Sam Sharpe to offer special-ed master’s in 2021
Published:Wednesday | December 9, 2020 | 12:16 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
As part of the quest to make teachers more equipped to handle disabled persons, the Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College (SSTC) in Montego Bay, St James, will be working with The University of the West Indies Mona Campus (UWI Mona) to offer a master’s degree in special education, beginning next year.
Lorna Gow-Morrison, SSTC’s principal, made the announcement while addressing a Zoom meeting hosted by the school’s department of special education last Thursday. The meeting was held under the theme ‘Supporting disabilities in the COVID-19 pandemic’.
“Analysis of our education system indicates a need for more special education specialists to impact policy, curriculum, and practice. Increased competencies and educational opportunities are therefore needed, and it is with these in mind that our college will collaborate with The UWI Mona to offer a master’s degree in special and inclusive education, effective 2021,” said Gow-Morrison.
DISABILITY INCLUSION IS CRITICAL
“The SSTC manifests its programmes, specifically special education, as an investment in a common future. Given that COVID-19 is increasing pre-existing inequalities and highlighting the degree of exclusion globally, the need for disability inclusion is critical. The 2030 agenda for sustainable development implores us to leave no one behind, and the SSTC has been responding to the call,” said Gow-Morrison.
The SSTC is one of three colleges that offer training for special education teachers in Jamaica. The other two institutions are The Mico University College in Kingston and Church Teachers’ College in Mandeville, Manchester.
Speaking on available resources for students to cope with the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gow-Morrison said that the SSTC’s offerings include online psychological sessions and support for numeracy and literacy.
“During this COVID period, our diagnostic and early intervention centre provides a weekly one-hour virtual session that focuses on providing psychosocial support for students attending primary schools in the region. The centre is also engaged in online intervention to provide academic assistance to struggling readers and non-readers,” said Gow-Morrison. “Students who need to improve their literacy and numeracy skills are not left out, as online support is provided from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mondays to Thursdays.”
Meanwhile, Dr Wendel Abel, head of The UWI Mona’s Department of Community Health and Psychiatry, made a call for Jamaicans to see the pandemic as an opportunity to focus on moving beyond the world’s current challenges.
“This COVID-19 time is a period of change, and we need to reframe, which means to look at things differently. Behind the crisis, there are still plenty of opportunities, and you have to do different things and do things differently,” said Abel.