…as they are required to bring new competencies to bear
Investing in teacher quality was the key point at last evening’s opening ceremony of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) second biennial conference.
“Life-long learning becomes an imperative and a core principle of education reform,” Director of Human Development at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, Mrs. Myrna Bernard, said. She added that it is clear that investment portfolios in the education sector need to be re-examined and adjusted.
Bernard, who delivered the feature address at the opening ceremony said, “Teacher quality continues to rank as the most reliable predictor of student achievement.”
The ceremony held at the GTU headquarters, Woolford Avenue, saw the participation of representatives from the 39 GTU branches across the country, policy makers, Education Ministry officials and other stakeholders in the Education Sector.
The conference theme is ‘Organizing for Economic Justice, through heightened investment in teachers’.
Bernard observed that very often discussions are confined to education quality and reform, policy, planning and operational issues, without giving a thought to articulating the context within which the day to day activities are done.
“The theme finds resonance in the research findings in effectiveness of education which constantly highlight the crucial role of quality teaching,” she said.
She explained that in addressing heightened investment in teachers, there needs to be an examination of both the returns of any investment and the returns of the existing instruments.
According to her, important questions that need to be asked are whether or not the investment climate and environment has changed; whether there should be reconfiguration of the investment portfolios; and whether it is appropriate to heighten investment by merely pouring more financial and other resources into existing portfolio configurations.
Bernard also addressed economic justice, as included in the general conference’s theme, and observed that economic justice is to free each person to engage creatively in the unlimited work beyond economics, that of mind and spirit.
“Economic justice is encompassed in the broader concept of social justice and is important in connection with the valuing and reward systems for teachers…The focused preparation of teachers to teach social justice is gaining renewed attention and is seen as critical in fostering economic and social justice,” she said.
In this light, she pointed out that globalization has not only impacted on the economic landscape, but also the social, cultural and political platforms nationally.
Bernard said, “These global trends affect education significantly.”
In addition, she said, this impact calls for education systems to react, change and anticipate social and economic needs.
“As countries of our region become more integrated and knowledge-intensive, increased emphasis is placed on innovation and the capacity of citizens to solve problems, to change, to adapt, to think critically,” Bernard said.
She made clear that education systems cannot afford to assume that the preparation teachers and administrators received a few decades ago will work today.
To this end, Bernard said the changes in the education context emphasize that the role and status of teachers everywhere “must” change as they are required to bring new competencies to bear on their work.
“Unfortunately, not many teachers have the training or expertise to cope with their changing roles,” she said.
To this end, the Director of Human Development reiterated that in addressing reform and retooling of teachers, heightened investment should be a core point of focus.
A particular area for investment, she pointed, out was technology.
“The needs are much wider, but technology is important…Educators at all levels need to benefit from professional development that enables them to meet the civic needs of students and society, and must be engaged in development of solutions designed to promote systematic change,” Bernard asserted.
Relative to regional initiatives that are being undertaken, she stated that the competencies for teacher training are currently the focus of a regional Task Force on Teacher Education.
She said, “The subject of functional cooperation among institutions in the region charged with responsibility of teacher preparation is the focus.”
She explained that discussions are taking place in several other groupings and CARICOM is interfacing, for example, with the Commonwealth Secretariat, in this initiative.
Bernard said addressing this issue regionally is important, considering the development of standards and the harmonization of qualifications through the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
“The harmonization of qualifications would not only address the challenge of ensuring relevance and quality of training, but also acceptance of qualifications,” she said.
Bernard added that networking among professionals and the sharing of ideas and best practices will also foster the economic and social justice that is being sought.
She lauded the role of the GTU and called for them to not only advocate for better conditions of service for teachers, but also re-examine their roles in the current environment and address the same in a more focused way.
“Advocacy for areas of professional development of its (the Union’s) leadership and membership in order to contribute meaningfully to the economic and social justice, not only for teacher, but ultimately for the generation of young persons whom they serve, is a must,” Bernard said.
General Secretary of the GTU, Ms. Coretta McDonald, in expressing her view, said the thoughts expressed during the opening ceremony will be food for thought in the next days of deliberations.
“In the next two days, we will be looking at problems we had, those resolved, as well as those not resolved. We will try different approaches and strategies to approach our stakeholders and policy makers to make our interests voiced,” she said.
McDonald noted that the presence of policy makers, particularly, at the opening ceremony is important, so that they can give their views on the GTU’s operation and, more importantly, its significance.
The conference ends tomorrow.