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Academic achievement, pupil participation, and integration of group work skills in secondary school classrooms in the Caribbean
(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2006) Kutnick, Peter; Layne, Anthony; Jules, Vena; Layne, Bereneice Clarissa
This study sought to implement and evaluate a group work pedagogic method intended to encourage classroom participation and learning. It was especially concerned with teachers initiating and implementing within-class activities to enhance the performance of the lowest attaining students among both sexes. The 12 teachers identified to participate in the study were selected from those undertaking the inservice training in the postgraduate Diploma in Education (Dip.Ed.) programme at the Cave Hill, Barbados and St. Augustine, Trinidad campuses of The University of the West Indies (UWI). Data were collected from nearly 300 students in January and July of the 2003-2004 academic year. It was found that: 1) virtually all students improved their academic performance through the two terms of group work in their classrooms. This was especially evident among the lowest achieving students (particularly boys); 2) students showed generally improving attitudes towards working in groups and achievement in school over the two terms (especially among low achievers); and 3) teachers' attitudes and understanding of a "good pupil" changed over the course of study--moving away from simple individual skills (good knowledge, good concentration, etc.) to the recognition of the importance of social inclusion and relational skills
Addressing cultural diversity in a Creole space: The SEMP language arts curriculum
(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2004) Worrell, Patricia
Proposals for curriculum reform under the Secondary Education Modernisation Programme (SEMP) call for a curriculum that respects diverse cultural experiences of students in Trinidad and Tobago, and that gives all students the opportunity to develop to their full potential, regardless of culture. This paper reports on an analysis of the curriculum proposed for a core subject in the proposed curriculum, Language Arts. The curriculum document was analysed, using qualitative content analysis techniques, to determine its orientation, as reflected in its approach to dealing with issues of cultural diversity. It was found that while the curriculum reflected an orientation to social relevance in dealing with other aspects of students' cultural experience, in addressing students' language experience, it remained largely traditional in its orientation. The paper discusses implications for teaching and learning Language Arts at the secondary level
Addressing social participation as a major goal in social studies: A case study of a fifth-form group pursuing the CXC/CSEC social studies programme in a Barbadian school
(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2008) Griffith, Anthony D.; St. Hill, Sonia
This paper, in the form of an exploratory case study of a select group of fifth-form students, employs triangulation techniques to (a) examine the extent to which the Caribbean Examinations Council's Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) programme addresses social participation, and (b) explore the students' responses to opportunities to engage in active involvement in the social issues and affairs of their community. The findings revealed that, at the school involved, social participation is one of the goals least emphasized during the teaching of social studies. There is also a general heavy emphasis on traditional modes of instruction such as reading and notetaking. After the use of more participatory activities introduced during the unit, there were some noticeable behavioural and attitudinal changes among the participating students. The students themselves also expressed a preference for more active learning tasks and for activities that directly involve them in examining social issues in their own local community. The findings of the study could have implications for addressing what is perceived as varying levels of alienation and social disaffection among Barbadian and Caribbean youth
Annotated bibliography of Master of Education (M.Ed.) projects 1994-2013
(2014-09-22) Gordon, Leah
This is an annotated list of the research projects produced by students in the M.Ed. Programme at the School of Education, The University of the West Indies during the period 1994-2013
Awareness of and responsiveness to environmental issues: Views from secondary school students in Trinidad and Tobago
(2016-05-10) Maharaj-Sharma, Rawatee
In a study in Trinidad and Tobago involving 176 secondary school students aged 15-17 years, it was found that percent of the group had a good working knowledge about environmental issues. More students from rural schools were found to be personally aware of specific environmental issues in their communities, while more urban students indicated that they had done something tangible about one or more environmental issues. The students were surveyed by way of a 2-sectioned attitudinal-based opinionnaire, which gauged general knowledge and awareness in the first section and students' responsiveness in the second section. The results showed the while both urban and rural students were highly aware of environmental issues, rural students were slightly more responsive to these issues. A small percentage of students in this work were found to have a weak knowledge base about environmental issues, were generally indifferent to environmental issues within their communities, and had never been involved in any initiative on environmental matters
A baseline study of the teacher education system in Trinidad and Tobago
(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2001) Quamina-Aiyejina, Lynda; Mohammed, Jeniffer; Rampaul, Balchan Deodat; George, June M.; Kallon, Michael; Keller, Carol; Lochan, Samuel
This monograph provides the following: 1) an historical overview of the development of the teacher education system in Trinidad and Tobago; 2) overviews of both the education system and the teacher education system; 3) a preliminary analysis of teacher education curricula; 4) a discussion of the quality and effectiveness of teacher education, 5) an analysis of teacher identities, attitudes, and roles; 6) an examination of resources for teacher education; and 7) a discussion of emerging issues
Becoming a primary school teacher in Trinidad and Tobago: Part 1: The curriculum in the teachers' college
