Haitian Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Haitian Culture - Essay Example This paper approves that the general findings with regard to Haitian family structure is that evolving from extended families that shared resources, work and which functioned as support units, the modern Haitian family is more nuclear in orientation, with the traditional extended families giving way to modern structures found in the west. In terms of education and language, as well as religion and health, Haiti’s problems relate to the use of Creole and French in classroom instruction, problems with inclusion and the use of Creole in intellectual discourse, the poor health prognoses of Haitians in general, and the role that language plays in stratifying and keeping class boundaries in place. This report makes a conclusion that education issues in Haiti are often linked back to language and to Creole in particular, and the role of language in education, with language policies being plagued by a lack of consistency historically. That inconsistency had negative impacts on Haiti education policy and outcomes. French was primary, and for a long time until the 1970’s the status of Creole was uncertain. Creole was eventually integrated as a primary language of instruction after that, but progress remained mixed, with issues remaining relating to spelling, and the use of Creole for primary school education as an elementary school instruction language. The bone of contention was with regard to the continued use of French to bolster the prospects of both the poor and rich families’ children and their economic prospects in life, with Creole being seen as detrimental to such prospects, when used solely as the language of instruction in place of French.