In Training Teacher-Trainers and Para professional Teachers, D. R. B. Grant describes the process of planned change developed by the PECE whereby the "grass-roots" teachers such as the teacher cited above are trained to be competent teachers of three- to six-year-olds. In this respect the book is a case study of the conception, design, evolution, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of one of the more successful innovatory projects to be carried out in education in the Caribbean in this century.

The economic history of the West Indies since emancipation deals for the most part with the decline of the sugar industry, the efforts made to rehabilitate the industry, the relative success or failure of these efforts, and the attempts also to diversify the economy. Despite declining fortunes, the white minority retained political supremacy, and perhaps because of their uncertainty about their economic position they fought to maintain both political and social supremacy.

Education in the Caribbean: Historical Perspectives is in reality a special issue of the Caribbean Journal of Education which brings together papers on the history of education in the Caribbean. Covering the period from the early eighteenth century to the nineteen seventies, these papers tell the story of the origins and development of education in the region. From them we can identify the individuals and organizations who provided education as well as the social groups for whom it was provided. We may examine the motives and objectives of the providers as well as those of the clients.

The editor of the Jamaica Journal of Education and Teachers' Aid, in an issue published in August 1909, included the story of a certain squire who had violent objections to anyone invading his pew. On one occasion, at the conclusion of a service, he went to the vicar and complained bitterly of a stranger who had unknowingly intruded. It was a very large pew and the only occupants had been the squire and the unwelcome visitor.

In its Five-Year Development Plan, 1990–1995, the Government of Jamaica proclaimed its belief in "education as a desired end of society" and in the right of all individuals to education and training opportunities in order to develop their innate creative and intellectual capabilities". It formally and decisively acknowledged “the vital role of education as a tool for social change and stability".

The British Caribbean before emancipation has been described as "a barbarian community”. 1 Except perhaps for Barbados which had a relatively large and stable white population, the plantocracy in the various islands had made no serious attempt to establish permanent institutions of any kind in the West Indies and there was no systematic provision for education with four main social groups being identifiable - at the top, the whites made up of attorneys, planters, professionals, men of business who concentrated most of the political and all of the economic power in their own hands.

The literature on national school history textbooks suggests overwhelmingly that they represent the major source of information concerning national and international history for most people. They play a significant role in shaping the historical perspectives of those who read them, as well as their perceptions of, and attitudes toward, their own nation and other nations and peoples. By implication, therefore, it may be argued that history textbooks can and do affect international understanding.

The early years of this century were of considerable significance in elementary education in Jamaica. The stringent measures recommended by the Education Commission of 1897-98 to reduce expenditure on education were implemented, following the severe economic depression of the 1890s. For providers of education the religious denominations and the government this was a period of soul searching and decision making. Drastically reduced budgets meant identifying and defining priorities.

The editor of the Jamaica Journal of Education and Teachers' A id, in an issue published in August 1909, included the story of a certain squire who had violent objections to anyone invading his pew. On one occa­sion, at the conclusion of a service, he went to the vicar and complained bitterly of a stranger who had unknowingly intruded. It was a very large pew and the only occupants had been the squire and the unwelcome visitor. 

Central to the educative process is the transaction which takes place between the learner and the teacher. The main concern, therefore, of teacher education programmes is to improve the quality of future transactions by help­ing teachers (in-service and in-training) to understand the learner, the dynamics of learning, and their own roles in the transaction. The case study presented in this article is based on the premise that student-teachers will contlnue to grope in the dark until they have developed the necessary understandings and insights.