This paper identifies and addresses potential conflicts in Jamaican lower primary school curriculum practices arising from a curriculum reform initiative of the Ministry of Education. This initiative involves revising the grades 1-3 primary curriculum from a subject-based to an integrated model in the second phase of a Primary Education Improvement Project (PEIP II), partially funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Standardized  intelligence tests have been severely criticized for their biases against minority students (Cucarro 1996; Midgette 1995; Wool folk 1998). It is also argued that intelligence testing is not fair to individuals living outside the culture for which a particular intelligence test has been normed (cf., Callahan and McIntyre 1994).

The Green Paper on Education prepared in 1999 by the Ministry of Education in Jamaica bears the title “Education: The Way Upward”, indicating perhaps the tremendous importance of education to the future development of the island. It attests that "it is the return on the investment in the building of human and social capital that represents our best hope for economic growth and social peace”.The first three papers in the Institute of Education Annual deal with aspects of primary education.

The age of information technology and interactivity is here and rapidly advancing, with significant developments in computer and communication technologies that are showing serious implications for instructional technology in general and teacher education in particular. It is natural and logical for professionals in the field of education, so inextricably linked to communication technology, to embrace the use of computer technology. However, there is no indication that teachers are in any enthusiastic haste to harness whatever potentials there may be in such technologies for teaching.

In the Caribbean an ever-increasing number of interested individuals whose ages extend over a wide range have been seeking entry to regional tertiary institutions in their pursuit of higher education.

The terms self-evaluation and self-assessment have been used synonymously in the literature on teacher evaluation. However, Wheeler and Haertel (1993) distinguish between the two terms. They define self-evaluation as the process of judging one's performance for the purpose of self-improvement. Self-assessment on the other hand, was defined as the process of collecting data and information on one's own teaching performance, using one or more assessment methods and data sources. Self-assessment could, therefore, be regarded as the first step in evaluation.

Theory and practice have been important components of teacher education since these programmes became systematized in teachers colleges in the early nineteenth century. Forms of theory were first introduced into programmes for preparing teachers in order to modify an emphasis on the craft of teaching. Prior to this, in countries such as the United Kingdom, teacher training consisted mainly of “observing the system by which children were taught" (Seaborne 1974).

Teaching any subject in our schools is a challenge, but teaching children Physical education is probably the most challenging of all, especially at the primary level. But despite the obstacles that confront all teachers, there is also the satisfaction to be gleaned from a job well done and the achievement of objectives. One main obstacle experienced by physical education teachers is the widespread concept of physical education as expendable, resulting in its Cinderella treatment and lack of the recognition accorded to other subjects.

Since Independence, in August 1962, Jamaica has viewed technical and vocational education as an important aspect of education to be accentuated in its national development. Successive governments have recognized that the nation's economic future depends largely on scientists, technicians, skilled workers, teachers, and leaders of the institutions where these individuals work. Significant social, economic, and political developments have been initiated and implemented to reinforce this commitment to technical and vocational education.

The Reform of Secondary Education (ROSE) takes as its main objective the provision of a national curriculum for grades 7–9 in Jamaica's secondary schools. Where ROSE does not focus primarily on major innovations in curriculum content, the new curriculum emphasizes changes in teaching methodology intended to foster innovative thinking, critical thinking, divergent thinking, decision making, group work, and problem-solving skills (ROSE 1993).