A survey was done to assess the level of knowledge of elementary geometrical concepts (primarily recognition of basic shapes and knowledge of their properties) among Grade 5 students in upper and lower streams and Grade 9 students in selective and non-selective schools in Kingston, Jamaica. The test instrument was also administered to groups at the same educational levels in West Germany.

This study proposes a schema for categorising reading interests based on an identification of basic interest and dominant interest(s) among interest elements in reading materials. A methodology which involved making forced choices within thirteen groups of three passages, each with a unique combina-tion of interest elements, was used to ascertain the reading interests of 438 fourth and 412 first grade children in fourteen primary schools in Jamaica. Grade and environmental differences in reading interests were determined by the use of a 2x3 chi-square test.

In Jamaica, there are many sources of data that can provide an evaluation of teachers, students, and schools at the primary level. The NAP assessments of students at grades 3, 4, and 6 focus on academic outcomes in literacy, numeracy and primary level subjects such as science and social studies. The panel inspections conducted by the Ministry of Education and Culture allow for officials of the Ministry of Education to assess some aspects of the management and supervision of a school, as well as the performance of teachers in that school.

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.

The ubiquitous nature of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is a defining characteristic of the Information Age and its widescale use in education is inevitable. All aspects of life are influenced in some significant way by technology (Keengwe, 2007) - communication, accessing information, productivity and life in general.

The aim of this study was to ascertain the root causes of absenteeism among children of the rural poor in one hundred Jamaican primary schools in which absenteeism was most problematic. The research utilized a mixed methods approach and involved transforming qualitative data into quantitative data and generating descriptive statistics. Focus group interviews were utilized to collect data from school and community members and involved 165 children, ranging in age from 7 to 12.

The 23 pages of "Notes" at the end of this book contain a set of cogent comments on some of the most fundamental and controversial issues affecting English teaching today. One is tempted to suggest that the teacher-in-training, for example, should begin a study of this book with a series of group discussions on the topics treated in these Notes. Surely the modern English teacher must have carefully considered the following: the importance of "context situation"; the emphasis on the tripartite interaction of language, other experience and thought; and the analysis of spontaneous talk.