sir arthur lewis community college (salcc) st. lucia …

C-EFE PROGRAM- INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIP

INSTITUTION’S PROFILE AND TERMS OF REFERENCE

SIR ARTHUR LEWIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE (SALCC)

ST. LUCIA – EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

AUGUST 2012

REF: CAR-05

CAR_05_St-Lucia_SALCC_Early Childhood Development Page i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Institutional Mandate ........................................................................................................................... 1

2 Institutional Needs and Expectations ................................................................................................... 2

3 Project Context ..................................................................................................................................... 5

4 Data and Statistics on Staff and Students ............................................................................................. 6

5 Program Sector Development FOR C-EFE ............................................................................................. 7

6 Supporting and Background Documentation ....................................................................................... 8

Appendices :

Appendix A : Composition of the Full-time Faculty .................................................................................... 13

Appendix B : Programs of Study by Level of Certification .......................................................................... 14

CAR_05_St-Lucia_SALCC_Early Childhood Development Page 1

1 Institutional Mandate

Brief history

The Sir Arthur Lewis Community College was established under an Act No. 8 of 1985, to

provide a place of education offering instruction in:

Agriculture

Arts Science and General Studies

Health Science

Teacher Education and Educational Administration

Technical Education and Management Studies

As early as 1971, the need for integration was recognized and a few initiatives were taken,

namely, a Science block was built to serve the three institutions; the Library to the University

Centre, University of the West Indies, was absorbed into the Library of the Morne Educational

Complex, certain activities and budgetary aspects of the estimates from the three institutions

were identified as Common Services and a Bursar was appointed to administer them.

By 1983, the process of integration was further accelerated with the appointment by the Minster

for Education of a Task Force on the Integration of the Morne Educational Complex. The

establishment of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College was the Task Force’s major

recommendation.

Strategic plan elements (vision, mission, key directions)

Vision

The College sees itself as an open, comprehensive, flexible, learning institution,

committed to excellence, and responsive to the needs of its clients, and to the challenges

that face the St Lucian society.

Mission Statement

The mission of the College is to pursue its vision and fulfill its mandate in the most

effective, efficient and equitable manner possible while giving due attention to:

Excellence in teaching, research, administration and service;

The social, cultural and artistic development of its students;

The need to develop and foster self-directed and life-long learning;

Appropriate community participation in the functioning of the institution;

The professional development and welfare of its staff;

Regular and systematic monitoring and evaluation of its priorities, programmes and

operations;

The maintenance of its own institutional integrity.


Priority issues for the next 2 – 3 years.

2 Institutional Needs and Expectations

Description of expectations of the Canadian partner. Please outline your goals and

expectations fully and succinctly.

Please identify the Sector for program development or renewal.

The program for development is Early Childhood Development (ECD), at CVQ Levels 1 and 2,

for para-professionals working in childcare and pre-school settings.

Please provide an overview of the context for developing programming in the C-EFE and in

which of the following the areas your institution would seek assistance from the Canadian

partner:

Are there any existing NVQ or CVQ standards in this sector? Will the partnership need to

develop a new one?

Occupational standards have been approved for CVQs at Level 1 and Level 2; however,

they may need to be validated and/or updated locally.

Do you work with an advisory committee or lead industry body in this sector, or will it be

necessary to set one up during the partnership?

Not currently as this would be a new area of programming. The Early Childhood Services

department in the Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for training and

monitoring of early childhood centres. The unit has a listing of centres and practitioners to

draw upon for this purpose.

What assistance would you request related to developing curriculum and lesson planning

related to new or renewed programming in this sector?

SALCC currently does not offer training specifically in ECD, although it does train primary

teachers at the Associate Degree Level. The partnership should provide assistance in

developing the curriculum and lesson planning for a new program to train persons

specifically for early childhood programming and the curriculum would be designed from

the occupational standard.

What assistance would you request related to developing assessment tools for PLAR and

in-class learning related to this program?

As this would be the first CVQ/NVQ program to be developed, SALCC would seek

assistance with developing assessment tools and strategies, with identifying performance

criteria, with implementing a system for PLAR. This should be done with input from the


TVET and Accreditation Unit in the Ministry. There are currently no trained assessors in this

field, and no trained external verifiers. This is a requirement for awarding qualifications.

What assistance would you request in terms of building the capacity of institutional leaders

to manage the program developed through the partnership?

Areas for discussion and capacity building include, but may not be limited to: developing

policies for implementing ICT into teaching and learning practices; and expanding student

services.

What assistance would you request in terms of building the capacity of instructors to use a

CBETA approach to delivering the new/renewed program?

