LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
| BRAZIL | |
| Auteurs/Producteurs: | Ministère de l'Education et des Sports, Brésil |
| Contact: | M. Ruy Leite Berger Filho, Secretaria de Educacao média e tecnologia,
Esplanada dos Ministerios, Bl. L. 4º andar, CEP 70047 - 900, Brazilia DF |
| Titre: | La Formation continue des enseignants |
| Langue: | Portuguais |
| Date: | 1995 (en phase d'expérimentation) |
| Niveau: | Secondaire |
| Nature du matériel: | Texte officiel |
| Objectif: | Améliorer la formation continue des enseignants |
| Descripteurs: | Curriculum development; teacher education; distance education |
Résumé:
Le Ministère de l'Education et des Sports du Brésil
nous informe que le Secrétariat de l'enseignement technologique
est en train de renouveler le programme de formation des enseignants
au niveau secondaire au moyen, inter alia, d'une stratégie
d'enseignement à distance.
Ce nouveau programme comprend tous les aspects du tronc commun
nécessaires pour aboutir à l'obtention d'un diplôme
d'enseignant. Outre l'enseignement à distance, le programme
utilise également des matériels imprimés.
A la fin de la phase d'expérimentation actuellement en
cours le projet fera l'objet d'une évaluation. Pendant
une deuxième phase, des disciplines spécifiques
à chaque programme d'enseignement seront incluses.
| COLOMBIA | |
| Authors/producing institution: | Colegio de la Salle, Santafé de Bogotá |
| Contact Point: | Alejandro Guriérrez, Profesor, Colegio de la Salle,
Calle 170 No. 28-10, Santafé de Bogota Tel: 672-17.77 |
| Title: |
|
| Language: | Spanish |
| Date: | 1994 |
| Level: | Secondary; teacher education |
| Type of Materials: | Printed document; videos and methodological guide |
| Objective: | Improve the quality of education |
| Descriptors: | Curriculum development; teacher education; tolerance |
Summary:
Material in the form of a report presented to the Forum on Creativity
in Teachers, organized by the Science and Technology Mission.
Subsequently published in Colombian reviews and journals. This
material describes a programme of in-service teacher training
to improve the quality of education.
In 1993, SEIRE (Educational Research Service) proposed a "Model
of overall quality in and for the Colegio de la Salle" specifying
the programme of continuous teacher training. The aims of the
programme are:
- to ensure that the in-house training teams become the permanent conduit for enablement and training;
- build up an exemplary curriculum oriented by processes and centered on overall training of teachers in line with the objectives of the institute;
- increase the levels of involvement and participation of the teachers expressed in the quality of suggestions carried out by the same teams;
- increase the power and abilities of the teacher actualizing and enriching his knowledge and skills by optimizing interpersonal communication;
- ensure that by means of team work and consensus the decision-making process is increasingly applied at the implementation level and thus breaking with individualist culture.
This is an attempt by the College to establish a programme of
overall quality throughout its structure, based on the hypothesis
that 90% of problems are linked to the process and not to the
teachers. The programme comprises four phases: an introductory
planning phase with the team from SEIRE (define goals, specify
methods) (1992-1993); the implementation phase (educate and train,
carry out the work) including the production of a video; the assessment
phase (evaluating the results of the work) (1994-1995); and the
final phase where project reformulation will be carried out as
necessary.
Strategies used to evaluate the programme are: the application
of TECLA (Organization and methods test) in 1995 which will be
compared with the 1992 implementation; Quality of the PDCA presented
by the teams taking part in the programme; the number of statistical
tools applied to the teaching process in 1994 and 1995; the number
of processes standardized by the end of 1994.
A series of four videos whose objective is the development of
leadership abilities in teachers and students as part of a programme
of enablement in personal development and which use modern communication
techniques in forming attitudes and behaviour. The first is in
three parts, beginning with an Introduction to the programme by
the lecturer (10 minutes). Then, in class with the students, the
topic of the lecture is "You can change the past as well"
(10 minutes). The third sequence, also in class with the students,
is entitled "The facilitator". (10 minutes). (Video
system is VHS/NTSC, colour, Spanish).
