Collaborating to reform science education in context: Issues, challenges, and benefits

Date

2008

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine

Abstract

Within recent times, the call for collaboration among stakeholders in education is made with increasing frequency. In current thinking, community building and collaboration are posited as critical elements in school reform. The literature reveals various models for initiating collaboration. There is the model that describes the initiative for collaboration as undertaken by "researchers"/university personnel. A second model describes the perspective in which schools as organizations invite researchers to collaborate on a project. The Reforming Science Education in Context (ReSEC) project is an example of the first model. This paper reports the issues that emerged in forging collaborative relationships among two lower secondary science teachers at a selected New Sector High School in Trinidad and three members of staff from the School of Education, St. Augustine, during the period September 2005 to July 2006. It also presents the benefits and challenges associated with the process of collaboration, which aims to achieve a school-based agenda for education

Description

Table of Contents

Keywords

Science education, Secondary school science, University school cooperation, Reforming Science Education in Context, Research projects, School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago

Citation

Herbert, S. M., Rampersad, J., and George, J. M. (2008). Collaborating to reform science education in context: Issues, challenges, and benefits. In L. Quamina-Aiyejina (Ed.), Reconceptualising the agenda for education in the Caribbean: Proceedings of the 2007 Biennial Cross-Campus Conference in Education, April 23-26, 2007, School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago (pp. 217-229). St. Augustine, Trinidad: School of Education, UWI.