Changes in the Education System of Trinidad and Tobago
- Submitted by: simon16
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- Category: Politics: Political Science
- Date Submitted: 04/12/2012 03:13 AM
- Pages: 11
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The education system has been undergoing continuous political, pedagogical, structural, and demographic change. Discuss ways teachers can strengthen their participation in education change in order to satisfy student learning needs.
“An educational system isn't worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but doesn't teach them how to make a life.” (Thinkexist.com)
Our education system in Trinidad and Tobago has been undergoing continuous changes over the past decades. Some of the changes that have taken place are political, pedagogical, structural, and demographic change.
Until the twentieth century, education in Trinidad and Tobago was designed primarily to prepare the elite for study abroad and the eventual assumption of political and economic leadership roles in the society. With the exception of a few missionary schools, slaves were discouraged from attaining even minimal literacy skills. Educational opportunities did not expand greatly following emancipation; the first teacher-training program was not begun until 1852, and the first public secondary institution did not open its doors until 1925.
The public school program in Trinidad and Tobago, which was modelled after the British system, took form in the twentieth century and eventually opened up avenues for upward mobility to all elements of society. The East Indian population, because of its lower socioeconomic status, was the last segment of society to benefit from education, but it eventually became known as one of the most academically motivated groups on the islands.
In addition to government-sponsored schools, private denominational institutions were created to pass on cultural and religious instruction, as well as traditional academic knowledge and skills. Public financial assistance to Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Muslim, and Hindu institutions eventually evolved into the modern education system of the 1980s, which incorporated schools that were both publicly and...
“An educational system isn't worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but doesn't teach them how to make a life.” (Thinkexist.com)
Our education system in Trinidad and Tobago has been undergoing continuous changes over the past decades. Some of the changes that have taken place are political, pedagogical, structural, and demographic change.
Until the twentieth century, education in Trinidad and Tobago was designed primarily to prepare the elite for study abroad and the eventual assumption of political and economic leadership roles in the society. With the exception of a few missionary schools, slaves were discouraged from attaining even minimal literacy skills. Educational opportunities did not expand greatly following emancipation; the first teacher-training program was not begun until 1852, and the first public secondary institution did not open its doors until 1925.
The public school program in Trinidad and Tobago, which was modelled after the British system, took form in the twentieth century and eventually opened up avenues for upward mobility to all elements of society. The East Indian population, because of its lower socioeconomic status, was the last segment of society to benefit from education, but it eventually became known as one of the most academically motivated groups on the islands.
In addition to government-sponsored schools, private denominational institutions were created to pass on cultural and religious instruction, as well as traditional academic knowledge and skills. Public financial assistance to Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Muslim, and Hindu institutions eventually evolved into the modern education system of the 1980s, which incorporated schools that were both publicly and...