MATHEMATICS EDUCATION IN BARBADOS AND TRINIDAD: 
CHALLENGES AND PROGRESS 
Elaine Lam  
Bath Spa University 
This paper will provide an overview of Mathematics education in the Caribbean 
region with specific focus on Barbados and Trinidad based on the author’s PhD 
thesis. Findings from this study are based on 50 interviews and 87 hours of 
observations. Curriculum documents as well as specific Mathematical problems will 
be examined. There will also be some discussion regarding the possibility of 
education borrowing  - the attempt to share best practices across the region – as a 
means of improving the quality of education in the region. The session will focus on 
the themes of cultural conflicts, teaching styles and implications for Maths education 
in both the Caribbean and globally as some of the challenges in Barbados and 
Trinidad are universal. By examining Maths education in a different context, we may 
be able to learn more from each other.  
INTRODUCTION 
The quality of education is a central concern of the Education for All by 2015 
initiative as quality influences access to schools. As Mathematics is often mandatory 
for children in compulsory schooling, the quality of teaching and learning in 
Mathematics is a particularly pertinent issue. While Wolff and Castro (2000) assert 
that education in Latin America and the Caribbean is ‘inadequate’ by international 
standards, this article explores the intricacies of the quality Mathematics education in 
Barbados and Trinidad, two English speaking islands who are in different stages of 
developing new national curricula. Indeed, recent developments in the Caribbean 
have paved the way for education development. The strength of the Caribbean 
Examinations Council (CXC) is evident in the currency of the Caribbean Secondary 
Education Certificate and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations 
(CAPEs). Both exams have successfully reduced the dependence on Cambridge 
Examinations at the Ordinary and Advanced level as school leaving exams – and 
hence currency in the wider scope of tertiary institutions abroad. Further associations 
such as CARICOM have attempted to create a regional alliance rather than a colonial 
reliance on Western multilaterals.  
Clearly, the examinations are an important part of the school systems as they are the 
outward benchmarks needed to obtain the currency of knowledge required by 
institutions abroad. They may also serve as markers of a good education system in the 
region as CXC reports focus on the number of student entries and passes  - two 
‘indicators’ of a successful national system. High failure rates also indicate a flaw in 
the system as a linear approach to schooling suggests that school leaving exams are 
the apex of education. Yet full student participation in these exams has yet to be seen 
in both countries despite compulsory lessons in Mathematics throughout secondary 
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school. As the overall research question for the author’s PhD focused on policy, the 
responses discussed in this paper are part of larger interview transcripts. In this paper, 
only aspects related to Mathematics education will be discussed. Through examining 
educationalists’ perspectives of the system, the gap between the intentions of national 
policy and the dynamics of teaching and learning will be explored. While this is a 
preliminary step in improving the quality of Mathematics, identifying similarities and 
differences may uncover challenges of reform in the Caribbean and provide 
implications for other small states and ‘developing’ countries. 
METHODOLOGY 
After completing the pilot of 14 interviews, 36 further interviews took place between 
September 11-October 19, 2007. The positions held by respondents is as follows: 32 
teachers, 2 school administrators, 6 academics, 5 policymakers and 5 respondents 
from regional or international organizations. Some of the respondents have worked in 
various positions and the current position held may not fully represent their expertise. 
Several academics worked extensively on national curriculum items and some of the 
senior teachers were former chief examiners for CXC. This study was largely 
qualitative although quantitative approaches may appear in some aspects of data 
analysis in the full PhD when completed. An interview question bank was prepared 
before the pilot and used throughout the pilot interviews. Following the pilot, the 
questions were amended to include further perspectives on aspects of teaching and 
learning to help triangulate the findings within policy documents related to improving 
secondary education.  Another key intention behind the interviews was to explore 
similarities and differences between Mathematics education in both countries to 
probe the possibilities of education borrowing. The interviews were largely informal 
in nature but questions were prepared prior to the interview such as those involving 
strategies teachers employed to deliver the curriculum and perspectives on their 
teaching.  
FINDINGS 
Hierarchy of secondary schools 
Although both Barbados and Trinidad continue to use equivalent 11+ exams to 
determine secondary school places, criticism was expressed by respondents regarding 
the differences in status of schools. In Barbados, schools were ranked according to 
achievement at CXC exams while the denominational schools in Trinidad were seen 
as prestigious institutions compared to government secondary schools. These 
divisions created a hierarchy. B1 speaks about the experience from Barbados and 
argues:  
“For the ones who are not so clever, there are some weaknesses. Our system at the 
moment is not geared towards bringing the slower ones along as fully as they should be”.  
Trinidadian teachers were also critical of the hierarchy produced by the secondary 
school system. When asked about the extent to which the hierarchy in Trinidadian 
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schools mirrors the social divisions within Trinidadian society, T1 responded: “It is 
there alive, prominent, unfortunately that is what drives the society”.  
