This paper is an investigation of the language varieties understood and used by teachers, and recognition of the implications of these understandings for language education. It acknowledges the role played by teachers and the education system in language maintenance and language change in a period of mass education, which is now moving toward universal secondary education (USE).

The Organisation of Eastern States (OECS), comprising the nine small island states stretching from the British Virgin Islands in the north to Grenada in the south, are not newcomers to regionalism and regional cooperation. These countries have been part of some federal structure for almost as long as their colonial history. In colonial times the groupings consisted of shifting combinations of islands labelled Leeward Islands or Windward Islands.

The year 2006 marks the 25th anniversary of the organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). This grouping, formed on June 18, 1981, consists of some of the smallest states in the world. Its seven full members are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts-Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines; and its two associate members are Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands. Combined, they boast a population of fewer than 500,000 people.

This paper treats with an approach to the delivery of a course in qualitative research methods to postgraduate students in education. The approach is the result of a felt and expressed need on the part of both tutors and students for more appropriate and meaningful experiences in the qualitative research seminar. Caribbean literature is used to introduce students to the field of qualitative research through a process of learning by doing.

The problem of violence in our schools is a problem of identity and the difficulty faced by our young people to interpret the world in a way that makes sense. Living on the “street corner,” in other words, on the margins, economically, socially, and physically, many of our young people are challenged to construct an identity or a “world” that is coherent, to respect the self that they have created, and to acknowledge the “self” of others.

In the last issue of the Caribbean Journal of Education, we outline the goals of the journal under the new Editorial Board. In this issue we introduce two new features of the journal, a book review section and a digest of recent research. Two members of our Editorial Board will be the book review editors: Dr. Beverley Bryan for books published in the Caribbean, and Dr. Patrick Solomon for books published outside the Caribbean. In this issue there is one book review and three research digests to inaugurate these two sections.

A survey of postgraduate studies indicates that researchers in Jamaica while still embracing monomethods - qualitative or quantitative approaches - are also moving towards employing mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative approaches) in their investigation. While mono-method research tends to run the risk of missing significant findings mixed methods offer a more comprehensive understanding of the variables of a study.

This research was undertaken to investigate teachers' and principals' perceptions of the roles of principals in curriculum development in primary schools in central Jamaica. The sample consisted of thirty eight principals and three hundred and thirty-two teachers from thirty-nine primary schools. Data pertaining to teachers' and principals' perceptions were obtained through the Teachers' Evaluation of Principals Questionnaire and the Principals' Self Evaluation Questionnaire.

This study investigated the expectations of beginnings teachers concerning their instruction, the teaching strategies used by teacher educators and how these strategies influence those which beginning teachers use in their classrooms. The findings revealed that the expectations and needs of beginning teachers are not considered in the programme they are offered. Teacher educators and others decide on the trainees' needs, the curriculum, learning strategies, assessment strategies and the resources to be used.