Growth & Jobs | Psychologists call for ‘re-imagining education system’ to weather growing climate threats

AS JAMAICA begins the road to recovery from the emotional, economic and infrastructural fallout caused by Hurricane Melissa, two education psychologists are calling for an urgent overhaul of Jamaica’s education system, starting at the early childhood level. They say the revamp will strengthen resilience and better prepare children and other stakeholders in the face of rising disasters.

Delivering the first of two keynote addresses on the opening day of the JN Foundation and The University of the West Indies (UWI) School of Education Dudley Grant Early Childhood Resource Centre Colloquium on the topic, ‘Nurturing Well-Being and Building Resilience’, the specialists, Professor Loraine Cook and Dr Sharline Cole, from the School of Education at UWI Mona, argued that Jamaica must reshape how it educates and protects children and their educators, both during crises and in the classroom before and after events.

They noted that, as the country remains vulnerable to climate-driven disasters, children should be empowered as “agents of protection in disasters”. They called on authors to write textbooks and storybooks featuring disaster-management techniques, so children can process risk and prepare through familiar characters and culturally relevant storytelling. “Present it so that children from as early as three can start understanding what vulnerabilities they will face in society,” said Professor Cook.

IMPROVE SCHOOL’S INFRASTRUCTURE

The education psychologists also stressed the need to continue improving school infrastructure across the country to be hurricane-resilient, as many remain vulnerable to high-impact weather systems. They also pushed for a stronger national remote learning strategy, built on both online and offline methods to ensure continuity of education when schools are damaged or inaccessible. Citing an effective model from another disaster-prone country, Belize, Professor Cook said, “They utilise transistor radios to bring learning into the homes and I think that’s fantastic. It is so flexible, you don’t just rely on the Internet.”

Beyond that, the psychologists urged education stakeholders in Jamaica to adopt international best practices that teach young children practical disaster preparedness skills. Using Cuba as a case study, Dr Cook shared how early childhood schools integrate a “culture of prevention” into their curriculum, preparing children for disasters. Using age-appropriate activities like drills, storytelling and themed games, the schools teach young children to recognise risks and react to emergencies with calmness and safety. She added that, in primary schools, students from grades one to six also study their natural surroundings and learn about the environment through daily observation.

“The goal is for children to become agents of change by applying and sharing what they learn, both within their families and across their communities,” Professor Cook shared.

Dr Sharline Cole added that, in the redesign of the education system, children must be encouraged to express and validate their emotions as part of disaster recovery.

“Children have a say, and we should provide them with an opportunity to say what they feel and understand their emotions. Let them share exactly what is happening to them because, if they don’t, it’s going to create problems later on. We have to listen to what they have to say and help them to talk about it,” she said.

The psychologists also highlighted that the call for transformation extends beyond students. While noting that teachers possess some psychosocial competencies, they highlighted that the concurrent demand of delivering curriculum content and addressing students’ traumatic experiences also present a significant challenge for educators. To ease this burden, they recommended that the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information partner with universities and counsellor-training institutions to implement a structured national internship programme. Under the proposal, mental health trainees would work alongside classroom teachers to provide socio-emotional support during instructions, helping to stabilise the classroom environment and improve academic performance.

ADAPTIVE EDUCATION SYSTEM NEEDED

While underscoring the importance of supporting educators’ well-being, the specialists also called for a more adaptive education system, one capable of shifting quickly during emergencies and informed by data.

On the point of data, they urged the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management to collect and report on data relating to the effectiveness of the existing Guidelines for Child-Friendly Disaster Management and Response, to assist in policies reflecting the realities children face before, during and after disasters.

“Despite having the guidelines, the Government faces challenges in implementing child protection in emergencies as a central focus of their operations,” Dr Cole said, citing a 2019 statement from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.

“We have the guidelines [but] are we putting them into action, and does it end there?” she questioned. “We need the data to guide our practice, to make the appropriate implementation or to make decisions. If we don’t have that data, it’s difficult for us to make informed decisions, be able to plan and ensure we have a resilient society,” she concluded. 0ldhood education in the region and to chart the way forward.