Perspectives on CXC exams 
Although both countries also have national syllabuses, it is important to note that the 
CXC exams are the outward qualifications in both countries and completing the 
syllabus is an internal exercise. As such, questions surrounding the national syllabus 
usually did not generate much discussion, except in the case of Trinidad in which a 
new initiative was viewed as controversial. There was also the critique that the exams 
are an exercise at the end of a training period, rather than a measure of intelligence. 
From the perspective of the CXC, one of the key benefits the tracking the deficiencies 
of both teachers and students (B2). Yet this benefit may come at a high cost. B3 
expressed the concern that these exams dictate too much of the Maths education 
system in Barbados: “…until the exam is set in a way that Mathematics is more 
practical then we’re not going to get very much done”. T2 was also critical of the lack 
of creativity within the Caribbean exams: “This is the way the CAPE syllabus is, it’s 
a linear approach where you do step a b, c and then d you get the answer”.  
Aspects of teaching and learning 
In general, teachers from both countries had mixed responses regarding less 
traditional modes of teaching such as problem solving, group work, cultural contexts 
of Mathematics and real life examples. Some teachers stressed the necessity and 
frequency of use of these techniques while others stated they did not use them. While 
teachers were critical of ‘chalk and talk’ methods, they often admitted they taught in 
this style: “I think I try but I know sometimes it’s too much chalk and talk” (T3). B4 
offered this explanation: “Because of the intake that we have we tend to use a similar 
approach for all of the children, assuming that their needs are roughly the same”. As 
the schools are divided by ability, teachers may assume that other methods are not 
needed to reach out to different types of intelligences. 
Some teachers, however, felt that teacher centered methods were not only effective, 
but also ideal. B5 was asked about the criticism of too much chalk and talk in the 
Caribbean, and responded the following:  
“I taught in the Cayman Islands and they had all the resources and they are far weaker. 
Yes there is lots of chalk and talk but if the person delivering it is still good, it is still 
effective ”. 
The concurrent criticism yet continued use of chalk and talk finding is consistent with 
the observations. Several teachers were asked to identify the benefits and drawbacks 
of this teaching method by the researcher as a way of trying to overcome bias against 
traditional methods of teaching. T4, a Trinidadian explained reasons for choosing this 
instructional method: “You are able to explain…and if they didn’t follow a step, you 
can erase it and go over it again”. However, T4 was not able to identify the 
drawbacks of chalk and talk. Similarly, B6, a Barbadian teacher stated the only 
drawbacks of dictation might arise if a child was absent during dictation or if there 
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was a child with a hearing difficulty. T8, a policy personnel offers an explanation for 
the high emphasis on traditional methods of teaching and starts at the level of 
university lecturers who do not have exposure to education training and are content 
specialists. Teachers such as B7, however, are also able to see the limitations of chalk 
and talk:  
“…it usually pigeonholes the students into adopting specific approaches to particular 
problems…. We are directing the course of the lesson instead of students having their 
input to the lesson”.  
Administrators such as T1, however, are working on improving teaching through 
collaborative planning and argues that schools must be professional research 
communities and teachers must learn to sit together and talk.   
Others insisted they used group work and stressed problem solving techniques. For 
the most part, respondents were able to identify the limitations in this area. Teachers 
cited both lack of time and the exam oriented system as restraining factors for 
dependence on chalk and talk. Some of the reasons included size of the class and 
length of the syllabus. The interview questions also probed the extent to which 
problem solving approaches were used. Although these were not explicitly noted in 
the observations of both countries, B8 argued that the CXC exam contains this 
element of Maths education: “…to ensure teachers do this at the school…”. B5, 
argued that problem solving approaches were used to a large extent but revealed a 
level of dependence on the teacher: “I try to show them how to go through the steps, 
A, B, C, and not just focusing on the answer”. Other teachers in both countries 
asserted that problem solving skills were emphasized all the time. Yet a former chief 
examiner of Maths seems to concur that the weakest area is problem solving (I1). On 
the other hand, T2 attributed the little emphasis on problem solving skills to the 
reliance on past papers: “They all want to see past exam papers and…they want to 
see it all, so if they see it worded in a different way, they can’t solve it”.  
Although not witnessed in the observations, some teachers described their styles as 
interactive. This may be a result of the differences in definition of the word. It is 
possible that respondents felt that interactive learning involved participation on the 
part of students, whether during dictation exercises or repetition of mathematical 
concepts. Some teachers claimed to use group work; however this was only seen once 
in the 6 weeks of fieldwork. Through the interviews, some respondents such as T5 
expressed the view of group work as chaotic. This may explain why classes were 
minimally participatory and followed traditional modes of learning. However, these 
approaches are supported by the respondents from the Ministries of Education in both 
countries. 
