Teachers pass through own learning experience

(CNS): More than 94% of educators employed by the Department of Education Services are currently taking advantage of the various professional development opportunities being offered by the department since the overhall of the education system started under the previous administration.  An unprecedented 51 members of the DoES recently successfully completed the instructional component of the National Educational Leadership Programme (NELP), which the ministry’s new Chief Officer Mary Rodrigues said was all about improving teaching and learning.

NELP, which started in 2003, offers successful participants the professional qualification that is now a requirement for school leadership in the Cayman Islands and a Post Graduate Certificate from the London Centre for Leadership in Learning at the University of London’s Institute of Education. The programme also offers increased accreditation, which can be used to pursue a Masters Degree at the University of London or other accredited educational institution. 

Developed specifically for the Cayman Islands, NELP was previously administered by the Schools’ Inspectorate under the direction of Rodrigues, in her former role as Chief Inspector of Schools. Having been involved from the start, she said it  was an honour to meet the participants and observe some of the training firsthand. “NELP is an initiative that focuses squarely on improving teaching and learning through strong school leadership. This and other such initiatives will continue to have the ministry’s strong support,” she said.

She added thatthe participants are experienced educators or aspiring leaders from Grand Cayman, as well as Cayman Brac.

“Judging by the level of excitement and enthusiasm that was witnessed during the visit, I anticipate that many of them will use the increased accreditation to pursue Masters Degrees once they have completed this Post Graduate Certificate course.”

Rodrigues further explained that she has requested a proposal to consider how best the ministry might support DoES to take this forward. Dr Karen Edge, PhD, from the Institute of Education in London, who is one of the NELP instructors, said the course was one of the most innovative MA Leadership collaborations to date.

“This is a unique venture and I am not aware ofany other country that has decided to build their collective educational leadership capacity in such a way. We are thrilled to be working with such an engaged and talented group of leaders and look forward to continuing our collaboration to support the ongoing development of the education system in Cayman,” Dr Edge added.

The NELP programme is just one of the many externally accredited professional development opportunities now available to members of the education service in the Cayman Islands.