A Comprehensive Student Support Framework to Support Learning for All in Caribbean Schools

• In Event: Deconstructing Inequities and the Marginalization of Learners in Caribbean Educational Systems

Abstract

Global research on student performance in developing countries over the last decade show that despite significant progress made on increasing access to education, there remains a group of students who although enrolled in schools, face a number of key barriers to learning (Hattie, 2012) This phenomenon, which has been described as a ‘schooling-learning gap’ (Center for Global Development, 2013), and more recently, as “learning poverty”. Regional research however suggests that the factors which places these children at risk may actually differ quite significantly from those which places students at risk in international contexts, and this has implications for developing context relevant frameworks for student support if these barriers to learning are to be addressed.
The conceptual framework for this paper interrogates two specific student support frameworks for improving learning which have received much attention in recent years – the Integrated Student Support Design, and the Multi-Tiered System of Support. Grounded within a phenomenological research design, the paper uses the qualitative data collected from a larger study of Out of School Children (OOSC) in the Eastern Caribbean region, to examine the key question of ‘how can struggling students in the Caribbean be better supported for academic success?’ Recommendations from education stakeholders’ focus groups held across seven Caribbean countries were analysed, and discussed in light of both conceptual frameworks for student support. The paper seeks to add value to the wider debate on Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) and achieving quality education for all.

Author

• Verna Charleen Knight, University of the West Indies - Cave Hill