This issue, like our last, offers a range of papers in areas relevant to educational concerns in the Caribbean. The focus on education is self-evident, but in this introduction I want to underscore the other mandate of this publication evident in the title, that we interrogate educational issues to propel development in our region.

This article draws on a study designed to ascertain from students how they thought their teachers, parents and they themselves could improve their reading comprehension. The suggestions made by students were classified under classroom and out of classroom processes and these in turn were divided into cognitive and non-cognitive areas.

The Caribbean is now recording the 2nd highest incidence of HIV/AIDS in the world, after sub-Saharan Africa. This article examines the rising incidence and prevalence of AIDS by country in the Caribbean, pointing out that Haiti and the Dominican Republic are the leading countries in terms of both numbers and rates. The article points out further that many factors including cultural practices, attitudes, norms and values, promiscuity and multiple sexual partners work together to determine the increasing incidence of AIDS in the Caribbean.

Experienced teachers tend to have an internal locus of control (LOC) orientation. This paper considers the validity and reliability of two commonly used measures of teachers' locus of control orientation for use within a Caribbean and particularly, a Jamaican, educational context.

During the closing decades of the past century the concept and practice of quality assurance have received much attention. Notwithstanding the spotlight which quality assurance is receiving however, there continues to be lack of clarity on the meaning of the term and lack of consensus on how it should be demonstrated. This paper attempts to look at what has been happening in recent times across the Commonwealth Caribbean in the area of quality assurance at the institutional, national and regional levels.

The paper analyses the need for change as universities emphasize quality and strive to be more relevant and responsive to external demands. The concept of universities becoming learning communities has been a major thrust of the past 15 years, and the accompanying quality imperative places new demands on all members of the university community.

Recent years has seen an increase in attention to higher education since it has become a major issue of discussion in trade talks and negotiations worldwide. This is because education is one of the service sectors covered by the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS), administered by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). GATS is a legal trade agreement which promotes freer trade in services by removing many of the existing barriers to trade.

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.

This study sought to determine the magnitude and direction of achievement gender differentials at the UWI medical school in St. Augustine. This tertiary institution provides a unique opportunity to investigate gender differentials in the English-speaking Caribbean because males and females are self-selected and equally matched in ability. The study is set in the context of a variety of innovative teaching-learning strategies, assessments modes, and disciplines throughout an extended 5-year programme. Data for 9 years (graduating class 1994 to 2002) were collated and analyzed.