These first three parts illustrating the programme particularly stress the importance of compassion and caring for other people.
Available from the College, or for consultation at UNESCO HQ (ED
Sector)
| COSTA RICA | |
| Authors/producing institution: | Ministerio de Educación Publica, San Jose |
| Contact Point: | Secretary General, Costa Rica National Commission for UNESCO,
Apartado postal 393-2050, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, San José Tel: 24-4320; 25-5112; Fax: (506) 24-4320 |
| Title: | Programa de Estudios 1991 |
| Language: | Spanish |
| Date: | 1991 |
| Level: | General secondary |
| Type of Materials: | Printed booklets |
| Objective: | Improve the quality of education to meet contemporary Costa Rican realities |
| Descriptors: | Secondary school curriculum; civic education; social studies; peace education; democracy; tolerance |
Summary:
The National Curriculum (1991)
In 1990 the Government of Costa Rica requested the Ministry of
Education to reform the national curriculum to match the contemporary
needs of the nation. In cooperation with education specialists,
a curriculum was drafted for each compulsory subject area. This
first defines the "Curriculum" as a document providing
the basic orientations for teaching, to ensure that it responds
to the educational needs of the country, region or educational
institution, and sets out general curriculum guidelines applicable
to all disciplines. Each programme must respond to four basic
questions: "Why do we learn and teach?"; "What
do we learn and teach?"; "How do we learn and teach?";
and "How can we determine the success in terms of learning?"
Steps towards answering these questions, and the way in which
the teaching-learning process should proceed, are set out in the
three columns of Goals; Learning situations; Evaluation strategies.
Goals are the desired outcomes of the teaching-learning
process (ability to think and reason, qualifications needed to
prepare learners for the world of work, the psychomotor abilities,
knowledge, attitudes and values which will equip them for individual
and collective life).
Learning Situations are based upon these goals.
They are the techniques, procedures and resources used by teachers
and students in the teaching-learning process (i.e. the step-by-step
planning of the student's learning experiences).
Evaluation strategies are very important components
in teaching. Evaluation processes are suggested for each goal
or objective in order to obtain immediate feedback. This implies
opting for process or formative evaluation techniques, as well
as those procedures enabling auto-evaluation and joint-evaluation.
At the end of secondary education, students should have achieved
the set goals and objectives and learned how to acquire and apply
notions or principles; analyze, seek solutions and solve problems;
compare and relate; communicate, construct, coordinate, create
and invent; demonstrate, describe, and discriminate; experiment,
criticize and formulate hypotheses; know how to infer, interpret,
observe and act; plan and organize, summarize, take decisions,
evaluate and make value judgements.
For example: Social studies for upper secondary level
Goals
In Costa Rica, social studies are taught in conjunction with other
subjects in the curriculum in order to orient the teaching-learning
process towards shaping individuals who will have the knowledge,
attitudes, values, and abilities required for life in a democratic
society, and who, because of their education, can respond to the
exigencies of socio-economic and political development. Social
studies aim at inculcating respect for traditional, civic and
religious values, acknowledging and honoring other cultures; at
strengthening family ties and relationships with the school, and
local, national and international communities. They also encompass
the defence of human rights and solidarity with other cultures;
the promotion of environmental awareness and safeguarding the
natural resources of the planet, as well as teaching the principles
of liberty, equality, solidarity, tolerance, and peace.
Conceptualization
Besides teaching history and geography at local, national or international
levels social studies are designed to strengthen civic values
and to stimulate reflection and the development of critical and
creative attitudes, shaping individuals who can apply knowledge
to reality and find solutions to both individual and societal
problems.
