Calls grow for special ed teacher training overhaul

Educators and experts have urged the government to raise the bar for teacher recruitment in special education, warning that the current minimum standards leave professionals ill-prepared to support the growing number of students with complex learning needs.

At the Ministry of Educational Transformation’s second town hall meeting on inclusive education policy, held at the St Michael School on Monday night, literacy specialist Shawntelle Morgan criticised the current minimum qualifications for special education practitioners.

“I noticed that it was a minimum of five CXC certifications and then the certification for the interest in special needs from teachers’ training college,” Morgan noted. “I think that if we’re looking at something of this magnitude, where we’re transforming, then we want to ensure that the persons who are dealing with children with difficulties come to the table as best equipped as possible.”

Morgan described the present situation, in which many teachers begin working with students before receiving adequate training, as unsustainable, and urged that future recruits receive specialised preparation before entering the classroom.

“We need to move beyond five CXCs and a certificate,” she insisted. “Especially if we’re going to give them the title of special education practitioner,. . . I would like that they are competent—not just in pedagogy but in how they treat the children.

“They’re not just going to be academic challenges, they’re going to be behaviour challenges as well, and you want individuals who can manage the social, the emotional and the behavioural.”

Her comments were echoed and expanded upon by education consultant and longtime advocate for inclusive education Dr Janice Gibbs, who underscored the importance of continuous professional development.

“I hope that we are not going to think that the minimum qualification for a teacher to enter the classroom is the qualification that the teacher will continue to have throughout his or her teaching career,” Dr Gibbs stated. “One of the things that we are very emphatic about is continuous professional development of our teachers.”

Dr Gibbs also acknowledged flaws in the existing approach to teacher recruitment and entry standards. “Currently, there is the open-door policy, which I will tell you I have my challenges with.”

She explained that while teachers may begin with basic qualifications, they must undergo ongoing development to meet the evolving global standards of special education.

“It starts the journey for that teacher. It starts that immersion into the area of exceptionality . . . not just academics, but behaviours, the emotional extremes.”

Chief education officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw added that improving the philosophy behind teaching itself is just as critical as enhancing pedagogy.

“Your philosophy as a teacher drives your pedagogy,” she said. “If your philosophy is that students are co-creators of knowledge, you’re going to come in and the activities are such that the children are going to discover, they’re going to inquire, they’re going to ask questions.”

Dr Archer-Bradshaw also affirmed that the Erdiston Teachers’ Training College now mandates a special education module for all trainees across its programmes.

“Every teacher has to be able to understand the neurodivergence and be able to respond in a way to reach these students.”

Minister of Educational Transformation Chad Blackman agreed with calls for more comprehensive training and said Barbados needs a dedicated cohort of professionals focused exclusively on special education.

“Every teacher should have exposure and training broadly in special education,” he said, “but . . .  there should be, in my view, that core element in the teaching profession—a body of experts whose nature is special education.”

He likened it to other professions: “In law, everybody did an LLB . . . but there are those who specialise in tax law, in corporate law . . . . We need to now ensure. . .  we have the full complement of special needs teachers across the system.”

Blackman also pointed to the urgent need for data-driven planning based on population trends and early assessments, referencing a new developmental mapping app in the pipeline.

“If we realise this year at birth we had X amount of children. . . who have special needs. . . do we have the full complement of teachers around the system that can match what we’re seeing?”

sheriabrathaite@barbadostoday.bb