Browsing by Author "Bristol, Laurette"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    The intersection of policy and practice: Detranslation and plantation pedagogy [PowerPoint presentation]
    (2013-06-24) Chesney, Wanda; Bristol, Laurette
    This presentation illustrates and explores ways in which educators at the tertiary level in Guyana and the primary level in Trinidad tap into indigenous knowledge to transform educational practices. It seeks to explore: 1) how Caribbean educators transcend the limitations of their inherited understandings of teaching and education, 2) the roles of Caribbean educators in facilitating a decolonized approach to pedagogy and policy implementation, and 3) how professionals tap into indigenous knowledge to transform professional and pedagogical practices. Indigenous methodologies--groundings and storytelling-are employed to access and analyse the interaction among history, practice, and international demands. In both cases the researchers work with small groups of educators (10-15). It is argued that Caribbean educators need to promote practices of detranslation (Chesney 2011) and pedagogical-historical-specificity (Bristol 2012) to disrupt colonial reproductive tendencies endemic to educational practices. The findings highlight the critical role of education in postcolonial sites in an era of globalization where policy making and teaching practices are used for global positioning (Hartley 2003). The researchers interrogate historically located dependency and external frames of referencing, and recognize this inheritance as a site of tension between the local (indigenous) and the global
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    Relating professional in-school networks, school leadership, and assessment data to academic performance in Trinidad and Tobago: An exploration
    (School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2014) Brown, Launcelot I.; Esnard, Talia; Bristol, Laurette
    In recent years, researchers have turned their attention to the relationship between teacher social interactions and the successful implementation of reforms. The limited research to date has tended to support this relationship, with some research finding significant correlations between teacher collaboration and student achievement. In this study, we use quantitative and qualitative methods to determine the relationship between within-school networks formed around the interpretation and use of the data on the National Tests Report and student achievement, as measured by the proportion of students meeting or exceeding the proficiency standard on the National Tests. The sample comprised 56 teachers from seven schools within an urban school district. Teachers responded to a social network survey and two dimensions on the OCI. Interviews of 15 principals and five focus groups of 31 teachers provided the qualitative data. Findings suggested that a relationship between schools with high collegial trust exhibited deeper collaborative structures and a higher proportion of students performing at standard on the National Tests. These findings have implications for principals and teachers who will need to find ways to maximize the use of within-school skill sets and expertise, especially in a resource-strapped system.
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    Revising primary and secondary school curricula in the Caribbean to enhance education on the risks for noncommunicable diseases
    (Pan American Journal of Public Health, 2023) Jones, Waneisha; Sobers, Natasha; Brown-Perry, Alsian; Bristol, Laurette; Samuels, T. Alafia
    In the English-speaking Caribbean, an estimated 46% of men and 61% of women are currently overweight or obese, and 8% of children younger than 5 years are also overweight. To combat this worsening epidemic, driven by unhealthy dietary patterns, the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) issued the 2007 Port-of-Spain Declaration, which included mandates on the provision of healthy school meals, promotion of healthy dietary patterns, and reintroduction of physical education in schools. These mandates are aligned with evidence-based approaches used in childhood obesity prevention programs. School-based interventions, including curriculum revisions, are part of a multipronged approach to improve nutrition in children and are designed to complement and reinforce other interventions in schools. However, formal evaluation of the Port-of-Spain Declaration showed that most CARICOM member countries had difficulty implementing the mandates related to schools and diet. The Improving Household Nutrition Security and Public Health in the CARICOM project, in collaboration with regional institutions, the CARICOM Secretariat, and the Caribbean Examinations Council, sought to enhance nutrition education through revision of region-wide primary and secondary school curricula to increase the focus on prevention of noncommunicable diseases. This paper describes the process of revising the Caribbean Examinations Council’s Human and Social Biology syllabus for secondary schools and the CARICOM Health and Family Life Education Regional Curriculum Framework for primary schools, which was achieved through multisectoral collaboration. We used the Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications-Enhanced model to describe the process through which the modifications were made.
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    Revising primary and secondary school curricula in the Caribbean to enhance education on the risks for noncommunicable diseases
    (Pan American Journal of Public Health, 2023) Jones, Waneisha; Sobers, Natasha; Brown-Perry, Alsian; Bristol, Laurette; Samuels, T. Alafia
    In the English-speaking Caribbean, an estimated 46% of men and 61% of women are currently overweight or obese, and 8% of children younger than 5 years are also overweight. To combat this worsening epidemic, driven by unhealthy dietary patterns, the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) issued the 2007 Port-of-Spain Declaration, which included mandates on the provision of healthy school meals, promotion of healthy dietary patterns, and reintroduction of physical education in schools. These mandates are aligned with evidence-based approaches used in childhood obesity prevention programs. School-based interventions, including curriculum revisions, are part of a multipronged approach to improve nutrition in children and are designed to complement and reinforce other interventions in schools. However, formal evaluation of the Port-of-Spain Declaration showed that most CARICOM member countries had difficulty implementing the mandates related to schools and diet. The Improving Household Nutrition Security and Public Health in the CARICOM project, in collaboration with regional institutions, the CARICOM Secretariat, and the Caribbean Examinations Council, sought to enhance nutrition education through revision of region-wide primary and secondary school curricula to increase the focus on prevention of noncommunicable diseases. This paper describes the process of revising the Caribbean Examinations Council’s Human and Social Biology syllabus for secondary schools and the CARICOM Health and Family Life Education Regional Curriculum Framework for primary schools, which was achieved through multisectoral collaboration. We used the Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications-Enhanced model to describe the process through which the modifications were made.