Structure
Social studies are a discipline of the Social Sciences, based
on methods of investigation and verification. The individual is
deemed central to history, geography and civics, other social
sciences contributing to strengthening the humanistic education
of the learner.
Methodology
The teacher will use a variety of active and participatory methods
and techniques to develop students capacities and abilities, providing
them with the tools necessary to understand and interpret social,
economic and political contexts. Activities take the form, for
example, inter alia, of comparing Costa Rica's geographical situation
with the rest of the world, investigating its geological evolution,
making climatic comparisons and analyzing how its geography affects
productive work and economic development; valorizing the rational
use of natural resources, including legal implications, participating
in actions to halt man's degradation of the environment; analyzing
and comparing political and socio economic factors in the 19th
and 20th centuries and those preceding the Second World War and
effects on modern society; interpreting political, economic and
social repercussions of the transformations of the world economy
between in the last century on the American continent and in Costa
Rica; analyzing the effects of the world energy crisis on the
economic crisis in the country, etc.
A glossary of terms and their definitions is provided, as is a
reading list.
Curriculum statements are available from the author institution
for: Art, Civics, English, Family life and health, French, Maths,
Technology, Philosophy, Psychology, Physics, Science, Social Studies
and Spanish language and for consultation at UNESCO HQ (ED Sector)
(Also available: document prepared by the Ministry "Reglamento
de Evaluacion y Normas de Promocion de la Educacion General Basica
y de la educación diversificada academica y technica diurnas",
1993)
| ECUADOR | |
| Authors/producing institution: | Ministerio de Educación y Cultura |
| Contact Point: | Dr Luis Jaramillo, Instituto Técnico Superior Fisico Misional Alejandro Humbolt, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, Isla San Cristóbal, Provincia de Galápagos |
| Title: | Post Bachillerato en Turismo y Pesca |
| Language: | Spanish |
| Date: | 1992 |
| Level: | Higher Secondary |
| Type of Materials: | Printed brochure |
| Objective: | Respond to educational needs in the Province |
| Descriptors: | Curriculum development; teacher education; environmental education; second language instruction; ethics |
Summary:
Tourist and Fishing Industries Diploma Course (1992)
The Ministry of Education and Culture, and the National Directorate
of Educational Planning, with financial assistance from UNESCO
has, in the context of the project for Curriculum Development
for the Galapagos Islands, elaborated a "Plan and Programme
of Studies for the "Post-Bacillerato" in Tourist and
Fishing Industries (post-secondary level). This specialization
responds to the socio-economic exigencies of the province, in
line with research results. The Ministry has entrusted its teaching
to the "Alejandro Humbolt" Higher Technical Institute.
The objective is to train technical professionals and to raise
the educational level of the youth of the Galapagos by means of
training them for the tourist and fishing industries. The 35 hour
per week study plan covers the subjects of foreign languages,
applied legislation, geography, ecology, accounting, financing,
nautical aspects, computing, maritime security, tourist administration,
tourist guide training, fisheries technology, refrigeration, professional
ethics.
Foreign language teaching
Five hours per week for two years are devoted to teaching English,
chosen because it is spoken widely, and is particularly useful
for the tourist industry.
Objectives: Correct use of English appropriate to
the tourist and fisheries industries; Communicate in English,
both orally and in writing; Use the foreign language as a method
of communication; Correctly present summaries of local and national
realities.
Methodological recommendations: Replace the classical
teaching units by the unit system; Practice conversational English
as often as possible. Install and use language laboratories. Provide
for an hour per week of German and French.
Ecology
Studied two hours per week for the two years. The Galapagos Islands
are a natural milieu in which to study the interrelationships
of the vegetable and animal communities where primitive species
are conserved which have become extinct in most ecosystems in
the developed world. Ecology will help the student to understand
the importance of his environment.
Objectives: Protect the fragility of the island
ecosystems. Adopt practical and positive attitudes towards degradation
and contaminating agents. Use natural resources in harmony with
development and conservation. Technologize ecology to avoid destructive
impact of man.
