Title

Caring Together: An Oral History of Haitian Teachers

Location

1048

Format Type

Paper

Format Type

Paper

Start Date

12-1-2017 1:15 PM

End Date

12-1-2017 1:35 PM

Abstract

As a qualitative researcher, I stress social justice in my projects. Due to this, I have traveled to Haiti to conduct interviews with Haitian teachers who participated in the Teacher Training Institute in Croix des Bouquets, Haiti in order to document their lives and teaching experiences. Poverty, hunger, and lack of infrastructure are the daily realities of Haitian life. According to UNICEF, only 15% of teachers at the primary level have basic teacher qualifications, and nearly 25% have never even attended secondary school. According to the World Bank, approximately 75% of all teachers lack adequate training; many have just a 9th grade or 12th grade education, with no teacher training at all. (Haitian American Caucus, 2016). In the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, Haiti is struggling to regain its footing. As the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, other countries rarely discuss Haiti and its lifeways.

With that in mind, I did not want to conduct an historical over of their experiences. Instead, Haitian teachers have earned the right to tell their own stories, and I want to assist them in doing so. This presentation will contribute unique information on what it is like to teach in Haiti. Too often, countries approach Haiti as a social welfare project. This presentation, however, approaches Haitian teachers as the professionals that they are and allows them to tell their story to the world. This is the first step in an international teacher dialogue, and that is the first step towards us teaching, and caring, together.

Comments

Breakout Session B

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COinS
 
Jan 12th, 1:15 PM Jan 12th, 1:35 PM

Caring Together: An Oral History of Haitian Teachers

1048

As a qualitative researcher, I stress social justice in my projects. Due to this, I have traveled to Haiti to conduct interviews with Haitian teachers who participated in the Teacher Training Institute in Croix des Bouquets, Haiti in order to document their lives and teaching experiences. Poverty, hunger, and lack of infrastructure are the daily realities of Haitian life. According to UNICEF, only 15% of teachers at the primary level have basic teacher qualifications, and nearly 25% have never even attended secondary school. According to the World Bank, approximately 75% of all teachers lack adequate training; many have just a 9th grade or 12th grade education, with no teacher training at all. (Haitian American Caucus, 2016). In the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, Haiti is struggling to regain its footing. As the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, other countries rarely discuss Haiti and its lifeways.

With that in mind, I did not want to conduct an historical over of their experiences. Instead, Haitian teachers have earned the right to tell their own stories, and I want to assist them in doing so. This presentation will contribute unique information on what it is like to teach in Haiti. Too often, countries approach Haiti as a social welfare project. This presentation, however, approaches Haitian teachers as the professionals that they are and allows them to tell their story to the world. This is the first step in an international teacher dialogue, and that is the first step towards us teaching, and caring, together.