Class conflict and class reproduction: An historical analysis of the Jamaican educational reforms of 1957 and 1962

Abstract

This paper posits that the educational reforms of 1957 and 1962 were designed by the Jamaican state to reproduce the social relations of production and the social division of labour of a dependent capitalist economy, changing from agriculture to manufacturing. These reforms, which are seen as a principal means of state intervention in the Jamaican economy during the period 1957 to 1962, had the net effect of preserving existing social arrangements of domination-subordination in the Jamaican society. Although the stated intentions of these reforms were to equalize educational opportunities and expand educational access for the lower-middle and subordinate classes, their impact on them was insignificant relative to the upper and middle classes. It is concluded that, contrary to government's stated intentions, secondary and higher education remained the privilege of a selected few whose socio-economic circumstances were key differentiating characteristics. The paper is divided into two sections: Section I explores conflicts over proposals for educational reforms during the period 1943-1962; Section II analyses the 1957 and 1962 reforms systematically in the socio-economic, ideological, and political contexts that gave rise to them