Dudley Ransford Brandyce Grant was an educationalist who specialized in

the theory of early childhood school development in Jamaica. He is

regarded by many as the 'Father of Early Childhood Education in Jamaica'.

Early Life and Education

Born in Santa Marta, Colombia on September 15, 1915 he immigrated to

Jamaica with his parents, James and Annie, at an early age. He attended
Maldon Primary School, St. James in his youth before continuing his
education at Mico Teachers' College in St. Andrew. Mr. Grant also went on
to complete a Master's of Science at Cornell University, USA before
furthering his learning at great institutions including Oxford University's
School of Education in England and the Universities of New York and
Columbia in the United States.

Career

D.R.B Grant was a highly respected and accomplished tutor and theorist
whose career was filled with an extensive list of achievements
and positions of authority at all academic levels. He began his educational
profession as a Primary school teacher, later moving up to school Principal,
before continuing his progression through the teaching ranks as Senior
lecturer, University of the West Indies and Visiting Lecturer at University
of Maryland in the USA.

Early Childhood Education

After this Mr. Grant began to concentrate on his Early Education work.
Below are the positions and roles that D.R.B undertook:

• Director for the Project for Early Childhood Education (PECE)

• Consultant to the Jamaican Ministry of Education's Early Childhood
Education Program
• Director of University of West Indies/Bernard van Leer Foundation Centre
for Early Childhood Education
• Consultant/Advisor on Early Childhood Education in developing countries
• Vice Chairman of Jamaican Government's Programme for the
Advancement of Childhood Education (PACE).

D.R.B Grant officially retired in 1978 but continued his work until his death
on August 25, 1988. He was 73 years old.

The History of Early Childhood Education in Jamaica

A Historical Background

Early Childhood Education in Jamaica has its history in the verandah,

backyard, or garage schools started by individuals who were caretakers of
young children whose parents had to go out to work. In those days the
caretakers tried to keep the children occupied by teaching them verses of
scripture and anything else they could remember. Many such "schools"
existed throughout the island having for their "Curriculum" the Bible
knowledge which the founders had in their own heads. The first basic
school was started by Reverend Henry Ward in Islington in the parish of
St. Mary in the 1940's.

It was not until the 1930s that an attempt was made to formalize
the system of schools caring for young children. Rev. Henry Ward
is credited with developing community schools that later became
known as "basic schools." In 1938, Ward alerted the Jamaican
government to the critical need for a more organized system of
care and training for preschool-age children. Years later, in an
interview for the Jamaican newspaper Daily Gleaner, Ward
recalled establishing a school for 3- to 6-year-olds who had been
"left unprotected, running about the streets while their parents
went to work . . . a pathetic picture with dangerous possibilities.
The situation was a challenge and we felt that something should
be done" (Bernard van Leer Foundation, 1972, p. 12). The first
community-organized school for children under 6 was established
in Islington, in the parish of St. Mary in 1938.

In 1941, Ward and his associates presented a report to the

Jamaican Board of Education calling for the establishment of
"play centers" as an integral part of the Jamaican education
system. These centers were to include "organized play/stories;
action songs; lessons on children's pets and other familiar
creatures; care of a children's garden; foundation work in reading,
writing and number work; handiwork - a far cry indeed from the
sterile, repetitious routine of chanting and memorizing, governed
by the threat of corporal punishment that in fact became
predominant in . . . schools" (Bernard van Leer Foundation, 1972,
p. 12). The Ward report included additional recommendations
concerning teacher qualifications, facility size and space,
equipment and administrative procedures for basic schools. The
term Ward coined and preferred, "play centre," was dropped in
response to parental objections and replaced by "basic school."
The Bernard van Leer Foundation funds and shares
knowledge about work in early childhood development. The
foundation was established in 1949 and is based in
the Netherlands. It is a member of the Network of European
Foundations for Innovative Cooperation (NEF).[1] The
foundation's income is derived from the bequest of Bernard
van Leer, a Dutch industrialist and philanthropist who lived
from 1883 to 1958, and made his fortune from the
packaging company he founded in 1919, Royal Packaging
Industries Van Leer. After Bernard van Leer's death in 1958,
the foundation was given a clearer organization and focus
by his son Oscar van Leer. From 1964 the Bernard van Leer
Foundation focused on young children, primary education
and youth, and disadvantaged young children. It funded its
first international project, in Jamaica, in 1966.[2]

About Erik Erikson

Human development in a social context

Another lasting contribution is Erikson’s emphasis on
placing childhood squarely in the context of society. He
advanced the idea that children are not simply biological
organisms that endure, nor products of the psyche in
isolation. Rather, they develop in the context of society’s
expectations, prohibitions, and prejudices.

Another major contribution of Erikson’s work is the notion

that personality is shaped over the life span, which implies
that experiences later in life can heal or ameliorate problems
in early childhood.

Finally, Erikson powerfully advocated for a “new education

of children” based on self-knowledge and a complex world
view that scorned “immediate diagnoses of health or
sickness, judgments of goodness or badness, or advice on
‘how to’.” Erikson’s beliefs in the complexity and resilience
of children and in the importance of mutuality in helping
relationships led Institute founders Maria Piers, Barbara
Bowman, and Lorraine Wallach to name the Institute in his
honor.

Maria Montessori

Dr. Montessori developed a science of education based on

the observation of children’s needs; she looked to the
child to teach her. She analyzed her observations to
uncover how children learn. She published many books on
how to understand and educate the child. The key is for
the educator to observe the child, identify a sensitive
phase, and then take advantage of this concentrated
interest by the child to promote periods of intense
learning that comes easily and with little effort for the
child. Dr. Montessori focused on the development of the
whole child. Her philosophy and method of education
enables children to develop independence and self-
discipline that leads to freedom and self-confidence. She
noted that freedom and self-discipline were both
interdependent; one cannot be achieved without the
other.

Dr. Montessori learned from her observations that children

learn best by being given the opportunity to discover and
learn by manipulating objects. She advocated then for
what is now called a hands-on approach to learning. She
highlighted the child’s need for movement and repetition.
Children were encouraged to move and learn and not sit at
desks all day. All these observations of the child’s needs
have been incorporated into the didactic materials and the
methods of working with the materials. Dr. Montessori
combined theory with practice. She focused on how to
teach children to teach themselves in a scientifically
prepared environment. She saw the teacher as a guide to
the environment. She was a strong advocate for mixed
aged groups of a three year span within a non-competitive
environment that would allow each child to develop at his
or her own pace.