(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2001) George, June M.; Worrell, Patricia; Rampersad, Joycelyn; Rampaul, Balchan Deodat; Mohammed, Jeniffer
This monograph reports on a study that sought to assess the philosophical orientation and content of specific aspects of the documented teachers' college curriculum in Trinidad and Tobago. The study also sought to describe how the lecturers at the two colleges articulate their understandings of what the documented curriculum demands, and how they try to implement it, that is, the espoused curriculum. In addition, the curriculum as enacted within the teachers' colleges was explored through an examination of teaching/learning episodes in specific subject areas in the college. Data on the documented curriculum were gathered through content analysis of the curriculum document. Ideas about the espoused curriculum were obtained through in-depth interviews with 14 lecturers from the two colleges. It was found that there is no stated philosophy underpinning the teachers' college curriculum in Trinidad and Tobago. The curriculum is differentiated into academic studies and teaching practice. There was a reasonable level of congruence between the documented curriculum and the curriculum as espoused by the lecturers. However, there were some areas of unease for the lecturers. The stated intentions of the lecturers did articulate, to a large extent, with the enacted curriculum
Becoming a primary school teacher in Trinidad and Tobago: Part 2: Teaching practice experience of trainees
(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2001) George, June M.; Worrell, Patricia; Rampersad, Joycelyn; Rampaul, Balchan Deodat
This monograph reports on a study that sought to gain insights into the process of learning to teach by obtaining information on the teaching practice process, observing teaching practice sessions, and documenting and analysing the views of the major stakeholders involved in this process, namely, the trainees, the teachers' college lecturers who supervise the teaching practice, and principals and cooperating teachers in the primary schools to which trainees are attached for fieldwork. The study focused on the preparation of trainees at the two government teachers colleges--Valsayn Teachers' College and Corinth Teachers' College--in Trinidad and Tobago. Data were collected through document analysis; observation of trainees as they taught classes in the schools; observation of post-teaching conferences between trainees and supervisors; and in-depth, semi-structured interviews with trainees, supervisors, cooperating teachers, and principals of cooperating schools. It was found that there were differences in provisions for teaching practice as well as in the structure of the programme between the colleges. The provisions for practice also varied significantly among the cooperating schools, and determined the type of opportunities offered to trainees for applying the strategies taught. Teacher educators generally viewed the provisions for teaching practice as less than ideal. Trainees were generally of the view that they were overburdened with work in preparing units and lessons for teaching practice sessions. Most trainees were conscientious about making use of what they had learnt at college during the teaching practice
The Benefits and Challenges of Mixing Methods and Methodologies: Lessons Learnt From Implementing Qualitatively Led Mixed Methods Research Designs in Trinidad and Tobago
(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2011) De Lisle, Jerome
There is increasing interest in the field of mixed methods research and the diverse ways in which quantitative and qualitative methodologies can be systematically combined. The first part of this paper describes the emergence of mixed methods research as a community of practice, distinct from the two dominant paradigms. The second part explores different mixed methods designs described in current typologies, with an emphasis on combinations that place equal or greater emphasis on the qualitative. I argue here that such designs, in which the qualitative is lead or dominant, are most useful for exploring complex and multiplex issues of education. I illustrate this argument with an analysis of the role of the qualitative in two recently conducted mixed methods research studies. The first was a concurrent nested (QUAL dominant) investigation of schools facing challenging circumstances and the second was a multilevel mixed methods study of secondary school choice in Trinidad and Tobago. The three lessons learnt were that (1) appropriate mental models and design rules in typologies are necessary for efficient implementation, (2) interaction between and across research teams can facilitate integration of qualitative and quantitative findings, and (3) qualitative findings can add value to meta-inferences by providing new, additional, or even conflicting perspectives. I then discuss the challenge of implementing mixed methods research studies in the Caribbean, including the need for attention to using quality criteria and targeting greater levels of integration
Breaking the silence: Using journals to stimulate self-evaluation toward change in the Trinidad primary school system
(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2004) James, Cynthia
Attempts at Caribbean education reform have traditionally suffered from lack of implementation and resistance to change. This paper argues that in Trinidad and Tobago, the slow march of education reform is compounded by the culture of silence that is institutionalized in the teaching profession. It posits that unless teachers become articulate about themselves, their students, and their practice in the classroom, recurrent top-down reforms are destined to fail. Against the background of a discussion of the cultural contexts of education in Trinidad and Tobago, and the fact that primary school teachers are subjecting themselves to repeated training with little apparent effect on the system, the paper evaluates the journals and the responses to journaling of 14 teachers enrolled in a Language Arts teacher education programme. The paper suggests that breaking the code of teacher silence could stimulate empowerment from within. With support, this empowerment could propel a tradition of documented Caribbean best practice toward building a base of regional educational research, generated by insights from the people in the trenches
A call to action: Will French survive this time in the school curriculum in Trinidad and Tobago?
