The University of the West Indies is pleased to announce the promotion of Dr. Barbara Bailey, Senior Lecturer and Regional Coordinator, Centre for Gender and Development Studies (CGDS) to the post of Professor with effect from May 28, 2003.

Professor Bailey graduated from the University of London/University College of the West Indies in 1964 with a B. Sc. General degree, and from The University of the West Indies with a Special Bachelor of Science Honours degree in Medical Microbiology in 1974. She read for a Diploma in Education in 1976 and for her Doctor of Education specializing in curriculum studies in 1987, also at the UWI. She also completed a Graduate Advanced Reading Course in Women’s Studies at Dalhousie University in Canada in 1989 and the 54th Summer Institute in Survey Research Techniques at the University of Michigan in 2001.

Barbara Bailey has produced a strong scholarly record of distinguished original research in the field of gender and education which has filled an important niche in regional gender and education literature and has had significant implications for public educational policy. Her work in gender and education has often challenged existing educational theory and has made a distinctive contribution to educational practice and curriculum development, especially in relation to gender. Over the years, she has provided valuable insights and significant understandings of the complexity of gender, human resource development and the importance of equal opportunity afforded through education.
Her work has a wide audience including regional and international academics, researchers, policy makers and practitioners. It is noted for its unusual balance, theoretical clarity and thoroughness which give it a particular power and relevance to educational policy and educational practices in schools.

In addition to her research in gender and education, Professor Bailey has also investigated gender inequities in the context of the changing economy of the Caribbean, focusing on development of micro-enterprises that became more important after the intervention of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. More recently, Professor Bailey has examined the implications for women of labour market transformations in the context of globalization.

Professor Bailey is the author of an outstanding collection of research reports and conference and seminar papers as well as new resource materials for teaching and curriculum development. These publications mainly focus on her specialist interest in gender education, but she has also written on gender and development issues and women’s leadership. Her output of refereed scholarly material includes three books/monographs. Her book, Gender and Education in Jamaica: What about the boys? published in 2000 is regarded as outstanding. It tackles one of the pressing issues of Caribbean societies, the underachievement of boys and examines that situation at both the institutional and societal level.

She has also edited three books and written chapters in nine published books with four articles accepted as chapters in books in production. A number of papers authored or co-authored by Professor Bailey have appeared in reviewed journals and books while she has produced several non-refereed short articles and commissioned reports. She has also presented or co-presented some thirty five papers at conferences and symposia between 1987 and 2002.

In the area of curriculum and instructional materials, Professor Bailey has produced eight publications including a module for teacher education coauthored with Dr. M. Brown and Y. Yusef-Khalil that covers gender socialization, as well as issues in schooling in curriculum, pedagogy, policy and management. In 1995 she was also commissioned by CARICOM to design and develop a module for Teacher Education and Gender Issues in Caribbean Education to be used in all regional training institutions

In her capacity as Regional Coordinator of the CGDS, Professor Bailey’s work as a regional and international consultant has served to enhance the image of the UWI in the international community. She has served as advisor to CARICOM on several occasions including at the meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women which acted as the Preparatory Committee for the UN Special Session on Women at the United Nations headquarters in New York in March 2000. She was also consultant to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) charged with the responsibility to develop and implement a curriculum for a regional gender training programme and to evaluate and publish a set of training modules.

Professor Bailey has also attracted major funding totaling over US$1.3 million for a variety of research projects over the years. In addition she has received a number of awards in recognition of her excellent work. These include a Staff Fellowship from the Project of Cooperation in Teaching, Research and Outreach of the Royal Netherlands Embassy to the attend the 54th Summer Institute in Research Techniques at the University of Michigan (2001). She also received the State of Israel award to attend an international course on Curriculum and Study Planning in Jerusalem (1995). Other awards include the counterpart staff fellowship funded by the Netherlands Government to visit universities in the Hague and Great Britain (1994); the British Council Award to be the International Guest Lecturer at Programme 9421: Women Working for Change (1994); and a British Council Fellowship to attend Course 9220 – Women Working for Change: An International Seminar at the University of Birmingham (1992).

At the UWI, Professor Bailey has represented the CGDS on several boards and committees including the Academic Board, the Board of the Faculty of Humanities and Education, Mona, the Board of Undergraduate Studies (1996-1999) Mona Campus Council (1998-1999) and the Finance and General Purposes Committee (1998-1999).

She also coordinates the activities of the Centre and supervises several graduate research theses being prepared by eight students at the Masters level and two at the Doctoral level.