Methodological recommendations: Teaching should
be complemented with visits to areas of high population concentration
in the islands to analyze development and its effects on the environment.
The student should participate as a multiplier factor in the community.
Communication will take place by means of educational exhibitions,
wall charts, visits to schools and colleges and to institutions
and workshops. The student will participate in and animate ecological
clubs in each of the islands to support the work of protection
of the Galapagos National Park.
Professional Ethics
Taught two hours per week in the second year in order to understand
the social and political norms of professionals, through learning
to live together and to act responsibly when serving others. Content
of the programme covers norms of personal and social behaviour,
group communication in single-group relationships and vice versa,
and includes human, public and professional relations, as regulating
elements of mature and balanced behaviour.
Objectives: Apply the concepts of professional ethics
in all activities within an integrated vision of national and
local reality. Harmonize interrelationships, in a spirit of mutual
respect, whatever the functions.
Methodological Recommendations: Present the student
with the overall doctrine of moral ethics. The student should
have sufficient time to understand human relationships and collective
social communication. Train the student in permanent evaluation
techniques.
Available from the Ministry, or for consultation at UNESCO HQ (ED Sector)
| JAMAICA | |
| Authors/producing institution: | Government of Jamaica/World Bank |
| Contact point: | National Coordinator, ROSE Project, Ministry of Education and Culture,
2 National Heroes Circle, PO Box 498, Kingston, Jamaica |
| Title: | Reform of Secondary Education (ROSE) Project |
| Language: | English |
| Level: | Junior, then senior, secondary |
| Date: | First phase of the reform: 1993-1998 |
| Type of Materials: | Printed documents |
| Objective: | Reform of secondary education |
| Descriptors: | Curriculum development; secondary school curriculum; language instruction; social studies |
Summary:
The Reform aims to improve access, quality and equity in
secondary education for all students in Grades 7-9 (first phase)
and for students in grades 10 and 11 (second phase).
Selected strategy: to create a Junior High School or Department
in every school with Grade 7 - 9 students and offers a core curriculum,
because this strategy directly addresses all the problems inherent
in the system.
Form: A packet of six draft outlines making up one national
curriculum for all students in grades 7-9 which will eventually
be taught in every kind of secondary school. The core curriculum
will consist of six subjects: Language Arts; Mathematics; Science;
Social Studies; Career Education (new) and Resource & Technology
(new).
Content will be identical for all students, but learning
activities will vary to suit the four different levels of ability
identified for 7th grade entrants (Foundation One: 5 + grades
below reading level; Foundation Two: 2 + grades below reading
level (one type of literacy and reading materials (ODA See Schools
Test Project); Normative: 6th or 7th grade level; Enrichment:
7th or above (OSA HIRLAP Project - High Interest Locally Produced
Reading Materials).
Relevant instructional materials will be available to schools
and textbooks provided on a rental basis. There will be pre-service
and in-service training for teachers and a new 9th year assessment
test to measure students achievement. The number of schools selected
for introduction of the new curriculum will increase yearly, additional
schools being able to join voluntarily. The new multi-level curriculum
is task-oriented, the teacher being a facilitator and guide. Principle
supports are teacher's guides, instructional materials, a curriculum
guide and teacher's manual.
The new Language arts curriculum stresses reading, writing,
listening, speaking, research, language being integrated across
all curricula using standard English (as measured by the CEE common
entrance exam), but also Jamaican Creole.
The new Social studies curriculum covering History, Social
Psychology, Political Science, Anthropology, Sociology, Economics,
Geography is designed to encourage reflective thinking skills,
legal and ethical reasoning, problem solving with different overall
headings for each grade: Living Together; Working Together; Growing
Together.
The new subject of Resource & Technology is to be found
in Agriculture, Arts and Crafts, Industrial Arts, Home Economics,
Business Education. Problem-solving is emphasized, including use
of resources from the "natural environment".
