Social studies in caribbean schools: Some challenges for instruction and assessment
Date
1999
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Office of the UNESCO Representative in the Caribbean
Abstract
This monograph examines two aspects of social studies education in the Caribbean-instruction and assessment. In the first part, it identifies challenges perceived by Eastern Caribbean student teachers in the teaching of social studies in primary schools. It uses descriptive analytical research to provide some insight into the problems perceived by the teachers, and how they rank these problems. Lack of adequate resources, lack of variety in the use of teaching skills, and lack of administrative support emerge as the major problems perceived by the teacher. In addition, teachers in Eastern Caribbean schools do not seem to perceive any relationship between their own attitude or teaching skills and student attitude to the subject. The second part uses a content analysis approach to identify the major objectives being tested in the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) social studies examination at the secondary level. Among the major findings is a rather heavy emphasis on knowledge-recall questions and on low-level cognitive objectives, with only superficial attention being paid to testing for values and high-order thinking. It is suggested that a properly structured normative evaluation component to the examination may provide an ideal mechanism for testing affective objectives, decision making, and other critical social studies processes.
Description
Table of Contents
Keywords
CXC examinations, social studies