained Teachers' Certificate for elementary teachers, which included Child Development, Education Psychology, Philosophy and Practice of Education and basic subjects such as Art, Music, Physical Education, Social Studies, Mathematics, English, Agriculture, and Home Economics. In 1981, 88 students graduated and an average of 100 per year has graduated since. To date, about 30 percent of nursery school teachers hold a trained teachers certificate in Early Childhood Education. This training and certification program provided a solid base for the academically capable preschool teacher. The staff who taught professional subjects demonstrated great caring and encouraged high standards of performance. What is needed, however, a~'e more early childhood specialists since the average Math or Science lecturer at the Teachers' College cannot usually give an Early Childhood emphasis on methods in their specific subject area. 29

A d m i n i s t r a t i o n of the P r o g r a m In 1981 two Guyanese trained in early education beyond the Master's level returned to the country to become administrators of the Early Childhood program. The new administrators attempted to consolidate the gains of the first five years and move the program further along by: I. intensifying national interest in the concept of early childhood education, 2. improving training at all levels, and 3. increasing parent involvement in management of schools through a community-based concept of Early Childhood Education. An aggressive public relations and media campaign resulted in renewed pubilc support for early education nationally. A weekly radio program begun by the previous administration aimed at increasing awareness of parents, teachers and the general public was reorganized. It grew in popularity and became a powerful medium for contact with the general population and an effective supplement to the training program. Parental involvement and support were high and the program enjoyed an image of efficient growth. Various innovative fund-raising projects were underaken in order to achieve goals. This innovative method of getting things done did not find favor with more conservative superior officers and some ideas met with resistance. Relations with subsystems such as elementary and secondary administration were not as cordial as success of the ECE program led to petty jealousies between its administrators and administrators in the other subsystems. This probably could have been avoided if the other subsystems were sensitized to the operational mode of the new administrators. Also, subsystems could have been helped to become part of the successful image of the ECE program by involving them in some projects. This involvement, especially in transition to elementary schools, came later after some discomfort in relations among groups at the various levels of edu-

30

cation and administration. The separation of training of teachers and adminstration of the national program of early education was a positive step. It enabled each administrator to concentrate on a single task with better results. It was important, however, that these two heads kept in close touch since goals formulated and reshaped at national level could translate more effectively through the teacher-training program. One such major translation was curricula for preschools across the nation.

D e v e l o p m e n t and I m p l e m e n t a t i o n of C u r r i c u l u m The initial curriculum used in preschools consisted of content and material that supported goals of socialisation primarily. The daily program emphasized development of the selfconcept and development of socialcooperative skills. However, since the literacy rate of the general population is 90 percent*, it was felt that the national program was now ready for a more cognitively oriented approach to curriculum. A model of curriculum called a cognitive-interactionist approach was drawn up with the help of supervisors and teachers through their workshop sessions. This model was then refined and presented at seminars and meetings beginning with supervisors. The content included activities such as cooking, woodworking and Piagetian approaches to numbers. When teachers at classroom level met to look at the refined curriculum, they somehow perceived it as a "new curriculum" because of the additions and more sophisticated vocabulary. There was some resistance to its acceptance. It seemed that the administration overestimated the ability of the staff at classroom levet to deal with larger concepts. It appeared that many teachers did not have the requisite conceptual and theoretical background to understand and implement this curriculum model. Administrators travelled across the country to help supervisors, then teachers, deal with the refined curriculum model. People did not seem ready for the change at that time however, and the problem is still not quite resolved. Where schools and districts have corn-

petent workshop leaders, they keep working to improve understanding at all levels of the teaching staff. The wider emphasis of the cognitively oriented curriculum still seems appropriate but the question of enabling everyone to deal with certain concepts is still unanswered. A certain minimum level of cognitive functioning of staff should have been a necessity for retaining people on teaching staffs at the nationalisation of early childhood education. This would have probably alienated many people at a time when maximum support was needed but it would have ensured that teaching personnel had the conceptual ability to learn and teach effectively. Conclusion The problems of adequate housing for children's programs remain. Many teachers will not catch up with prevailing theories and practice in early childhood education in more technologically advanced countries for a while. Curriculum implementation at classroom level still needs much attention. The budget provided for early education keeps shrinking due to high inflation. Despite the problems, however, the introduction of a national early childhood education program was good for families who could not afford fee-paying schools for their children. "Going national" at the outset was problematic because of the number of issues that needed attention simultaneously. It however, removed the need for lobbying, which can be a long and arduous process before success is achieved. A national program of early childhood education also enabled nursery teachers to surmount many of the problems associated with their image as mere childminders and the lowliest on the rungs of the education ladder. For children, this program also performed an important socialisation and cognitive-developmental function and it forced parents to take another look at early childhood as a definite learning period in the life of the child.

t * Gimeno, Jose Blar, Education in Latin America and The Caribbean: Trends and Prospects, UNESCO, Paris, 1983

DAY CARE AND EARLY EDUCATION