Education in Aruba: Teachers' Perceptions of Learning Problems of First and Second Graders.

Abstract

The educational system in the Netherl and s Antilles has a high rate of grade repetition, especially among Papiamento-speaking children from poor homes. This study of teachers' perceptions of learning problems of first and second graders on the isl and of Aruba contains both a theoretical and an experiential part. From a historical perspective an attempt is made to underst and historical processes that have shaped the Antillian society and its educational institutions. Within an ethnographic-phenomenological based approach, teachers, parents and children are interviewed and classroom interaction of first- and second-grade teachers and children observed. The researcher also includes his personal observations and comments critically on the observations made by teachers. Historical analysis shows that Dutch cultural domination has resulted in the maintenance of the Dutch language in schools to the exclusion of Papiamento. The research findings show that teachers hold negative perceptions of the abilities and social class background of Papiamento-speaking children from poor homes. The persistence of educational myths such as "low intelligence of the poor," their "deprived culture," and "verbal deficit," constitute a belief system which is used by teachers to explain learning problems of first and second grade children. In school as much as in society, children from poor homes are excluded from full participation in a context that is preferentially positioned toward privileged children. Aruban children from poor homes experience little continuation of their cultural and social class values in school, which inhibits the possibilities of relating to the subject matter. Schooling is a conflicting process for these children, who find themselves pulled by the differences that exist between the home and school culture. It appears that teachers play an important role in the production of failure in school as much as the organization of the educational system which has maintained its former colonial structure. This study accentuates the need for instruction in Papiamento to improve learning in primary education and to Antillianize the elementary school curriculum.