Results: At the end of the 1st phase it is expected that
6,800 teachers will have received training and 28,000 students
will have benefited from the new programme.
Materials available from the Coordinator, and for consultation
at UNESCO Headquarters, and the UNESCO Office in Kingston.
| MEXICO | |
| Authors/producing institution: | Secretaría de Educación Publica, Dirección General de Materiales y Métodos Educativos de la Subsecretaría de Educación Básica y Normal |
| Contact Point: | Profr. Salvador Carreño, R. Fray Servando Teresa de Mier no. 127, Col. Centro, 06020 México
DF.
Tel & Fax: 420 62 75 |
| Title: |
|
| Language: | Spanish |
| Date: | 1993; 1994 |
| Level: | Secondary education |
| Type of Materials: | Book; Illustrated Textbooks |
| Objective: |
|
| Descriptors: | Secondary school curriculum; teacher education; language instruction, second language instruction |
Summary:
This document contains directives for secondary education courses
in public and private schools belonging to the National Education
System. The first part comprises an introduction and references
to the curriculum; it is followed by the objectives and content
of the subjects comprised therein: Spanish, Mathematics, Biology,
Introduction to Physics and Chemistry, Physics, Chemistry, History,
Geography, Civics, Second language instruction and Educational
guidance.
Support material for all secondary school teachers throughout the country, in order to improve the quality of basic education. Each illustrated textbook sets out in detail the contents of the corresponding subject, with a view to modernizing and improving teacher's theory and practice.
| MEXICO | |
| Authors/producing institution: | Direccion de Educacion Secundaria, Unidad de Actividades Académicas |
| Contact Point: | Prof. Salvador Carreño, R.Fray Servando Teresa de Mier No. 127, Col Centro, 06020 México,
DF.
Tel & Fax: 420 62 75 |
| Title: |
|
| Language: | Spanish |
| Date: | 1994 |
| Level: | Secondary education |
| Type of Materials: | Booklets, one for each subject, some of which are illustrated |
| Objective: | Provide instructional materials to teachers to help them improve the quality of their teaching practice; make known the literary creativity of secondary school pupils having participated in a writing competition (6) |
| Descriptors: | Secondary school curriculum; curriculum development; art education; computer uses in education; educational evaluation; environmental education; literature; language instruction; history education; intercultural education. |
Summary:
The objective is to provide educational technology teachers with
programmes which respond to their speciality, in conformity with
the National Curriculum. The contents of each brochure conform
to the programme of one of 13 activities contained in the National
Curriculum for secondary education. Each brochure comprises: an
introduction, the objectives of the course, programme content,
a chronology and a bibliography. A brochure has been prepared
for each of the following special subjects: Graphic Arts, Plastic
Arts, Needlework, Carpentry, Computing, Dressmaking, Interior
Decoration, Electronics, Metal work, Machine tools, Car maintenance,
Nutrition, etc.
The objective is to enable teachers to use new and improved teaching
practice to reduce the routine inherent in oral, written and rote
learning. Documents (a) of a general nature and (b) subject specific,
have been prepared with a view to improving teaching practice,
and which also relate to on-going assessment of secondary education
students:
(a) The general document emphasizes the importance of continuous
assessment as a necessary practice in secondary schools so as
to offer a better educational service
(b) Subject specific documents : Mathematics, Spanish,
English, Biology, Physics and Chemistry, History, Geography, Civic
education, Education and Technology. Each brochure presents
a set of behavioural characteristics of students, considered of
great educational value in the context of learning programmes.
The general objective is to provide the nature studies teacher
with materials to enrich his teaching practice. This specially
prepared brochure contains stories of an ecological nature to
encourage students to voice their opinions, and their criticisms,
which will help them to think about the value of and their attitudes
towards their natural and social environments.
