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The Education Development and Progress for Students who are Blind and Visually Impaired in the Commonwealth Caribbean Region
Focus: School Years
Topic: Personnel Preparation
Celene A. Gyles
Principal Lecturer
Teachers College Columbia University
Department of Special Education
Mico Teachers’ College, University of the West Indies
1A Marescaux Road
Kingston 5
Jamaica
West Indies
(212) 870-8704
The Commonwealth Caribbean is the term applied to the English speaking islands in the Caribbean and mainland nations of Belize (formerly British Honduras) and Guyana (formerly British Guiana) that once constituted the Caribbean portion of the British Empire. Geographically, the Commonwealth Caribbean Region constitutes a relatively small population of people in unique countries covering an expansive irregular area within the boundaries of North America, Central America, South America and the Atlantic Ocean. Although comprising many unique countries, there are commonalities in economic structures, educational pursuits and future nation building
The emergence and development of the education of people who are blind and visually impaired owe much to the effort of Private Voluntary Organizations (PVOs) and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs). Concerned parents, and/or relatives of children with visual disorders and other disabilities, religious leaders and benevolent citizens formed various educational and service agencies that catered to the needs of children and adults with blindness or visual impairments.
The need for a comprehensive and intensive training in the education of learners with visual disorders became urgent as the number of children with visual disorders increased in the Region. In general, people became more aware of the needs of individuals with disabilities and made demands for more efficient and effective educational programs for children with special learning needs. The teachers for the schools were taken from the regular school system to teach children with disabilities, including those with blindness or visual impairments. In-service training was inadequate, fellowships were few and the cost of training abroad was prohibitive for the majority of teachers, particularly teachers of children with visual disorders. The Caribbean Council for the Blind with Secretariat in Antigua West Indies and the Jamaica Society for the Blind, made a petition to The Mico College in Kingston Jamaica, where there was an already existing teacher preparation program in special education. They recommended the inclusion of a teacher-training component for the training of teachers of learners with visual impairments.
Collaboration between the Caribbean Council for the Blind and The Mico Teachers’ College facilitated the development of an organized enhanced Region-wide educational program for learners with visual disorders. The teacher preparation program for teachers in The Education of Learners with Blindness and Visual Impairments commenced in September 1988, after extensive planning and consultation with experts in the field from North America. The structure of the Program in Blindness and Visual Impairments was such, that it integrated well into the existing Mico College Diploma Program. It was projected that each year there would be an enrollment of at least 10 students in the option area of Blindness and Visual Impairments. (This was an ambitious projection.) The recruitment would be a joint effort of both the Caribbean Council for the Blind and The Mico Teachers’ College.
The Caribbean Council for the Blind through its funding partners (e.g. Sight Savers International, Helen Keller International, Hilton/Perkins Program and others) provided the funding for technical assistance in designing the curriculum and training personnel to teach in the program. Since the inception of the program, over 40 teachers have graduated, most of whom, are presently working across the Region in special education positions. Currently, there are formal education programs in 12 different countries of the Region. The new thrust is to establish a systematic approach to the integration of students who are blind or visually impaired within the mainstream of regular education. There are 346 students now enrolled to this program, across 11 countries, with 15 specialist teachers in posts working as itinerant or resource teachers. Special schools, special units and special classes continue to provide educational services for those who are not enrolled in integrated programs.
Children will be physically and visibly present in the same school facilities as other children.
* It is recommended that this is not a gain unless efforts are made to provide social and instructional mainstreaming as well.
This process moves beyond simply being in the same facilities. It calls for social interactions, both incidentally and deliberately arranged. School personnel and parents are responsible to monitor the interaction that encourages mutual understanding, learning and support.
* Physical mainstreaming is a precondition for social mainstreaming.
This most complex of the three approaches, builds on physical mainstreaming. Children receive instruction in the same subjects and access the curriculum of their regular peers (although not necessarily taught the same things in the same way.
The Caribbean Council for the Blind has already spearheaded training for regular classroom teachers by utilizing the services of the teachers trained in the Regional Teacher Preparation Program at The Mico Teachers’ College. In addition, specialists coming from outside of the Region have conducted workshops and seminars focusing on specialized training in assessment and strategies for working with low vision children. The Caribbean Council’s 2001 Annual Education Report reflected:
Orientation Programs were held for generic classroom teachers in the “Education of Students with Visual Impairments.”
The number of teachers per countries in orientation programs:
The program reports of six countries; namely: Belize, Grenada, Guyana, St. Lucia, Jamaica, and Trinidad indicate the efforts of both teachers and program planners in advancing the growth and development of the education of people who are blind or visually impaired.
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