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SOCIAL STUDIES SCHOOL- BASED ASSESSMENT

Territory: Jamaica
Candidate Name: Laila Howell
Candidate Centre #:100121
Candidate #:
Grade: 11I
School: Titchfield High School
Teacher: Mr. Wright
Theme: Unemployment
Topic: An investigation into the cause of Unemployment among young adults in
the community of Windsor Rio Grande
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Statement of Problem

What factors contribute to unemployment among young adults in the community of Windsor

District?
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Reason for Selecting This Research

Windsor is a small district which entails of restaurants, bars, post office, wholesale store etc.

Located in the Rio Grande Valley. The researcher chose this area of research because it is the

foremost problem in the community. Taking a daily stroll through the community, young adults

were observed gambling due to lack of employment opportunities for these individuals, after

leaving high school and university. It was also observed by the researcher that there is a massive

increase of teenagers and younger children dropping out of school in the community due to their

parents being unable to obtain a job to continue sending them top school.
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Method of Investigation

In order to gather information from the survey the researcher decided to use the printed

questionnaire.

A Questionnaire is a set of written questions with a choice of answers, for the purpose of a

survey or statistical study. The question was selected due to its advantages. Some of which

included: the questionnaire method helps to reach a large number of people relatively and easily.

Also it is a practical way of gathering data. Lastly the questionnaire doesn’t have a time

constraint.
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Data Collection Instrument

Survey Done On Unemployment amongst Young Adults in Windsor District

Windsor District,
Rio Grande PA.
Portland

Dear Residence,
The researcher is hereby issuing/ conducting a survey in the community of Windsor District to

acquire important information as it relates to unemployment. The information is needed for the

fulfillment of a Social Studies School Based Assessment which is currently being undertaken.

You are advised to answer the following questions honestly, since you are not required to write

any names anywhere, no one will ever know your answers. Specific instructions are given where

necessary.

Yours Truly,

…………………
Laila Howell
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Questionnaire

1. What is your gender?

() male () female

2. What is your age range?

() 16- 18 years () 19-21 years () 22-24 years () over 27 years

3. How long have you been living in the community?

() 1-2 years () 2-3 years () 3-4 years () 4 years and over

4. What is your highest level of education?

() Primary () Secondary () Tertiary

5. Do you have any skills? () Yes () No

If yes, state _____________________________________________

6. Do you currently have a job? () Yes () No

If no, why are you unemployed? _________________________________

7. What is the level of unemployment in your area?

() Low () Medium () High

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8. What are the contributory factors of unemployment in your community?

() Scarcity of Jobs () Lack of experience
() Gender Discrimination by employer () Lack of job hunting
() Not Qualified () Not interested to work

9. What do you think are the causes of unemployment in the community?

() Lack of Parental Guidance () Absence of education opportunities

() Lack of employment opportunities in the area.
() Lack of work experience

10. Do you provide financially for other individuals?

() Children () Girlfriend/ Wife () other family members () All of the above

11. What effects would unemployment have on the family members of young adults in the
community?

() Financial burden () Depression

() Poverty and Hardship () Strained Relationship

12. Which unlawful activity do you believe unemployed individuals engage in?
() Gambling
() Unauthorized possession of an excessive amount of weed
() Stealing
() Robbery

13. What effect would employment have on the society?

() High poverty rate
() More individuals who need financial assistance
() Burden on public debt
() All of the above
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14. How would you rate the performance of the government on a scale of 1-10 in terms of
dealing with unemployment?
() 1 () 2 () 3 () 4 () 5 () 6 () 7 () 8 () 9 () 10

15. What can be done by the government to reduce unemployment in your community?
() Provide more skill training
() Provide low interest loans for small businesses
() Place extra attention on agriculture
() Investors to create jobs
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Procedure Used To Collect Data

The researcher choose to issue the questionnaires by using the random sampling technique. The

community of Windsor Rio Grande has approximately 50 households, 15 shops and 5

wholesales. The researcher planned on targeting mostly households.

With that said, 30 questionnaires were prepared, 10 above the expected amount. The

questionnaires were organized and distributed to the members of the community. 10 slips were

given to 10 different household, 10 were given to shops and wholesales respectfully. The persons

were given one week to complete the questionnaires that were issued. A total of 25

questionnaires were collected at the end of that week.

