The situation of teachers in the English-speaking Caribbean

Abstract

Under the sponsorship of UNESCO, a Seminar on the "Status of Teachers" was held in Kingston, Jamaica during September 1988, in which the situation of teachers in the English-speaking Caribbean was reviewed. This paper presents part of what was analysed at this event. The first part examines the status of Caribbean teachers in respect of specific clauses of the International Recommendation for the improvement of this status developed in 1966 and discussed in the 1984 ILO/UNESCO Joint Commentaries which address the following: 1) Teachers' salaries; 2) Social security, and 3) Teacher shortage. Data were obtained form eight Caribbean territories: Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Dominica, Guyana and Belize. A questionnaire was designed to elicit the required information, and written responses were received from teachers, principals and/or representatives of teachers' organizations. In some instances, interviews were held with respondents. The second part looks at educational objectives and policies, and preparation for the profession and further education for teachers. Questionnaires were sent to Ministries of Education in the Caribbean and to Teachers' Unions in some of the territories, and a distillation of the data and ideas received from the respondents is presented here