In order to provide teachers who teach the second course in Spanish
with another resource, to improve educational quality, educational,
methodological support material has been prepared for the 1993
Curriculum. Texts about the mythical world of the "Zapoteca"
culture, are used as a variety of exercises for learners, the
objective of which is to promote understanding of text and the
concept of "Myth", as well as to awaken interest in
and raise awareness of esthetic aspects and of cultural identity.
This pedagogical guideline for history teaching is a supplement
to the history curriculum so as to provide the teacher with an
educational resource to teach history, by means of cultural visits
to sites of historical, artistic and geographical interest. The
booklet contains suggestions on how to successfully carry out
a guided tour of a museum, with the objective of ensuring the
more active and lively learning situations for the students. It
also offers basic information about 21 museums, as well as a guide
to services provided by each of them.
This anthology of nine original stories written by secondary school
pupils having participated in a Regional Writing Competition has
been published by the "Departamento de Operación"
and distributed to Spanish teachers as an additional resources
to help them in their teaching practice.
This document, produced by the Subdirección de Apoyo Técnico Complementario, is part of the secondary education curriculum. It sets out the objectives and contents of the environmental education programme as a multidisciplinary subject with a which seeks to develop the learner's understanding, critical thinking and responsible behaviour in respect to problems of environmental degradation.
Available from the contact point or for consultation at UNESCO HQ
| PARAGUAY | |
| Authors/producing institution: | Ministerio de Educación y Culto, Asuncion |
| Contact Point: | Jorge Méndez Rheineck, Secretario General, Comisión Nacional paraguaya de Cooperación con la UNESCO, Iturbe y Manuel Dominguez, Edificio Sudamerica,
4to piso, Asuncion, Paraguay
Tel: (595-21) 444.503; Fax: (595-21)444.503 |
| Title: | Delineamientos Curriculares para el Sistema de Formación Docente (Versión para validar) |
| Language: | Spanish |
| Date: | 1994 |
| Level: | Teacher Training |
| Type of Materials: | Guide |
| Objective: | Improve the quality of education, bearing in mind social equity and in conditions of freedom and democracy |
| Descriptors: | Curriculum development: teacher education; intercultural education; universal education; tolerance; democracy |
Summary:
Curricular Guidelines for the Teacher Training System (pilot
version) (1994)
The guidelines set out the bases, principles and characteristics
of the new Teacher Training System in Paraguay, developed to respond
to the country's new educational philosophy, and to the need to
modernize the teacher training curriculum, taking into account
new school curricula. They are drafted to align with the finalities
and general objectives of the overall educational system: inter
alia, to improve the quality of life, enhance comprehension, peace
and solidarity between nations, provide equal opportunities for
men and women, promote democracy, responsibility and educational
pertinence in a pluritechnical and pluricultural society.
The guidelines describe the four-level structure of the new Teacher
Training System (Initial teacher training; Continuous teacher
training; Specialization; Vocational or professional training).
The aim is to produce qualified teachers, sensitive to environmental
and cultural issues, able to solve problems, working towards promoting
democracy, peace, tolerance and solidarity, able to innovate to
improve quality of teaching and learning.
This structure is built up around four basic nuclei, within which
disciplinary areas are integrated: General Basic Training
(first nucleus, 1st year) and Further training (second
nucleus, 2nd and 3rd years) cover Education and Natural Sciences,
Education and Society, Aesthetic Education, Education Practice.
Specialization (third nucleus, 4th year) includes
teaching practice pedagogical projects, along with curriculum
seminars, specific training and more research. The fourth nucleus,
which is the fundamental nucleus, is a transverse
theme cutting across the whole curriculum and covering democracy
and human rights, family education and environmental education.
The syllabus for all student teachers includes philosophy, biology,
psychology, social studies, (history, geography, ethics and civics)
educational sociology, educational sciences, language, (communication
skills), maths, the arts (plastic arts, music, Paraguayan dance
and theater to develop sensitivity, creativity and social skills),
health education (quality of life, social and community issues,
alcoholism, drug abuse, child abuse, Aids, STD etc), physical
education, science and technology education, and educational guidance.
