Dear Editor,

Two years ago a national civics education curriculum was relaunched for implementation, according to a 2022 newspaper article entitled ‘Civics returns to the classrooms’.

The publication highlighted that the curriculum has been designed to focus on “health, family life, and soft-touch programmes geared towards making the nation’s youth more compassionate and mild-mannered while making wise decisions”. However, I recently contacted several teachers at different levels of the school system to assess their awareness of and use of the curriculum. Some of their comments are as follows: “No, I am not aware of it”; “I am not aware of it, and I don’t think the teachers have been implementing it”; “I spoke to a colleague, and she said she has heard of it [the civics curriculum] and used it when she was teaching religious education and civics, but she said she was the only one using it at that time. It seems the school has stopped using it, as she no longer knows where the curriculum is.”

These admissions are alarming and troubling, especially in light of the increasing incidents of school violence and the egregious acts of sexual misconduct nationwide. I am left to wonder if the curriculum was merely reintroduced, but not mandated. Moreover, the Ministry of Education typically trains teachers in implementing a new or revised curriculum, but I have not heard of or read any reports about such engagements. Have there been any formal training sessions or follow-up, job-embedded support for teachers? Is it that these sessions have been held but not publicised? Is the curriculum only being piloted or used in select schools?

There should be consistent and transparent public communication about the curriculum’s roll-out. Additionally, teachers should be supported in conducting multi-method research to evaluate the impact of the curriculum. However, such an investigation is impossible without proper curriculum implementation.

I understand that an additional curriculum can be overwhelming for students and teachers. Fitting it into an already short and compact school day can be challenging, too. Therefore, with the seemingly limited implementation of the civics curriculum, the Ministry of Education should consider integrating civics in all core subjects instead of teaching targeted soft skills in a standalone programme.

Research has consistently suggested that when social and emotional skills are integrated across the curriculum and supported schoolwide students are more likely to develop and demonstrate prosocial behaviours. A meta-analysis has further indicated that integrated social-emotional learning programmes, much like a civics curriculum, are correlated with increased academic gains.

Teachers of English could artfully foster critical soft skills, such as empathy, decision-making, and self-regulation, during their study of diverse texts (poems, stories, expository articles). West Indian novels, like
The Young Warriors and My Father Sun-Sun Johnson, offer excellent literature for social grooming. Maths educators, as well, can engage students with ethical, number-based dilemmas. For instance, students could decide on how to fairly use or allocate disaster relief funds and hospital resources. Similarly, science and geography teachers could emphasise environmental education so that students learn how to care for the spaces they inhabit.

Let us not confine civics education to a separate curriculum. Instead, integrate the targeted concepts and skills through existing subjects, and, as a complement, provide opportunities for more structured, meaningful, and sustainable schoolwide initiatives that foster good citizenship and promote academic improvement.

Shawna Kay Williams-Pinnock

shawna201@gmail.com