Reasons for the low levels of educational achievement in the Bahamas.

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Who is to Blame

Education is the foundation of success for any person, community ad country. Because the improvement of any nation relies on the knowledge of its people, education or a lack thereof, is a mighty force that can either break or make a country. A review of the history of The Bahamas would reveal the lackadaisical attitudes the majority of Bahamians had towards education. In the past people did not think it necessary to educate themselves formally. Instead, they learnt through a “good ole” teacher called “experience” or through apprenticeship opportunities where the elder and more experiences persons would show workers how to proceed (Turner, 1968). Presently, Bahamians have come to realize the importance of education and emphasis has been put on the education of Bahamian people primarily through traditional primary and secondary schooling.

In the Bahamian schools, examinations are taken in the ninth and final year (usually) in order to test students’ understanding of all the material learnt over the previous years leading up to these exams. Although one is just as important as the next, it is the Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Educations (BGCSE) Examinations that require much deliberation since this is the “measure of output… immediately related to occupational futures” (Johnson, 1988, p.40). It should be noted that in 2001, the National BGCSE average was a D. In 2002, the National BGCSE average was a D. It was the same again in 2003 and 2004 and in 2005, a D+, a grand improvement hardly! It is devastating that the majority of students in the Bahamas are unable to pass these examinations with at a least a C or above. Surely there are many factors affecting these poor results and everyone seems to know the answers. Most experts blame the parents, especially single-parent family homes. Others suggest that the Government is to blame for these poor grades extending from a failure in the educational system which leads to poor academic achievement and hence, poor results on the BGCSEs.  And still others conclude that the substandard quality of teachers is to blame.   (Expository Thesis)

Many Bahamians believe that the major causes of the horrible grades received in the BGCSEs are the parents of the students taking these examinations. Both single parent family homes and homes where both parents are present must be considered. In a Tribune article written by Neil Hartnell, he spoke of a report prepared for a group of people called The Coalition for Education Reform. The report entitled “Bahamian Youth: The Untapped Resource” stated fourteen recommendations and strategies for improving the Bahamian education system. The report noted that “the most disabling factor affecting academic achievement in The Bahamas today is out-of wedlock children and the single parent female-headed family” (Hartnell, 2005, p. A5). It went on to say how many male students had no male adult role model and how the school system’s lack of male administrators did not help the situation either (Hartnell, 2005). Male students have no positive figure to look up to because there are very little examples of successful males present in their lives. Not only does this contribute to the lack of interest these students have in academic achievement, resulting in a low performance of the BGCSE examinations but, it also leads to other negative social issues. The Coalition report warned that children within single parent families were “more likely to have problems in school, drop out of education early, become teenage mothers themselves and struggle to hold down a job, compared to children who grew up in two-parent households” (Hartnell, 2005, p. A5), a rather bleak view of single parent families leaving very little room for exceptions. Nikki Kelly, a reporter for the Punch Newspaper, is obviously in agreement with this point of view stating that it “is the biggest obstacle to improving the standard of education today” (Kelly, 2006, p.16) Apparently statistics show this to be true and “at least one” of those children in these households will “drift into criminal activity, develop psychological problems, end up on drugs or meet a violent end” (Kelly, 2006, p.16). These students have bigger problems that exam grades, instead their entire future is at risk.

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        The other parental factor influencing the decline in the educational system is parents who show a lack of interest in their child’s education. Veronica Owens, in particular, Ministry of Education parliamentary secretary in 2006, blames parents because of their failure “to motivate their children to take education seriously” (Kelly, 2006, p.16). How do parents expect for their children to perform well in school if they do not make an overt effort to be involved in their child’s education?  A deficiency in parental guidance and concern are reflected in low results on the BGCSEs.

Although it is offered that parents have ...

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