Also included is a new topic of "Curriculum" as an area
of study, and an applied discipline made up of a series of proposals
about an object of study. Within this topic, students are offered
the possibility to study philosophical foundations, society and
cultural components, process and educational experiences transforming
the student teacher into a researcher capable of translating theory
into practice. In the two years foreseen for the development of
the discipline, work will concentrate on thematic blocks, such
as modern educational theory, its philosophical, anthropological
and axiological bases, modern curriculum trends and principles,
educational psychology and its links with the development and
learning processes, school and curricular development, evaluation
of educational programmes, curricular projects and didactic processes.
This text gives guidance on methodology which, along with strategies
and techniques should be participative. It advocates the workshop
as a method of learning permitting students to establish a dynamic
relationship between theory and practice, offering the future
teacher the possibility to be a subject of his own learning and
creativity. It concludes with advice on evaluation, and a recommended
timetable for the implementation of the teacher training curriculum.
Available from the Ministry of Education, or for consultation at UNESCO Headquarters.
| TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO | |
| Authors/producing institution: | UNESCO Associated Schools Project, C/o Trinidad and Tobago National Commission for UNESCO,
8 Elizabeth Street, St. Clair, Trinidad W.1. Tel and Fax: 809. 622. 0939.4 |
| Contact Person: | Sandra Gift, Secretary General and National Coordinator, UNESCO Associated Schools Project |
| Title: | "A Concern for Peace": Curriculum developed in the context of the Interregional Project to Enhance the Multiplier Effect of the UNESCO Associated Schools Project" |
| Language: | English |
| Date: | 1992 |
| Level: | Secondary school students |
| Type of Materials: | Document |
| Objective: | Shape positive attitudes and values towards social problems |
| Descriptors: | Secondary school curriculum; environmental education; intercultural education; tolerance; human rights education |
This curriculum, developed in the context of the Interregional
Project to Enhance the Multiplier Effect of the UNESCO Associated
Schools Project", covers the three themes of "Man and
the Environment", "Culture", "Human Rights
and the United Nations". It is considered to be exemplary
because a grass roots approach was taken to its development.
Lessons were developed by a group of teachers in different subject
areas who act as coordinators for the UNESCO Associated Schools
Project in Trinidad and Tobago. Geared towards the multicultural
context of the country, the curriculum contains games developed
by the teachers and provides for group work, as well as the development
of students' research and analytical skills. Content focuses on
the physical and social environment of Trinidad and Tobago, while
making references at times to the international community. The
curriculum is learner centered with a method of instruction that
is not didactic. Opportunities are also provided for enjoyment
and for the development of students' creative abilities (use of
songs, role play, and poetry, etc). Whilst curriculum design seeks
to focus on activities and experience, it also focuses on humanistic
elements, through its attempts to shape positive attitudes and
values with regard to social problems, such as the environment,
multi-culturalism and race relations, peace and human rights.
Objectives are relevant to the school system, while focusing in
some depth on areas not given priority at school.
The curriculum serves as resource material for Associated Schools
Project coordinators. It is currently being tried out in a randomly
selected number of secondary schools in the country to determine
which factors facilitate or prevent the effective implementation
of the curriculum, as well as its impact on the attitudes of students
and teachers in relation to the values associated with the themes
explored, with a view to its dissemination within the wider education
system.
Two videos have also been produced: "Trinidad and Tobago
Building the Future (1990), has been used in Associated Schools
to introduce the various themes of the Curriculum. The second
video focuses on the contribution of the Queen's Park Savannah
to the health and well-being of the citizens of Port-of-Spain
and has been adopted as the country's contribution to the proposed
"Associated Schools Environment" film.
Available from the author, and for consultation at UNESCO HQ (ED Sector)
| INDEX | THE SUMMARIES | LIST OF SUMMARIES BY REGION |
|---|