Following up on a research project in which concerned citizens, members of the artist community, academics and curriculum officers were interviewed, this study sought teachers’ perspectives about the culture/curriculum nexus, given the persistent perception that the curriculum is culturally irrelevant. A survey instrument was developed and validated and the findings from the questionnaire reported.

Recent comments that the school curriculum of Trinidad and Tobago is “culturally irrelevant” prompted this research project. The research was undertaken through a series of focus group discussions with community artists, curriculum officers and public figures interested in education, to explore the following issues:
1. a definition of and justification for the concept of ‘cultural relevance’
2. evidence of its existence or lack of existence in the current school curriculum

Recent comments that the school curriculum of Trinidad and Tobago is “culturally irrelevant” prompted this research project. The research was undertaken through a series of focus group discussions with community artists, curriculum officers and public figures interested in education, to explore the following issues:

There is the perception among members of the teaching fraternity that the inservice Diploma in Education (DipEd) Programme offered at The University of the West Indies (UWJ), St. Augustine Campus, has little impact on the classroom practices of the graduates. This perception is significant since an important goal of any teacher education programme is to empower teachers to change their behaviours. Meaningful change involves alteration of beliefs, that is, the pedagogical assumptions and theories underpinning the change. The inservice programme at St.

An evaluation of the Dip. Ed. programme (2004-2009) using fourth generation methodology revealed the expectations, claims, concerns, and issues of stakeholders; including Ministry of Education (MOE) personnel and (School of Education) SOE staff, who were concerned that graduates of the programme reverted to practices employed before training. In response to that evaluation, this research investigates the current status of Dip. Ed. graduates’ practice.

In an increasingly inclusive educational environment in which Caribbean governments have signalled their commitment to Education for All, teachers are expected to respond to students’ diversity through differentiated practice. There has been no empirical research about the response of practicing teachers involved in the UWI Diploma in Education programme to differentiated instruction.