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Presentation and Explanation of Data

A total of 20 questionnaires were issued to the members of Windsor Rio Grande. Of the

15 that were returned, 36% of these respondents were females and 64% were males.

Pie chart showing # of individuals who are employed /

Unemployed
Employed Unemployed

36%

64%

Fig.1. indicates that 64% of the respondents of Windsor Rio Grande are unemployed, while the

other 36% are employed.

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PIE CHART SHOWING THE NUMBER OF

INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE SKILLED/ UNSKILLED

29%

Skilled Individuals
Unskilled Individuals

71%

Fig.2. Shows that 29% of the respondents in the community are skilled individuals, while 71% of

the respondents in the community are unskilled individuals.

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Fig.3. In this representation, 29% of the respondents provide financially for their children, 14%

of the respondents provide financially for their Girlfriend/Wife, 43% responded that they provide

for other family members and 14% of the respondents provide financially for all of the above

mentioned.
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Table Illustrating the Effects Unemployment Would Have on the Family Members

of the Unemployed Youths in the community.

Options ( Effects of Number of Percentage

Unemployment) Individuals

Strained Relationships 4 21%

Poverty and Hardship 8 29%
Depression 5 21%
Financial Burden 8 29%

TOTAL 25 100%
Table 1. Represents 29% of the respondents who choose financial burden as an effect. 29% of

family members are affected by poverty and hardship. 21% of family members with young

unemployed young adults are affected with depression and 21% of family members in the

community experience strained relationship as a result of unemployed young adults in the

family.
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Fig.4. is indicating the unlawful activities unemployed youths engage in, 36% of the unemployed

individuals in the community, engage in stealing, 36% possess an excessive amount of

unauthorized marijuana. 21% of unemployed individuals also engage in gambling. 7% engage in

robberies in the community.

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Fig.5. 23% of the respondents answered that lack of parental guidance is the cause of

unemployment in the community, 21% answered absence of educational opportunities, 42%

answered that lack of employment opportunities is the cause of unemployment and 14%

answered lack of work experience.

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Fig.6. Shows that 29% of the respondents felt that high poverty rate is an effect of

unemployment. 28% responded that more individuals that need financial assistance can be an

effect of unemployment on the society. 14% felt that a burden on public debt can be an effect on

the society and 29% of the respondents responded to all of the above as an effect of

unemployment on the society.

Options( Reduction of Number of Individuals Percentage

Unemployment in the
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Training 10 36%
Extra attention in 8 29%
Agriculture
Provide low interest 5 21%
loans for small businesses
Investors to create more 2 14%
jobs

TOTAL 25 100
Table Illustrating What the Government Can Do To Reduce
Unemployment in the Community

Table 2. Illustrates that 36% of the respondents suggest that the government should provide more

skill training in the community to help reduce the unemployment. 21% suggested that providing

low interest loans for small businesses would reduce unemployment, 29% suggested that placing

extra attention on agriculture would bring a reduction on unemployment and 14% suggested that

investors can create more jobs in the community to reduce unemployment.

Interpretation and Analysis of Data

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During the survey in Windsor Rio Grande, out of 20 individuals, 5 were females and 10 were

males. Fig.1. shows that 64% of the respondents in the community are unemployed; however

another 36% of young adults in the community are employed. Surprisingly, a high amount of

young adults in the community are unemployed, which means that the employed individuals in

the community are of middle to elderly age.

Fig.2. stated that majority of the respondents (71%) did not acquire any skill training while at

school or at any skill training institution, in contrast to another 29% of young adults who possess

some type of skill training. The community of Windsor Rio Grande is a community that is solely

based on individuals with skills as it’s mostly a farming community. With that said, young adults

in the community are unable to find jobs in the community because the jobs available solely

depend on the skills of individuals which mostly include: Farming, Carpentry, Mechanics etc.

Fig.3. shows the individuals that the respondents provide financially for. The majority of

respondents responded that they provide for other family members (43%). Most family members

of these young adults might be going through health related issues, financial issues and are no

longer capable of providing for them. As a result, these individuals will need the assistance of

those who are able to provide for the family and bring forth a steady income for a better standard

of living for the family. However, a minimum of 14% of the responders, provide for their

girlfriend or wife as they aren’t financially stable to sustain themselves, much less sustaining a

significant other.