(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2004) Carter, Beverly-Anne
This paper examines the interface between language planning and French language teaching/learning in Trinidad and Tobago. It does not revisit the larger policy issues on the role and status of French, but focuses instead on how a bottom-up approach to language planning is critical to ensuring the viability of French in the school curriculum. The paper argues that a bottom-up approach to language planning is more likely to contribute to a focus on renewal and revision, than has been possible to date with a top-down approach. In this regard, the paper offers some suggestions to French language teachers--an important group of stakeholders--since they can play a significant role in fighting attrition in French language learning. In conclusion, the paper suggests that while subject specialists must act as catalysts for renewal and revision, language policy and planning would be better served by a more comprehensive approach, including all teachers of language. Such a holistic would see educators recognizing the interconnectedness of their task, and ensuring that language planning is geared to nurturing the multilingual communicator of the future in today's classrooms
Can standards-referenced, large-scale assessment data lead to improvement in the education system?
(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2008) De Lisle, Jerome
This paper documents the development of performance standards for the Trinidad and Tobago primary school national assessments of educational achievement. Performance standards are written expectations of student achievement operationalized in defensible cutscores. A major argument in this paper is that these standards are necessary to evaluate quality in the education system because they directly address the question of "how good is good enough?" Standards-referenced measurement systems are the basis of both compensatory and accountability systems. Standard-setting procedures in the 2005 and 2006 national assessments of educational achievement are described, followed by an evaluation of procedural validity using quantitative and qualitative data gathered from panellists. The findings indicated that while panellists appear confident about procedures and outcomes, cognitive complexity and organizational inefficiency could prove to be critical constraints. While the introduction of student performance standards appears useful; by itself, it cannot lead to significant education improvement unless there is also a coherent policy for effective data use within a national evaluation system. In developing such a policy, consideration must be given to choosing between (a) low versus high examination stakes, (b) compensatory versus accountability policies, and (c) school-based versus centralized management of test processes. At the very least, stakeholders must understand the purpose of national assessments of educational achievement
Can the "gown" act as a bridge between the "town" and the school? An analysis of the operations of the PEEPS Project in Trinidad
(2016-05-10) George, June; Pierre, Phaedra; Alexander, Juliana; Taylor-Ryan, Maureen
This paper critically assesses the pilot phase of a project mounted at the School of Education, The University of the West Indies, Trinidad campus, (the "gown"), which was designed to enhance the ability of urban parents of primary school children (the "town") to be involved in their children's education. Using three theoretical lenses-ecological systems theory, social capital, and "knotworking," the paper identifies challenges faced, gains accrued, and lessons learnt in the conduct of workshop sessions with parents/guardians of Standard 3 children (aged 9-10 years) at an urban primary school. While highlighting the potential of the strategy for enhancing the development of urban students, the paper suggests that future work should explore the use of community spaces for such workshop sessions, in the quest for fuller use of parents' social capital
Caribbean Curriculum, vol. 10
(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2003)
Caribbean Curriculum, vol. 11
(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2004)
Caribbean Curriculum, vol. 12
(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2005)
Caribbean Curriculum, vol. 13
(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2006)
Caribbean Curriculum, vol. 14
(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2007)
Caribbean Curriculum, vol. 15
(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2008)
Caribbean Curriculum, vol. 16(1)
(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2009)

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