CBETA would be a new approach for the faculty of education and SALCC. There would be

a need for lecturer training and for persons who will deliver the new program to be trained

to CANTA’s assessor training standards. It will be important to work with the TVET and

Accreditation Unit on this component.

Do you currently have policies or strategies to promote gender equality in TVET programs?

No programs or policies in place; women are taking over. How get men into this program?

There are no programs or policies in place with regard to promoting gender equity. Women

are increasingly entering non-traditional areas; men are not doing so to the same extent. It

is also a challenge with young men to keep them motivated and attending tertiary

education. With regard to ECD, it is seen as a “female” program and their friends may

ridicule young men if they show an interest in taking this program.

Do you currently have institutional programs for environmental sustainability and

community engagement?

There has to date not been a great deal of enthusiasm for “greening” initiatives. Community

engagement is a college goal and SALCC has initiated a number of outreach activities such

as lectures in the communities on family life. There is a need to implement some of the new

social media tools to expand this reach.

Do you have a career guidance unit/office/policy at your institution?

The school counselor performs this function at the moment and has participated in some in-

service training related to career guidance. There is a new initiative underway, directed by

the Assistant Registrar, to spruce up the student services area, including guidance. It

would be useful to have an exchange of ideas and approaches on this unit.

Are you approved by your TVET apex body to deliver NVQ/CVQ programs?

No. Assistance would be required to work with the TVET and Accreditation Unit to be an

approved centre.

Circumstances to take into consideration in project planning (e.g. typical holiday periods,

events, access to existing pre-schools, etc.):


MAY TO MID AUGUST

Activities should NOT be planned for these periods:

December 13 – January 5

3rd week of July

First two weeks of May

The best time for focused work and/or training sessions would be in June.

With assistance from the Early Childhood Services Unit, arrangements could be made for field

attachments in local pre-schools and day care centres.


3 Project Context E.g., any regional and national groups working in this sector, current economic activities in the

sector, current programming offered at institute in this sector

St. Lucia has identified universal access to early childhood development programs as a national

priority. The OECS Education Sector Strategy (May 2012) also identifies universal access to

early childhood development as a strategic imperative.

The Early Childhood Services Unit is currently responsible for providing any coordination of,

oversight of, and training for the 142 pre-schools in St. Lucia. There is no formal association

representing this sector. There are 21 government-run day care centres which address the ECD

spectrum from 0 – 5.

Currently only 5,000 of the 15,000 pre-school age children participate formal ECD programs.

There is a perception that children demonstrate delays when they reach school due to lack of

sufficient stimulation in the 0-5 age period.

Draft standards and a draft policy for Early Childhood have been developed that would

introduce more regulation to the sector, but they have not yet been ratified.

Historically, ECD has had a custodial rather than a developmental focus in St. Lucia. Now, the

focus is on stimulation and play-based approaches to curriculum.

Training consists primarily of short professional development sessions, in-service workshops,

etc. Persons must leave St. Lucia for formal ECD training; many who wish to study travel to

Trinidad to do so. As a result, most workers in the centres are neither trained nor certified; some

centres provide their own in-house training programs to ensure that staff members acquire skills

and knowledge. There is high staff turnover as ECD is seen as a “starter job” which can lead to

other careers. Some practitioners struggle with writing and comprehension; others may not

demonstrate the required attitude for work in this sector. It is hoped that making training and

certification available will help to address some of these challenges.

The Ministry also oversees a home intervention program called “Roving Caregivers.” ECD

practitioners in this program visit homes with young children for 45 minutes twice per week and

focus on stimulation for the children, parenting skills, and income generation. They also make

referrals based on an issues encountered in the home. These caregivers participate in an

intensive 3-month training program provided by the Early Services Unit before going into the

field and have regular in-service training sessions. Entry requirements for this program include:

18 years of age and schooling up to third form. There is regular turn over of staff in this

program as one of its goals is to build the capacity of the caregivers to pursue other training and

they move on to, e.g., social work, nursing, policing. The HEART Trust NVQ documents are

used in the development of the training of these persons.


The Ministry of Health is launching a similar outreach initiative to identify child health and

development issues in the community.

SALCC currently provides teacher training for primary and secondary level teachers at the

associate degree level, as well as a B.Ed. Current lecturing staff does not include persons with

expertise in the early years.