Fig.4. shows the list of unlawful activities that young adults in the community engage in. 36%

of the respondents reveals that young adults in the community engage in stealing, while another

36% possess an excessive amount of unauthorized weed. These activities are deemed as the most

“prevalent” in the community as unemployed youths partake in stealing to provide for

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themselves, and in most cases to provide for their family members. According to Trenchard

(2020), “most unemployed youths turn to routine drug use as a way to pass the time and deal

with the stresses of life and not being able to acquire a job”. On the other hand, the activity that

unemployed individuals in the community engage in the least is robbery.

Unemployment doesn’t only affect the person unemployed, but the family members as well.

Fig.5. shows the effect unemployment has on family members of unemployed youths. Base on

the data gathered there is a similarity in the way respondents choose their answers. Majority of

the respondents which is at 29% stated that family members of unemployed young adults are

affected with financial burdens as there is the inability of the young adults in the family to

acquire jobs to help with financial troubles, whereas another majority of 29% of family members

are affected by poverty and hardship which is as a result of not being financially stable and

putting a strain on the family’s income due to unemployment of the young adult/ adults in the

family. 21% of the respondents believe that family members of young unemployed adults are

affected by depression and another 21% of family members are affected by strained

relationships. According to McClelland (2000), “The impacts of unemployment on families

include poverty and hardship, strained relationships, and depression” .It is expected that if a

household has young adults who are unemployed, then that means that they are unable to provide

for themselves and lean on their family members financially, constant dependence on family

members can result in the entire household being drained financially as family members aren’t

able to continuously provide for the entire household at once and for themselves.

Unemployment is a main threat to the development of the community and with that said, the

government can implement certain measures to eliminate this threat. In Table 2. Majority of the

respondents (36%) suggest that the government should provide more skills training to reduce
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unemployment in the community, while 29% suggested that the government should pay extra

attention on agriculture in order to reduce unemployment in the community. 21% suggested that

the government should implement low interest rate for small businesses and 14% responded that

investors can create more jobs in the community to reduce unemployment. It can be concluded

that the government providing skill training and paying extra attention on agriculture is the most

favored measure of reducing unemployment in the community as skill work is what drives the

community, as the community mostly consist of individuals who are effective skill workers.
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Findings

During the research, the researcher acquired a compilation of information pertaining

to unemployment in Windsor Rio Grande. These are as follows:

 71% of young adults are unskilled individuals in a community that only provides skill

jobs.

 43% of unemployed young adults have to financially maintain other family members.

 36% of the unemployed young adults are engaged in stealing and unauthorized smoking.
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Recommendations

Young adults nowadays aspire to partake in traditional jobs, and show no interest in acquiring

skilled jobs. The researcher recommends that the Ministry of Education makes it mandatory for

students graduating high school to have obtained at least three (3) skills, so they will be better

equipped to find jobs outside their community or parish as if they lean more to traditional jobs

only, they will be unemployed for a long while. According to Williams, R. (2018), the Minister

for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, stated that “the Government is placing

increased focus on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in order to better

prepare young people for the job market”. The minister expounded on this point by saying “We

are reforming our education system to place more emphasis on the practical side of skills, and we

want to ensure, from as early as secondary school, our young people are learning certifiable

skills.” Managing Director of the HEART Trust/NTA, Janet Dye also noted that “67 per cent of

our workforce is untrained and uncertified and we have that to fix”. The (TVET) and the

HEART Trust/ NTA are two of the institutes responsible for skill training in Jamaica.

The Agro Park and RADA (Rural Agricultural Development Authority) could also collaborate as

they both are a programme and a statutory body of The Ministry of Agriculture and Land to help

with the Agricultural development of the community. The Farm Business Plan and the

Contractor Service (Both provided by RADA), can be useful in the agricultural base community.

