This paper treats with an approach to the delivery of a course in qualitative research methods to postgraduate students in education. The approach is the result of a felt and expressed need on the part of both tutors and students for more appropriate and meaningful experiences in the qualitative research seminar. Caribbean literature is used to introduce students to the field of qualitative research through a process of learning by doing.

The problem of violence in our schools is a problem of identity and the difficulty faced by our young people to interpret the world in a way that makes sense. Living on the “street corner,” in other words, on the margins, economically, socially, and physically, many of our young people are challenged to construct an identity or a “world” that is coherent, to respect the self that they have created, and to acknowledge the “self” of others.

In the last issue of the Caribbean Journal of Education, we outline the goals of the journal under the new Editorial Board. In this issue we introduce two new features of the journal, a book review section and a digest of recent research. Two members of our Editorial Board will be the book review editors: Dr. Beverley Bryan for books published in the Caribbean, and Dr. Patrick Solomon for books published outside the Caribbean. In this issue there is one book review and three research digests to inaugurate these two sections.

A survey of postgraduate studies indicates that researchers in Jamaica while still embracing monomethods - qualitative or quantitative approaches - are also moving towards employing mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative approaches) in their investigation. While mono-method research tends to run the risk of missing significant findings mixed methods offer a more comprehensive understanding of the variables of a study.

This research was undertaken to investigate teachers' and principals' perceptions of the roles of principals in curriculum development in primary schools in central Jamaica. The sample consisted of thirty eight principals and three hundred and thirty-two teachers from thirty-nine primary schools. Data pertaining to teachers' and principals' perceptions were obtained through the Teachers' Evaluation of Principals Questionnaire and the Principals' Self Evaluation Questionnaire.

This study investigated the expectations of beginnings teachers concerning their instruction, the teaching strategies used by teacher educators and how these strategies influence those which beginning teachers use in their classrooms. The findings revealed that the expectations and needs of beginning teachers are not considered in the programme they are offered. Teacher educators and others decide on the trainees' needs, the curriculum, learning strategies, assessment strategies and the resources to be used.

While educational psychology is normally assumed to contribute scientific, research-based ideas to a better understanding of teaching/learning environments, its concepts can be alternatively considered as products of particular socio-historical contexts whose contemporary application may be neither politically neutral nor pedagogically advantageous. This argument is examined with particular reference to psychology in education policy in Barbados over the past decade, which is expected to transform the society through transforming schools.

In Guyana it is recognised that the output of schooling at all levels starting at the primary level is inadequate to meet the challenges of the 21st century. This paper describes an attempt by the author, as Director of the National Centre for Educational Resource Development to address the problem of literacy at the primary level through curriculum development, specifically the use of Skills Reinforcement Guides.

This volume is dedicated to the memory of Professor Dennis Roy Craig, a co-founder of this journal and editor. Professor Craig passed away on February 28, 2004, after a lifetime of service to education in the Caribbean. A true gentleman, of wit, charm and a quiet brilliance, he authored over sixty academic articles published in peer reviewed international journals. His influential book "Experiment in Teaching English" was published in 1968. He was elevated to the position of Personal Professor in Language Education at The University of the West Indies in 1979.