Dudley Grant Memorial Trust
The Dudley Grant Memorial Trust (DGMT) was established in 1989 to commemorate the work and significant contribution of the late D. R. B. Grant to Early Childhood Development.
The DGMT’s mission is ‘To be a centre of excellence whose primary function is to advocate on behalf of Early Childhood Development (ECD) in Jamaica’. Governed by a board of trustees who represent various early childhood development agencies, both government and private, this voluntary organization employs strategies such as project management and evaluation, research and documentation, development of curriculum support materials, public education and welfare support for retired early childhood practitioners.
Learning Through Play Parenting Programme
The Dudley Grant Memorial Trust (DGMT) has been involved in parenting programmes with the Ministry of Education, Early Childhood Unit through the Early Childhood Resource Centres for the last six (6) years. In 2008, DGMT started working with the Hincks-Dellcrest Centre in Toronto, Canada on a parenting programme called ‘Learning Through Play (LTP)’. The main purpose of the programme is to improve the health and well being of children and their long term mental health development.
The objectives of the LTP programme are: (a) to provide parents with information on the healthy growth and development of young children (birth to 6 years), focussing on the physical, intellectual, linguistic, and socio-emotional aspects of development; (b) to teach parents play activities that enhance child development; and c) to promote attachment through active parental involvement in their child's development.
The programme: (a) emphasises parent-child play as a means to promote learning and attachment; (b) uses a hands-on approach that emphasizes learning through demonstration and practice; (c) utilizes a simple, low-literacy, pictorial format that presents information about successive stages of child development; and (d) is culturally sensitive with respect to illustrations, language, concepts, and values.
The Learning Through Play (LTP) resources are pictorial "calendars" that depict the successive stages of child development, along with brief descriptions of simple play activities that show parents what they can do to promote healthy child development. They are called "calendars" because parents literally hang the materials on the walls in their homes to allow for easy reference.
Mr. Dudley Ransford Grant (Sept. 15, 191- Aug. 25, 1988)
Mr. Grant was an educator who made significant contributions to the development of early childhood education in the region and is often referred to as the ‘Father of Basic Schools’ in Jamaica. Dudley Grant developed the U.W.I. Institute of Education In-service course for untrained teachers in the Eastern Caribbean and went on to organize the first training programmed for teacher trainers in this same Caribbean area.
During the period 1967-1968, while on secondment to the Ministry of Education Jamaica, he started the first teaching internship programme which has become a major component of the teacher education programme in Jamaica.D.R.B. Grant also conceived and implemented the Project for Early Childhood Education (P.E.C.E.) which was funded by the van Leer Foundation of Holland. He directed this project from 1966-1987. He became a highly respected international authority in the field of early childhood education and occupied various consulting and advisory roles. In 1972, D.R.B. Grant was appointed by the Ministry to Education, Jamaica as a member of the Committee for an In-depth Study for Primary Education. He also played a pivotal role in the design and organization of the Hope Valley Experimental School.
In recognition of D.R.B. Grant’s contribution to early childhood education, the University of the West Indies, Mona has named the Early Childhood Resource Centre in his honour. In addition, the Dudley Grant Memorial Trust (DGMT) was established through the Bernard van Leer Foundation in 1989 to commemorate his life and work.
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.
Dudley Grant Early Childhood Resource Center
Address: 5 Gibraltar Camp Way, UWI Mona, P.O. Box 178, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica, West Indies
Phone: (876) 970-4604
Fax: (876) 977-4788
Email: dgecr_centre@yahoo.com
Web Site: http://dgmtecd.org/
The Dudley Grant Early Childhood Resource Centre was established in 1996. It is the lead technology resource centre for the island and its mission is to promote best practices in Early Childhood Development in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.
