I contacted my international contact in Yap. In her school they do not have a readiness
exam. In fact, she had a large class of
23 students and no one was on the same level.
She said that although the curriculum was very similar to the United
States, it seemed to her that it did not match the community values of
practical, hands on curriculum that would equip the children for everyday life
in the Island. She felt that testing
would not be a good way to assess quality since the people there take a more holistic
approach. However, she said more funding
was definitely needed and described similar issues with inequity that we have
here in the United States.
After doing some research I found an article that summarized
the regions strategic plan for quality education. The plan is called the Basic Education Action
Plan (FBEAP) I have summarized the plan below:
Planning and
Management
• It was mentioned that there needs to be better data
collection and basic educational planning.
Also putting financial resource in things that lead to a greater academic
outcome. Gender equality was also a
concern.
Curriculum and
Instruction
• Emphasis was that the curriculum should be relevant and
include vocational training. Also the
need for valid and reliable assessment procedures, and improved classrooms and
teaching conditions.
Teacher Training
• Training for teachers should include methods that reach
different learning styles and improve their competence and confidence. Also needed to improve early childhood,
pre-service and in-service teacher education programs.
Community Partnerships
• Improve relationships with communities and stakeholders
and establish regional qualifications framework.
Margou M., M (2006) Education Strategic Plan: 2007-20012 Yap
State Federated States of Micronesia. Retrieved from: http://www.paddle.usp.ac.fj/collect/paddle/index/assoc/yap001.dir/doc.pdf
Lori,
ReplyDeleteIt seems that so often, educators are forced into using a curriculum that fails to meet the needs of the particular students it is meant to serve. As educators, I believe we must carefully investigate how such a curriculum could be adapted to our communities - or explore and advocate for new curricular options.
Thanks for your post and for sharing the photo! It's nice to get a glimpse of your contact's life in Yap!
Lori, it's so refreshing to see a picture of the life of your contact and her students. The environment looks so beautiful. From your summary, it appears that the child development programs in Yap is in dire need of changes that will help meet the individual needs of the students. What I've learned this week is, issues regarding educating young children are everywhere. No one country has it all together. Either there is a great need for better curriculum, trainings for teachers, and funding. Thanks for sharing and enlightening my day with the beautiful picture.
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Lori, you have such a good resource here, you are very lucky. None of my resources have got back to me yet. Its interesting to see how different this country does things in education as the United States does. It amazes me that they don't have any exams to show how ready they are. I can't believe that none of her students are on the same level. This has to make it hard for the teacher. I can see that the plan that they use focuses on how the teachers are trained and the curriculum is being taught, but there are issues that will always come about in educating young children whether its in your hometown or a town outside the country. Thanks for sharking. Thanks for the picture too!
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