TNAG-1124-FCO40-1399-Implementation-of-the-International-Covenant-on-Economic--So-1982 — Page 35

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Teacher to pupil ratios

12.

As a result of a deliberate government policy, there has been a steady improvement in recent years in the teacher to pupil ratios in Bermuda's schools. At the primary level, this ratio is 1 to 18, and at the secondary level it is

1 to 13 (excluding principals in both cases). The small classes which result from these excellent ratios enable teachers not only to maintain good discipline, but also to give students individual attention.

Curriculum

13.

The Bermuda Government's statement on "Education Philosophy and General Objectives" makes the following observation on the curriculum:

"The term curriculum refers to the total collection of learning experiences which the school actually makes available to its students. It determines what the pupils are to be taught, suggests how they may be taught, and proposes means of evaluating what they have learned.

"The curriculum assumes such great importance in an educational system that its development should not be left to chance. The Department of Education should plan and build the curriculum in partnership with teachers and consult with such other experienced sections of the Bermudian community as parents, employees and employers.

"For our schools to develop self-directed, motivated learners, the curriculum must take into account the real needs and interests of the students. It must be individualized. It must accommodate all the children in the school spectrum: the gifted child, the disadvantaged child, the handicapped child, as well as the large majority of "normal" children. The curriculum must provide for continuous progress and contain within it a monitoring feedback system on individual student growth and development.

"This will require the formulation and organization of a set of performance objectives for each subject area which specifies exactly what the student is expected to achieve. It also implies specific plans or learning pathways by means of which students may achieve these performance objectives."

14.

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The Ministry of Education is advised on curriculum policy by two committees of principals one for the primary level and one for the secondary level. The actual drafting of the instructional programmes is carried out by committees of teachers representing each level of our primary schools and each subject taught in our secondary schools.

15. A concerted effort is being made to involve every teacher at every level of our primary and secondary schools in the identification and establishment of the annual performance objectives which they feel can be mastered by at least 80 per cent of the students at each level.

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