An analysis of the 2016 Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) scholarship results shows students attending denominational secondary schools continue to outperform their colleagues in government secondary schools.
According to education officials, the continuing trend is worrying enough for them to take a closer look at the secret behind the denominational schools’ success.
The two top performers were girls Priya Maraj, of Lakshmi Girls’ Hindu College and Raquel Le Blanc of St Joseph’s Convent, Port-of-Spain. They copped the President’s Medal award.
Of the 389 scholarships awarded this year, students attending secondary schools run by the Presbyterian Board received the majority.
A breakdown of the results show that Presbyterian-run schools secured a total of 151 scholarships, while Catholic-run schools secured 141, followed by Hindu-run schools with 46, Anglican-run schools with 19, Government-run schools with 17 and Muslim-run schools with 14.
Admitting they were concerned that girls continue to outperform boys, Education Minister Anthony Garcia and Minister in the Ministry of Education Dr Lovell Francis agreed on Thursday that curriculum and classroom changes may have to be introduced in order to effect a change. However, both men said detailed discussions had to take place with officials and other stakeholders before any changes could be implemented.
The trend of girls outperforming boys was also reflected in the 2016 Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) results, where 140 girls placed in the top 200 as compared to 60 boys.
An educator with over 33 years service in public and private school systems offered a simple explanation, “Girls mature faster than boys. As a consequence, their ability to focus in the classroom is superior to that of boys.”
The retired teacher, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “Boys between the ages of 15 and 18 tend to be easily distracted, while girls remain focused on their tasks and the objectives of the school curriculum.”
He also warned that the age bracket was a very “dangerous time” for boys in terms of their sexuality. Pressed to elaborate, he said: “Girls in the classroom are a distraction for boys during this stage of their development.”
Providing an example, the educator said a 16-year-old top-performing male student attending a prominent all-boys school in Port-of-Spain which accepts female students in Form Six began falling back academically after starting a relationship with one of the female students.
“The student has stopped going to class because he is too busy watching her all the time. He carries her books to her classes, but sits on a bench waiting for her to finish. Meanwhile, he is not going to class and his work is now suffering,” he said.
The former teacher said parents had a very important role to play in establishing boundaries and instilling values in children.
“If parents don’t do their jobs, children will be in trouble,” he said. He said sports and music can help boys focus more but, if not handled properly, that too could become a distraction as they consume time.
Formula from religious schools
Secretary general of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) Sat Maharaj attributed their success to the efficient and effective management of schools by boards of management. “The board influences a lot of what is taking place daily. They have to be able to motivate the teachers,” Maharaj said in an interview last week.
Principals and teachers are carefully selected for all SDMS schools and religion plays an important role in the education of students, Maharaj said. He said schools under their purview all begin the day with at least a half hour of devotional prayers.
Highlighting the value system and rules of discipline, Maharaj said parental involvement was also a major influencing factor in student achievement.
“You can have the best school systems, the best structures and the best teachers going for you, but if you do not have parental support, which is critical in the education of a child, it will make a huge difference. This is what sets us apart from a government school,” he said.
While noting that the issue of girls outperforming boys was a “perpetual problem,” Maharaj said the fact that some parents tend to be more relaxed when it came to male children could also be one of the reasons why they were not as consistent in the classroom when compared to girls.
Chief executive officer of the Catholic Education Board, Sharon Mangroo, said she believes a combination of factors affect a student’s ability to learn.
Citing environment, school philosophy and teacher/student interaction, Mangroo said, “There is more of a family orientation-type environment in denominational schools. We deliberately try to maintain a family-type environment where the children know they are cared for.”
She agreed the values passed on to children during the formative school years have kept them in good stead in their later life. Mangroo added that parents had a major role to play in the development of children both at home and school.
Suggesting a curriculum review regarding classroom methodology, Mangroo said, “Boys learn differently. They have different learning needs and different interests. With boys, you have to consider what their real interests are and meet that.”
She said while girls were more disciplined and tend to sit quietly and learn, boys needed to be more active.
Presbyterian primary school board member Lennox Sirjuesingh said good leadership was responsible for their educational success.
“I strongly believe that a school is only as good as its principal and leaders,” he said.
“In denominational schools we have a rigorous process to select teachers, but you must also have a yearning for academic excellence. Not that others don’t, but we seem to have a greater commitment to excellence and this helps in shaping the children and their attitudes.”
Suggesting there was no need to reinvent the wheel when it came to teaching styles, Sirjuesingh said, “They only have to ask us what we are doing and we will be happy to show them so they can see what can be adopted and incorporated into their teaching system.”
He also agreed that parental involvement was necessary but disagreed that boys need to be separated from girls. He said the models of co-ed and all boys/girls schools currently in operation were functioning just fine. However, he said, the enforcement of respect between the genders would go a long way in establishing clear guidelines for how both sexes operate in the same environment.