ERIC Number: EJ1472313
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1537-873X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Transforming Secondary Education Service Planning with GIS to Address Disparities in Clarendon, Jamaica
Garry Lobban; Tekleab Gala; Leslie Baker-Kimmons; Samanta Alam
Educational Planning, v32 n2 p88-108 2025
Addressing the educational disparity regarding equitable access and optimal services is a continuing challenge for government agencies mandated to promote quality education as a fundamental human right for every child. The Ministry of Education, Jamaica, is one of such government agencies facing challenges of ever-growing demands from population growth, geographical barriers, teacher shortages, inadequate infrastructure, and uneven resource allocation to deliver equitable access to quality education, particularly in diverse and dynamic regions like Clarendon. This study applied the Geographic Information System (GIS) approach to identify disparities in the spatial equity of secondary schools and services in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica. Accordingly, though the spatial distribution of the secondary schools followed the settlement patterns of the Parish's population, the disparity in access to optimal services is evident in the school's overcrowding. Parish's secondary education is generally overcrowded by 28% more students, though the rate varies between schools (e.g., Claude McKay High) and subregions (e.g., 48% in Vere). GIS-based location-allocation model, considering parameters such as population demands, transportation infrastructure (accessibility), and school availability, selected three suitable sites (in Vere, Chapelton, and Alston subregions) for secondary school construction to dispel the current pressure on schools, validating the capability of GIS in unveiling educational disparities and sound planning for remedy.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Secondary Education, Educational Planning, Geographic Information Systems, Equal Education, Access to Education, Geographic Location, Secondary Schools, Enrollment, Population Trends
International Society for Educational Planning. 2903 Ashlawn Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24060. Tel: 770-833-1948; Web site: http://isep.info/educational-planning-journal
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Jamaica
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A