‘Real life’ Mathematics 
As a whole, teachers in both countries expressed some interest in ‘real life’ 
Mathematics but this did not seem to be an important teaching strategy. Beyond 
stereotypical constructions of Mathematics as ‘useful’ in counting and business, the 
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wider context of Mathematics was not explicitly noted in the observations. However, 
relevance to ‘real life’ and connections to out-of-classroom experiences are seen as 
necessary. In particular, the Mathematics associated with the students’ own culture – 
that of their home environment or out of classroom culture - was not identified within 
lessons with the exception of one Trinidadian teacher T5, who pointed out the Maths 
involved in drug dealing. While this may vilify the practice of building upon out-of-
classroom experiences, other aspects of children’s lives such as media, cultural 
practices, the arts and nature were not identified as possible breeding grounds for 
both examples and exploring the Mathematics beyond ‘academic’ Mathematics 
curriculum. Most teachers recognized this, and cited examples in their interviews of 
how “Maths is all around us” (B9) but did not appear to build on it in their lessons. 
This may be a result of the reputation that out-of-classrooms have as inappropriate 
and invaluable to the school experience. When asked if outside school knowledge 
was built upon in the classroom, a few respondents noted that the communities in 
which some of these children live carry out practices that are not approved by the 
teachers.  
Mathematics and Caribbean culture 
When asked about the importance of regional or local Caribbean culture, respondents 
seemed ambivalent to the idea. A few respondents asked for examples while others 
agreed but did not express enthusiasm. One teacher was supportive and provided an 
example of vectors and travel between Caribbean islands in her response to the 
question. Others such as T3 simply stated: “Maybe we are just not thinking along 
those lines”. Others felt it was important such as B9, as it would help students 
develop a better attitude towards Maths. Yet there were other respondents such as 
B10 who stressed the importance of a global awareness, feeling “we should not go 
from one extreme to another….we should recognize the world is the world, so not 
just the Caribbean but expose them to other things out there”.  
A few teachers questioned the effectiveness of these techniques, such as T2: “They 
talk about cricket scores and so on, they relate well to it. I don’t know. I’m not sure if 
it works, theoretically it should work, but I haven’t seen evidence”. T6 offers various 
ways in which Maths is present in the local Trinibagonian context through examples 
of patterns on steel pans and trapezium motifs, flutes in Hosay festivals, wing spans 
of carnival costumes and several others in an unpublished paper.  The perspective of 
T7 may sum up how Maths teachers from both islands feel: “It’s important, how 
much time devoted to it is another question. History is probably more able to do it 
than Math class but I think it’s important for them to learn about Trinidad”. 
Accommodations for Lower Achieving Pupils 
It appears that a systematic approach is lacking and teachers from both islands used a 
variety of different methods to cater to lower achieving pupils. B3 states: “most 
schools have accelerated groups, those who move on faster and the slower ones who 
take a little more time to come”. Some teachers such as T8 identify some methods 
used such as “Try to bring them to the front of the class…walk around, stand next to 
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them, and help them, and after class you can help them out…”. One example of a 
school initiative is the development of a peer tutoring programme at one Barbadian 
school, which is in the process of being widened in scope. Only one teacher, B6, 
recognized the possibility that students may not be achieving due to method of 
instruction. Similarly, in classroom observations, teachers treated lower achieving 
pupils as needing more enforcement with basic concepts. The notion of going beyond 
chalk and talk did not seem apparent. This may be a result of the hierarchical 
divisions among secondary schools in both Barbados and Trinidad, in which the 
rhetoric of the system may be based on divisions based on ability. As such, the notion 
of catering to different ability levels may be perceived to be less of an issue as 
students of similar levels are placed in the same school.  
CONCLUSION 
This article begins to discuss some of the challenges teachers and educationalists face 
in two developing island states. Despite curricula reform, teachers predominately use 
traditional methods for delivering the canon of ‘western’ school Mathematics. This is 
perhaps as a result of the lack of culture which is associated with Mathematics as it 
suffers from an apparently neutral and ‘global’ persona in Barbados and Trinidad. 
Further interviews with policymakers show this notion is systemic as one respondent 
noted the curriculum was consistent with NTCM guidelines (B11) and another 
interviewee discussed the inspiration from the New Zealand curriculum (T9).  The 
smallness of scale of these island states seems to contribute to dependence on 
‘western’ constructions of Mathematics education. This may stem from the need to 
participate in the knowledge economy where children are able to gain international 
currency for their education and thus attend universities abroad. Further study into 
examining the similarities and differences in the Mathematics education of Barbados 
and Trinidad may contribute to a description of Maths in the Caribbean and how it 
may be improved to ensure larger participation in CXC examinations that the system 
attempts to focus on as a linear goal. Yet a larger aim of ensuring children are able to 
see Mathematics as something beyond static examination content may have longer – 
and stronger – benefits for developing island states. This may require teaching 
methods which are much further from traditional modes of teaching and support for 
teachers implementing the new curricula. It also requires examination into the ways 
in which postcolonial powers promote and construct Mathematical knowledge as this 
is strangely emulated in small states.  
REFERENCES 
Phillips, D. & Ochs, K. (2003) Processes of policy borrowing in education: some 
analytical and explanatory devices, Comparative Education,  39(4), 451-461. 
Wolff, L. & Castro, C. (2000) Secondary Education in Latin America and the 
Caribbean: The Challenge of Growth and Reform, Sustainable Development 
Department Technical Papers Series (Washington DC, Inter-American Development 
Bank, Sustainable Development Department Education Unit). 
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