Regional Groups working in ECD

Child Development Centre at the University of the West Indies (UWI)

This division develops programming in the areas of early childhood and youth. The division

(based in Jamaica) is launching a Bachelor of Early Childhood and Family Studies this

September at all campuses. In addition, the Centre has developed a curriculum for the

certificate level and for the associate degree level. There are plans underway to develop

programming to assist those persons currently working as teachers but who do not have the

qualifications to enter the formal training to prepare for formal training. Any programming

developed at UWI is available across the CARICOM region. Interaction with UWI will be

required to ensure laddering options and consistency in programming.

Foundation for the Development of Caribbean Children

The foundation has been in the planning stages for some time and became officially operational

this year. Their work has a focused on standards of care and stimulation for the 0-3 age group

and has worked extensively with the Roving Care Givers initiative. The Foundation is now

turning its attention to the needs of 3 – 5 year olds. It does significant work in the areas of

advocacy and communication on child development issues across the region.

There is a CARICOM-coordinated working group on Early Childhood Development, which

should be consulted throughout the partnership program.

This would be the first CVQ program to be offered at SALCC.

4 Data and Statistics on Staff and Students Organizational chart, number of teachers (m/f), faculty level of qualifications, list of programs

offered and corresponding qualifications awarded, number of students per program (m/f), any

available information on graduate placement rates, etc.

The organizational chart has been forwarded as a separate document.

Please see Appendices A and B for data on the faculty composition and program information

respectively.

Data on graduation placement rates are not available.


5 Program Sector Development FOR C-EFE Identify the program to be developed/renewed and the CVQ level to be targeted. Early Childhood Development, Levels 1 and 2 in a modular format mirroring the occupational standards to allow persons to complete and be certified in individual units if they are unable to complete the entire certification. What is the evidence of demand for this program/who is asking for this program? Strengthening the skills of ECD workers is a priority of governments in the CARICOM region. The Early Childhood Services Unit of the Ministry has identified a need for training and certification and has developed draft standards for day care and pre-school centres. Is this a new program or one that needs updating? This would be a new program for SALCC; CVQ standards exist to level 2 but may need updating and validation in the local St. Lucian context. Jamaica has NVQ standards and curriculum to level 5. UWI has programming in this area. What are the anticipated entry-level qualifications for this program? Entry would be based on criteria to be developed during program development. Many current practitioners do not have complete secondary school qualifications. It will be important to introduce PLAR early in the program delivery to assess experiential learning and to identify gaps. A process for identifying suitability for working with children should also be implemented. Ideal candidates would have sound literacy and numeracy skills. Are there supports in place to assist those who do not meet the entry- level qualifications to prepare for the program? Yes. Various access courses are available through different delivery agents such as the National Enrichment Unit. How are employers or industry representatives currently involved in the development and delivery of your programs? Currently, there is no formal linkage with ECD because this is a new area of programming. In the Technical and Management division, there are advisory groups in place that meet once per year. SALCC holds memberships in a number of industry associations, e.g., the hotel and tourism association. There is currently no formal association for ECD in St. Lucia; however, the practitioners and owners are working to create one. Ministry representatives indicate that there are 142 pre-schools currently operating in St. Lucia. They do not, however, have good data on what training has been provided to the workers in the centres. The Ministry contacts would provide a starting place for an advisory committee. How many instructors would be available to work on program development and delivery?


Two lecturers would be available to work on program development. Work would be conducted in collaboration with the TVET and Early Childhood Services departments of the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development. Do you have a mechanism in place to free them to work on new program development? Notion of reduced workload being ironed out; could use that mechanism. Some cases built in – e.g. head of department. Yes, there is a reduced workload process currently being worked out with the teaching staff that could be implemented to allow participation in C-EFE activities and projects. What infrastructure is available to deliver this program – at your institute, in industry, others? The plan is to use one of the current classrooms for program delivery. Field attachments will provide access to functioning centres. Is your institute currently engaged in other international partnership or donor agency agreements? If so, please describe.

The student services initiative is being undertaken with another agency.

6 Supporting and Background Documentation Please provide titles, links, etc. to relevant documents. Current policies related to standards for ECD centres are in draft form and cannot be released at this point. The ECD occupational standards are available at www.cantaonline.org and on the C-EFE resources page. http://ntatt.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=247&Itemid=77&Name=Value The OECS Education Sector Strategy is available on the C-EFE resources page. Please provide photos where possible of institute and facilities.

