CFBC STUDENT-TEACHERS RECEIVE GRADES FOR TEACHING PRACTICUM  

Basseterre, St. Kitts, March 26, 2021 (SKNIS): Students teachers who attend the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC) received their grades from the Teachers Training Programme at the 2021 Declaration of Grades (Teaching Practicum) Meeting on March 26, 2021. This is a momentous occasion as CFBC strives for excellence, said Dr. Joycelyn Archibald-Pennyfeather, Dean of Teacher Education Division

The Teaching Practicum Component is the practical aspect of the Teacher Training Programme which spans a duration of 10 weeks during the final semester of the programme.  Each student teacher is placed/paired with an experienced trained teacher where they practice the art of teaching using best practices taught during the theoretical sessions.  At the end of the 10 weeks, a meeting is held to declare the student-teacher grades under the auspices of the University of the West Indies.  In this case, the UWI appointed Mrs. Eleanor Phillip, a Reading Specialist, and former assistant secretary in the Ministry of Education, to perform the role of UWI external examiner/assessor.

At the meeting, which took place at the Poinciana Conference Room at the CFBC, Dr. Joycelyn Archibald Pennyfeather, Dean of Teacher Education Division, and Coordinator of Post Grad. Dip in Secondary Education said that the students received grades from both the Associate Degree in Teacher Education and the Post Graduate Degree in Secondary Education.

“Within the Associate Degree of Teacher Education, we promote and invite teachers to train in the areas of Early Childhood, Primary Education, Secondary [and] Regular Education, where teachers can major or minor in an area of specialization,” she said. “We also offer secondary Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) where Home Management and Architectural Technology are the major courses of study.

For the Post Graduate, the college offers training in Science, English, Social Studies, History, Geography, Modern Languages, Business Studies, and Mathematics.

She said that the programmes are franchised by the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the courses of studies are coordinated by the Eastern Caribbean Joint Board of Teacher Education School of Education whose motto is ‘Providing Quality Teacher Education in the Region.’

Dr. Pennyfeather said that, equally so, the revised mission at the Division of Education is ‘Committed to ensuring quality teacher education in St. Kitts and Nevis to meet the needs of learners in a diverse and changing society through the development and promotion of a culture of academic and professional excellence by scholarship, practice, reflective practice, lifelong learning and community engagement.’

“I should say here that the quality in our work is seen through the continued collaboration with the University of the West Indies, through the introduction and expansion of the programmes within the Division of Teacher Education at the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College,” she said.

The Dean informed that recently the college would have completed a Master’s of Education Programme in the areas of Educational Leadership, School Counselling, and Literacy. It has also been approved by UWI to deliver the Bachelor of Education in several distinctive areas that are of national priority. In addition to this, its quality assurance visit and examination by the UWI revealed that the college is more than ready to continue its Post Graduate Degree in Secondary Education.

“Therefore, approval once again from our esteemed partners means that we have met the challenge and can provide quality education for our people in the Federation,” said Dr. Pennyfeather.

“Contrary to perceptions of persons who do not use scientific data to form opinions of our capacity to produce quality, our quality to produce good teachers lies in our ability to meet the standards that are set by the University of the West Indies and the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College. We have met the mark and will continue to implement new measures and structures to ensure that we improve on what we do.”