Mico CARE Centre assists educators
Minister of Health Dr Christopher Tufton (left) is in discussion with Daemion McLean, chairman, Jamaica Society for the Blind, at a World Sight Day health fair, held at the Jamaica Society for the Blind’s Old Hope Road office in St Andrew on Thursday THE EFFECTIVE delivery of the special-education curriculum was the focus of the two-day Mico University College Child Assessment and Research in Education (CARE) Centre’s sixth Biennial Education Conference, which took place on October 13 and 14 at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston.
More than 350 educators from institutions across the island took part in the conference that aimed to empower instructors at the early-childhood, primary and secondary levels, by equipping them with relevant information and methodologies specially designed for the special education programme.
It dealt with reading challenges, mathematics disorders, gender-based learning, managing disruptive behaviour in students, and the importance of teachers providing the best quality education possible for their students.
Minister of Education, Youth and Information Senator Ruel Reid, who opened the conference, said the Government was committed to improving the special-needs sector, and that solving the challenges in the local education sector requires the concerted effort of all stakeholders. “This conference aims to support and channel these joint thrusts by providing a platform for dialogue between researchers, practitioners and policymakers in the education sector, thereby assisting in the improvement of education through collaboration,” Reid said. He acknowledged that the special-needs sector requires more support in ensuring that teachers are “highly qualified and competent and are willing to serve students with high-quality programmes that are designed to meet the special needs of all our children”.
BEST IN THE BUSINESS
The President of The Mico University College, Dr Asburn Pinnock, said that among its objectives, the CARE Centre aims to assist governments in the region in planning a curriculum that will effectively guide the learning and instruction required by special needs children.
“It is against this background that we have brought the best in the business together ... to share ideas and network as we seek to find answers to the myriad social challenges that affect our children in Jamaica and the Caribbean,” he said.
The Mico CARE Centre is Jamaica’s leading public education institution, offering diagnostic and therapeutic intervention services for children with exceptionalities, and providing specialised support and education for parents, teachers and other caregivers in Jamaica and the English-speaking Caribbean.