Both anecdotal evidence and recent research have highlighted the concern that Caribbean teachers are generally not transferring to their classrooms the teaching skills they are taught during their training. In fact, the evidence suggests that, in terms of their instructional behaviours and choice of teaching techniques, there appears to be very little difference between trained and untrained teachers.

This paper discusses the ecology of the Jamaican English language classroom based on data drawn from an English language class-size survey and a subsequent ethnographic study of a number of English language classrooms. Situating class size considerations within the broader framework of classroom ecology, the paper reviews the extensive literature on class size and then explores how key elements of the language-external ecology affect the quality of the teaching learning interaction in English language classrooms.

Formal education systems tend to experience an ever-recurring need for curriculum change and renewal. One reason for this undoubtedly is that we live in a changing world with changing needs; and education systems have to be always ready to make adaptations for the satisfaction of emergent needs.

Creolization of languages in the Caribbean has resulted in a present-day situation where different locations, traditionally assumed to be speaking the same language, now find themselves with significant current differences in language use. This poses several problems for educational practice where international acceptability is one of the goals. This paper identifies some problems relating to grammatical conventions, semantic shift, and the co-existence of creoles and their related standard languages in the teaching and learning of foreign languages.

This article examines the issue of funding of population activities in the Caribbean generally and the international funding of sexual and reproductive health programs in particular. The paper notes that, as a result of the successful management of population problems, many Caribbean countries have been slated for reduced international funding, especially from the IPPF.

The alleged underachievement of males within the educational system has become the subject of ongoing debate in both academic and lay circles in the Commonwealth Caribbean.

In the issue preceding this, we ended the editorial with the following statement and question: 
".. the vastness of the background of persistently continuing concerns raises the question of whether the necessary quantum of research and reflection, as precursors to action, is keeping pace with the volume of 
needs in the Caribbean. Is it?” 
 
A return to the question seems appropriate for the present issue.

This article examines some science curricula at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of the Jamaican education system. It considers these curricula in light of a perceived need for improving the content base of teachers in specific disciplines. Students' and teachers' misunderstanding of some pivotal science concepts is identified as a root problem associated with low achievement in science at the secondary level. Strategies which have been employed over the last decade for improving performance in science are mentioned and concerns are noted.

Transition to school is one of the major steps that each child has to take in the education continuum. Evidence from the existing literature suggests that the movement from early childhood education to primary school is very traumatic for many children. There is also research evidence which contends that this transition to the first year of primary school is very important for the child's future intellectual development. This article examines the literature on transition to school, and discusses the importance of the transition and the need to minimise its possibly adverse effects.