Please see supporting documents for the CARICOM-EFE at

http://www.accc.ca/xp/index.php/en/programs/int-partnerships/efe-intro/efe-caricom -

Related Documents and Institutional Partnerships

http://www.cantaonline.org/

http://www.accc.ca/xp/index.php/en/programs/int-partnerships/efe-intro/efe-caricom


APPENDIX A

SIR ARTHUR LEWIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Composition of the Full-time Faculty

Distribution of Full-time Faculty by Highest Qualification Attained and Gender

Qualification Faculty Distribution

Male Female Total

Ph. D

0 2 2

Master’s Degree

18 41 59

Bachelor’s Degree

28 35 63

Associate Degree

0 1 1

Diploma

4 4 8

Certificate

3 1 4

Total 53 84 137


APPENDIX B


Programs of Study by Level of Certification

Level of Certification Program

Certificate

Business Studies

Cambridge GCE Advanced Level

General Agriculture

Nurse Midwifery

Health Aide Studies

Air Conditioning Systems -Foundations

Building Services - Foundations

Building Services Part 2

Building Trades - Foundations

Building Trades Part 2

Carpentry & Joinery - Foundations

Carpentry & Joinery – Part 2

Diesel Mechanics- Foundations

Diesel Mechanics – Part 2

Electrical Installation

Motor Vehicle Mechanics - Foundations

Motor Vehicle Mechanics – Part 2

Paralegal Studies

Refrigeration & Air Conditioning

Secretarial Studies

Social Work



Diploma Office Administration

Secondary Teacher Education

Associate Degree

General Agriculture

General Nursing

Primary Education

Secondary Education

Architectural Technology

Automotive Engineering

Business Administration

Computer Systems Engineering

Construction Engineering

Criminal Justice

Electronics Engineering

Food & Beverage Management

Hospitality Studies

Mechanical Engineering

Office Administration

Quantity Surveying

Social Work

Travel & Tourism



Bachelor’s Degree (Franchised from

UWI)

Bachelor of Education

Bachelor of Science (Social Sciences, Years 1 and

2)

Note on Program Offerings

A. The following programs are offered on a biennial basis

1. Air Conditioning Systems –Foundations

2. Building Services - Foundations

3. Building Services Part 2

4. Building Trades - Foundations

5. Building Trades Part 2

6. Carpentry & Joinery - Foundations

7. Carpentry & Joinery – Part 2

8. Diesel Mechanics- Foundations

9. Diesel Mechanics – Part 2

10. Motor Vehicle Mechanics - Foundations

11. Motor Vehicle Mechanics – Part 2

12. Refrigeration & Air Conditioning

B. The following programs are offered on a part-time basis

1. Business Studies

2. Paralegal Studies

3. Office Administration

4. Criminal Justice

5. Secretarial Studies

6. Social Work

C. The following program is offered on a full-time and part-time basis

1. Business Administration



Student Enrolment by Certification Level, Program and Gender for the 2011/2012 Academic Year

(Head Count)

Level of Certification

Program

Enrolment

Male Female Total

Certificate

Business Studies 5 27 32

Cambridge GCE Advanced Level 146 296 442

General Agriculture 13 18 31

Nurse Midwifery 0 12 12

Health Aide Studies 0 21 21

Air Conditioning Systems -Foundations 15 1 16

Building Services - Foundations 13 3 16

Building Services Part 2 Not Offered

Building Trades - Foundations 20 2 22

Building Trades Part 2 Not Offered

Carpentry & Joinery - Foundations 19 2 21

Carpentry & Joinery – Part 2 7 6 13

Diesel Mechanics- Foundations Not Offered

Diesel Mechanics – Part 2 6 1 7

Electrical Installation 37 3 40

Motor Vehicle Mechanics - Foundations 22 2 24

Motor Vehicle Mechanics – Part 2 9 0 9

Paralegal Studies 1 2 3

Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Not Offered

Secretarial Studies 0 20 20



Program

Enrolment

Male Female Total

Social Work 2 11 13

Total for Level 315 427 742

Diploma Office Administration Not Offered

Secondary Teacher Education 17 49 66


Associate Degree

General Agriculture 23 23 46

General Nursing 6 88 94

Primary Education 7 56 63

Secondary Education 16 65 81

Architectural Technology 13 41 54

Automotive Engineering 23 2 25

Business Administration 76 223 299

Computer Systems Engineering 13 37 50

Construction Engineering 39 12 51

Criminal Justice

Electronics Engineering 12 14 26

Food & Beverage Management 19 27 46

Hospitality Studies 23 21 44

Mechanical Engineering 20 4 24

Office Administration 3 57 60

Quantity Surveying 23 14 37



Program

Enrolment

Male Female Total

Social Work 1 8 9

Travel & Tourism 13 25 38

Total for Level

342 724 1066

Degree (Franchised from

UWI*)

Bachelor of Education 3 27 30

Bachelor of Science (Social Sciences,

Years 1 and 2)

7 18 25


Total 684 1245 1929

Key*: UWI – University of the West Indies