This paper discusses selected issues which an effective education system should address. These issues are anchored in two central questions. These are: 

Perceptions of life experiences and academic performance among adult students at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, were examined. The following research questions guided the investigation: What life experiences did adult students have? How did they perceive these experiences? Was there a difference in the perceptions of life experiences of students who received grades of A and B and those who received grades of C and below? The sample consisted of 158 adult students enrolled in two foundation courses at UWI, Mona.

In 1996 the University of the West Indies (UWI) began to implement the recommendations of a major internal study of its structures, among which was the development of a system of quality assurance. The Office of the Board for Undergraduate Studies (OBUS) has the responsibility for developing and implementing this system on behalf of the Board for Undergraduate Studies (BUS).

This study compared the performance of grades 7 and 8 students exposed to the Jamaican Reform of Secondary Education (ROSE) Programme with the performance of their nonROSE peers on three tasks. Students were selected from all-age, comprehensive, and traditional high schools. Also sampled were 53 ROSE science teachers and 5 science teacher trainers. Five instruments-a science achievement test, an attitude to science questionnaire, the Cooper-Smith Self-Esteem Scale (1967), a science teacher questionnaire, and a science teacher trainer questionnaire---were used.

Education, like any other process, experiences pressures at various times that require shifts in one or more aspects of the process. In Jamaica, dissatisfaction on the part of educators and stakeholder groups with the product from the primary level of the education system has resulted in pressure on the system to change. The major areas of concern are the rigid discipline-based approach to the curriculum as well as the highly didactic pedagogical strategies used to deliver the curriculum.

The publication of this issue of the Caribbean Journal of Education,  Rethinking Pathways to Excellence, during the University of the West Indies 50th year is timely and significant, for the notion of “rethinking pathways” is clearly in synchrony with the theme of the 50th anniversary, Charting Pathways to the Future.

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is one aspect of the general education system that focuses specifically on preparing students for employment. The availability of information and communication technology (ICT) tools has significantly changed the needs of students and the demands of the workplace. In order to prepare students to function effectively in a technology-driven work environment, the TVET curricula must be revised to incorporate ICT both as a subject of instruction and as a tool for facilitating instruction.

Small booming hydrocarbon exporting countries are very often challenged to utilize their economic windfall to transform their economies and improve the living conditions for their citizens. Both the transformation of the economy and the improvement of living conditions require the timely and cost effective construction of medium to large scale infrastructure and commercial projects. Such projects bring into focus the construction sector of these countries.

This study sought to find out the attitudes of students in two high schools towards technical and vocational education (TVE) placement and the implications for their career choices. The main study sample comprised 178 grade 11 students in five vocational options from a rural and from an urban upgraded high school in Jamaica. Upgraded high schools are vocationally oriented with the objective of preparing students for the world of work and ensuring a greater awareness of job and career fields.