Jamaican policymakers have prioritized literacy improvement as a matter of urgency within the educational milieu. This has become even more intense during the past decade with initiatives being mandated and implemented to promote this cause. One such initiative is the establishment of literacy research and development centres in two teacher-training colleges with a prime mandate to prepare a special group of teachers to extend literacy improvement efforts in Jamaican schools.

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 research undertook a cross-sectional evaluation of students' and teachers' views on how gender influences the teaching and learning of geography. The sample comprised secondary and post-secondary educational institutions in both rural and urban settings. The research found that the influence of teachers' gender on geography is quite distinct. When the teacher was male, the subject seemed more scientific and hence more difficult. When the teacher was female, the subject required more analysis and seemed easier to female students.

The current study explores the racial and linguistic self-concept of 138 children between the ages of 5 and 10 years, enroled in a poor, urban, Jamaican government school. In Jamaica, studies into the racial self-concept of adults have been conducted since as early as 1952 (Kerr); however no study into the development of racial and linguistic self-concept in Jamaican children has yet been documented.

Knowledge about how Jamaican teachers understand the concept of teacher professionalism is limited. In this qualitative study, 52 final-year student teachers participated in semi-structured interviews and concept mapping exercises designed to explore how they understand teacher professionalism. The analysis revealed that they view professional teachers as those who embody outstanding personal and professional atributes; recognize the complexity and contextual challenges of teaching; and respond to these by connecting the realities of their classrooms with what they have learnt in college.