In January, twenty-six Jamaican teachers had convened at Priory School in Kingston, Jamaica, to begin an intensive two-week study with a Western Carolina University (WCU) Professor of Education. The course was their first in a program of sixteen courses (48 semester hours) leading to the B.S. Ed. degree. Over a period of three years, twelve of the required courses will be offered at the site in Kingston; four must be completed during a summer residence on the WCU campus. Three years later, those teachers who have successfully completed the required courses will be awarded the WCU degree. Their numbers will be added to the hundreds of Jamaican teachers who have earned the WCU degree in education during the years a Jamaica/Western Carolina University association which began in the early 1970s.
Through Western Carolina University's Bachelor's Degree Porgram for Jamaican Teachers, teachers who hold a Jamaican teachers college diploma (a three-year program including a one-year internship) may earn, in three years of part-time study, a B.S.Ed. degree in Middle Grades Education with a concentration in Guidance and Counseling or Educational Administration. Up to 85 semester hours' credit may be transferred toward degree requirements for work completed at the teachers college. Forty-eight semester hours of additional courses--in general education, professional education, and guidance and counseling or educational administration--are required.
The twelve courses (36 hours) offered by WCU at Priory School in Kingston are taught by regular, full-time Western faculty in two-week intensive classes. The classes are scheduled in January, March, May, and October, at least in part, during WCU vacation periods. Textbooks, syllabi, class assignments, and sometimes, videotaped lectures, are distributed to the teachers three months prior to the scheduled class. Required class meetings are also held at Priory School after the two-week class period; at these meetings, students discuss materials and readings assigned by the instructor of the course. Participants may be asked to submit written assignments following the classroom study. Students must complete four courses (12-13 semester hours) on the WCU campus during a summer.
The requirements and transfer credit policies of the program were carefully developed by WCU in cooperation with the Jamaica Ministry of Education to assure that the program builds on the prior education and experience of participants; that it augments and enhances their professional knowledge and expertise; that it provides for the needs of the Jamaican school system for more effective teachers and greater expertise in areas such as guidance and counseling and educational administration; and that it maintains the standards and requirements of WCU's teacher education programs. (It may be noted that graduates, on completion of this program, are not elibible for recommendation for North Carolina teacher certification.)
WCU's Jamaican instructional program is administered by the Dean of Continuing Education and Summer School (CE & SS) with assistance from the WCU Director of Caribbean and Latin American Programs. It is required to be self-supporting, and costs of delivering courses are met by tuition charges.
The program is operated under a contractual agreement between WCU's Division of CE & SS and Priory School in Kingston. The Director of Priory School (who received the Master's degree in education from WCU in 1973) serves as on-site coordinator of the program.
Under the terms of the contract, Priory School, with the revenues collected for the courses, furnishes or arranges class space, facilities, equipment, laboratory, instructional supplies, and administrative and clerical support; assumes responsibility for recruiting and enrolling students and collecting fees; and covers costs of postage, supplies, textbooks and materials not provided for the courses by Priory School. The university's per student tuition charge covers direct costs in delivering the instruction including faculty salary and fringe benefits, housing and meals, travel, and the overhead administrative fee.
Western Carolina University's long association with Jamaica developed from certain characteristics and program strengths of the university. WCU is a public senior university serving apporximately 5,200 students on its main campus in Cullowhee, North Carolina, in the scenic, and rural, Appalachian mountains. A primary motivating force in WCU's international involvement was the idea that rural Appalachia shared many characteristics with underdeveloped nations, and that Western could offer to developing countries knowledge and expertise grounded in its experience.
The program has provided benefits to the Jamaican educational system and its teachers. It has prepared school administrators, school guidance counselors, and, it is reported, more effective teachers. Teachers have been rewarded with better salaries, with greater confidence and improved skills, and with new or expanded positions. In addition to the 350 Jamaican nationalists who have received WCU degrees in education, 3200 students in Jamaica have completed in-service and credit course programs.
Significant benefits also accrue to the university--to the content and quality of its academic programs, the student body, and the faculty--from its international involvement. The program provides unique international experience to faculty teaching courses in Jamaica. A professor of education wrote of his experience in Jamaica: "Although I have been back from Jamaica for only a week, it has taken me that long to sift out and process the many stimulating and enriching experiences I enjoyed. . . . I was moved both by the commitment of the teachers and the limitations under which they work daily. . . . for me, (it was) an ideal opportunity for learning through teaching and professional and personal growth. I would welcome other such opportunities."
The Jamaican techer education program, through which many Jamaican educators have studied on the WCU campus, has given resident students an opportunity to meet people from another country and to learn about another culture from its citizens. The Jamaican teachers, in visits to local schools, stores, and churches have been ambassadors from their country, providing cross-cultural experiences for the campus and local community.
Western Carolina University's on-campus enrollment has also been affected by the Jamaican program. As many as 109 Jamaican students have enrolled in Cullowhee classes during one summer. Jamaica is also well-represented among our full-time international students, pursuing bachelor's and master's degrees in a variety of fields.
While benefits accrue from WCU's program in Jamaica, problems do exist. Among these are inflation and foreign exchange; faculty constraints, safety, and comfort; costs; logistics; and program quality.
A major problem is foreign exchange and inflation. The financial burden undertaken by any qualified Jamaican professional to enter and complete the program may be prohibitive. The economic conditions of Jamaica, with continuing inflation and devaluation, magnifies the situation. Compounding the problem is the fact that the salaries for Jamaican educators are quite low and are unable to keep pace with the extremes in the general economy. While USAID/Jamaica has provided financial assistance for some of the educators to complete the required on-campus study, financial constraints continue to effect the program and may limit the number of participants.
(NOTE: Information on this page was taken from the 1992 ACHE Proceedings as submitted by Katherine Hill.)