The evidence seems to suggest that (i) little attention has been paid to re-structuring the practical-teaching component in the Eastern Caribbean programmes over the past forty years; (ii) the duration of the exercise is apparently being reduced rather than being increased in line with current trends; and (iii) neither the notion of the co-operating teacher nor of a more developmental role for the University of the West Indies seems to be formally integrated into the practical teaching exercise.

The participation of high school students in extra-curricular activities is an issue of increasing interest in much of the developed world. There is a growing consensus that youth participation in such activities has beneficial effects on many facets of development. Using data collected from four countries in the Eastern Caribbean, this paper, based on a UNICEF sponsored project, seeks to fill this gap. The study found that student involvement in extra-curricular activities was relatively high in most of the countries, but male participation overwhelmingly took the form of sports.