Rethinking Teacher Education and Teacher Development-this themed issue of the Caribbean Journal of Education has its genesis in research evidence that confirms the impact of teacher quality on students' learning. Some researchers have even argued that it is the determining factor. Given its importance, we are impelled to attend to factors that influence teacher quality, such as teacher professionalism, accountability, and standards.

This study documents the development, implementation, and evaluation of an overseas study programme on environmental education for teachers (Ermer, 2004). Using experience overseas and the power of the Internet, a hybrid course model was designed for the delivery of a 3-credit graduate course in environmental education. This involved 11 participants who completed a one-month online course prior to a travel component in Puerto Rico. Eight teachers from Puerto Rico joined teachers from Wisconsin for a 2-week study tour on island ecology and environmental education.

Mathematics is becoming increasingly more important for the growth and development of every society. At the same time, many Jamaicans express disquiet about students' performance in mathematics, and the extent to which they acquire the mathematical skills needed to function, according to Drucker (1997), as "knowledge workers" and productive citizens. In response, classroom teachers at the secondary level argue that they do not have enough resources to teach mathematics effectively, to achieve the goals and objectives of the curriculum.

As the global appeal of the sustainable development discourse increased from the mid-1980s onwards, environmental education became unsurprisingly linked with this concept, making sustainable development a principal aim of many environmental education initiatives on global, regional, and national agendas. Notwithstanding the political attractiveness of the discourse, the concept is a highly ambiguous and contested one. This renders engagement with individuals'understandings of sustainability, along with underlying concepts such as nature and the environment, an imperative.

This paper argues that teaching and learning for sustainable development requires a non-traditional methodology and explores the constructivist approach as providing a suitable methodology. In this exploration the paper shows the value of the constructivist approach but also indicates its limitations. The paper proposes, instead, a methodology that takes into account the usefulness of the constructivist approach, but extends it to one more anchored in community action.

Volatile fuel costs and the increasing use of technology in schools are among the factors that should propel school leaders to take steps to implement energy saving initiatives. At the same time, school administrators are ideally poised to play a critical role in promoting whole school environmental responsibility by addressing the need for energy sustainability in school operations as well as the school curriculum. This paper offers suggestions for a comprehensive whole school energy programme consisting of energy management and energy education through curricular initiatives.

Recognizing that Caribbean beaches are under stress and degrading as a result of natural and man-made forces, Sandwatch started in 1998 with the vision of changing the lifestyle and habits of children, youth and adults on a community-wide basis, and developing awareness of the fragile nature of the marine and coastal environment and the need to use it wisely. The initiative also sought to address the decline in student numbers opting for mathematics and science subjects.

Environmentally related programmes have been part of  the educational landscape in the Caribbean largely in response to a concern about the negative environmental consequences of human activity, and the efforts of Caribbean educators who were influenced by the UNESCO-UNEP International Environmental Programme in the 1980s and 1990s.

Although the Language Education Policy 2001 (LEP) developed by the ministry responsible for education in Jamaica has not passed through all the channels for official adoption, it represents the clearest indication yet of an articulated national policy on language education by the government of Jamaica. The aim of the draft policy is to provide a framework for dealing with language concerns in educational institutions with a view to improving language and literacy proficiency.

The political dimension of English language education in Commonwealth Caribbean colonial societies has been widely recognised both within and outside of the Caribbean (Bryan 2002; Pennycooke 1995; Ricento 2000).