The aim of this study is to examine the psychological and environmental vari­ables which are related to the mathematics achievement of third-year students in Jamaican post-primary schools. A correlational study of the inter-relations of thirteen independent variables with the criterion, mathematics achievement, was factor-analysed to produce four factors which account for most of the variation in mathematical performance.

Curriculum development and evaluation activities are inextricably inter­woven. Evaluation gathers and systematically orders evidence so that teachers and other curriculum workers may make decisions about the state of the learner, about organising and teaching subject matter, and about learning-outcomes.

In 1967 the Jamaican Ministry of Education, through its Curriculum Committee, introduced a "modern" mathematics programme in the then recently established Junior Secondary schools. The Grade Nine Achievement Test (GNAT) in Mathematics is one of the tests used by the Ministry of Education to select students from the grade nine population in Junior Secondary and All Age schools for second cycle secondary education in High schools and Technical schools. Since 1970 this test has reflected the change in content of the Junior Secondary mathematics syllabus.

This quasi-experimental mixed method research attempts to investigate the effects of integrating peace education into the mathematics curriculum. A sample of 4 classes from 4 sample secondary schools in representative areas of Jamaica was selected. The treatment involved integrating peace education into a unit of mathematics lessons on statistics. The quantitative data were obtained through pre-test and post-test on mathematics. Qualitative data were obtained through interviews, student questionnaire surveys, classroom observation, and student and teachers’ reflections.

The Jamaican education system has failed to qualify many of the nation’s youths for higher educational pursuits or the labour market upon their exit from high school. Many in the system have speculated that this failure is due to the predominantly direct teaching methodology practised by the nation’s teachers.

Despite the fact that mathematics is compulsory at the secondary level in Jamaica and is required for entry into tertiary institutions and certain jobs, many of our students are overwhelmed by their perception of the impenetrability of the complex world of mathematics. Furthermore, the fundamental value of learning mathematics as a means of developing the higher order skills of reasoning and critical thinking escapes many. Indeed, mathematics is a discipline that requires logical thinking, sequencing of ideas, analytical thinking, synthesis and a basic knowledge of operational terms.

This paper examines three attempts at curriculum change in education systems that span the Caribbean. These attempts all took place in the 1970s and 1980s. They are:(i) the Guyana Mathematics Project, (ii) the Grade 10 -11 Programme in New Secondary Schools in Jamaica, and:(iii) the UWI/USAID Primary Education Project across several Caribbean countries. Important aspects of these projects are analysed with a view to suggesting the lessons they can provide for subsequent attempts at curriculum development.

Academic performance of Jamaican traditional high school grade 11 students is poor as most fail to meet the required standard. This descriptive correlation study examined multidimensional components of anxiety, coping and perceived learning problems that may predict academic performance in English Language and Mathematics.

The thesis proposes that the implementation of thinking-focused pedagogy hinges on several factors: the context in which the teacher operates, the support (s)he receives from the school administration, the presence of a national commitment to thinking-focused pedagogy, the teacher’s personality, and the teacher’s pedagogical content knowledge. A model for thinkingfocused pedagogy in the mathematics classroom is put forward, which sees the teacher and major stakeholders—government agencies, teacher-training institutions and school administrators—playing critical roles.