With the help of RADA, the individuals will not only positively contribute to themselves and the

community, but also the gross domestic product (GDP). Agro Park also facilitates in training

farmers on good agricultural practices, which are needed for a successful agricultural business.
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To ensure that there are adequate amount of land available in the community of Windsor Rio

Grande, the researcher recommends as an implementation strategy, that the community come

together, pool their resources i.e. money and acquire land on lease from the Parish Council or

use the funding acquired from pooling together as a community, to request a Farm Plan for at

least 100- 150 acres of land from RADA which a specific duration of 7 or more years of access

to farm land will be granted, so that when these youths have obtained their skill training, they

will be able to not only provide financially for themselves and their family, but also be able to

contribute effectively to the growth and development of the community through the use of

agriculture. The use of this strategy will bring forth a steady income for individuals in the

community and most importantly, keep young adults away from unlawful activities.
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Appendix

Questionnaire

1. What is your gender?

() male () female

2. What is your age range?

() 16- 18 years () 19-21 years () 22-24 years () over 27 years

3. How long have you been living in the community?

() 1-2 years () 2-3 years () 3-4 years () 4 years and over

4. What is your highest level of education?

() Primary () Secondary () Tertiary

5. Do you have any skills? () Yes () No

If yes, state _____________________________________________

6. Do you currently have a job? () Yes () No

If no, why are you unemployed? _________________________________

7. What is the level of unemployment in your area?

() Low () Medium () High

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8. What are the contributory factors of unemployment in your community?

() Scarcity of Jobs () Lack of experience
() Gender Discrimination by employer () Lack of job hunting
() Not Qualified () Not interested to work

9. What do you think are the causes of unemployment in the community?

() Lack of Parental Guidance () Absence of education opportunities

() Lack of employment opportunities in the area.
() Lack of work experience

10. Do you provide financially for other individuals?

() Children () Girlfriend/ Wife () other family members () All of the above

11. What effects would unemployment have on the family members of young adults in the
community?

() Financial burden () Depression

() Poverty and Hardship () Strained Relationship

12. Which unlawful activity do you believe unemployed individuals engage in?
() Gambling
() Unauthorized possession of an excessive amount of weed
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() Stealing
() Robbery

13. What effect would employment have on the society?

() High poverty rate
() More individuals who need financial assistance
() Burden on public debt
() All of the above

14. How would you rate the performance of the government on a scale of 1-10 in terms of
dealing with unemployment?
() 1 () 2 () 3 () 4 () 5 () 6 () 7 () 8 () 9 () 10

15. What can be done by the government to reduce unemployment in your community?
() Provide more skill training
() Provide low interest loans for small businesses
() Place extra attention on agriculture
() Investors to create jobs
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Reference

Modules in Social Studies with SBA Guide and CXC Questions. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.coolmarket.com/modules-in-social-studies-with-sba-guide-and-cxc-questions.html

Unemployed Youth Turn to Drugs. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/01/unemployed-youth-turn-to-drugs/

Williams, R. (2018, July 18). Gov't Increasing Focus on Skills Training. Retrieved from

https://jis.gov.jm/govt-increasing-focus-on-skills-training/

McClelland, A. (n.d.). Effects of Unemployment on the Family - Alison McClelland, 2000.

Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/103530460001100204
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Content Page
Acknowledgement…………………………………………...I
Introduction………………………………………………….II

Statement of Problem…………………………………………..................1
Reason for selecting this research……………………………...................2
Method of Investigation………………………………………..................3
Data Collection Instrument…………………………………………….....4
Questionnaire…………………………………………………………….5-7
Procedure used to collect data…………………………………………….8
Presentation and Explanation of Data………………………………..…9-16
Interpretation and Analysis of Data…………………………………....17-19
Findings………………………………………………………………….20
Recommendation……………………………………………………….21-22
Appendix……………………………………………………………….23-25

Reference Page……………………………………………….26
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Acknowledgement

First and foremost, I would like to thank god for his continuous blessings.
Secondly, I would like to thank my teacher for his assistance and guidance during
the entire SBA process. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents for their funding
which made this SBA a success.
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I
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Introduction

This SBA deals with the factors that contribute to unemployment amongst young
adults within the community of Windsor Rio Grande. The SBA will include
effects, causes and solutions to unemployment in the community, based on
responses from young adults in the community. Data that are gathered from this
research will be analyzed and interpreted.

II
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