The study sought to find out the nature of students' perceptions of the democratization of five aspects of their science lessons and to establish if there were significant gender differences in their perceptions. Data were collected from 250 science students in grades 10 (N=126) and 11 (N=124), comprising 138 boys and 112 girls who volunteered from six traditional high schools in rural and urban areas of Jamaica.

 
The features of small states in the English-speaking Caribbean are examined to assess the relevance of the school curriculum to conditions in the region. The conclusion is that the curriculum could be considerably more responsive to features of Caribbean states, which include both assets and liabilities. A systems model for curriculum engineering as the instrument for effecting the needed curriculum reform is proposed. The strategy aims at producing the reservoir of human resources needed to exploit both the assets and liabilities in order to achieve sustainable development. 

Issues of equity and democracy, which have dominated the education ferment of the 1990s in the Caribbean, are examined in Vol. 18 of the Caribbean Journal of Education. No. 1 focused on issues of conceptualization; No. 2 now turns the spotlight on issues of practice. The papers were selected from among those presented at the Faculty (now School] of Education's third biennial conference, which examined some key issues as well as strategies proposed for democratizing education in the Caribbean. The papers have been revised and reviewed for publication in the journal.

Throughout the English-speaking Caribbean compulsory public education is viewed as "good" and a "given”. This paper suggests that the concept is, in fact, problematic. Argument is produced to support such a philosophical position.

Introduction 

This case study and critique focuses on the implications of reflective practice for the professional development of Caribbean educators. The main assumptions and principles of the democratizing potential of reflective practice are outlined and some critiques briefly reviewed. An overview of international and regional commentary on teacher professional development programmes is followed by a short description of an action research project which utilized the reflective approach to the professional development of multiculturalism and the teaching of history.

Introduction 

Introduction and Purpose 

In the Commonwealth Caribbean, on average, girls start schooling Learlier, attend school more regularly, repeat fewer grades, are less likely to drop out and therefore stay in school longer, and achieve higher standards of educational performance than boys. In the adult population more women are literate than men. Girls are more highly represented in those sections of the secondary and tertiary levels of the education system which enhance the prospects of upward social mobility. In a real sense girls and women constitute the first sex in Caribbean education.

In democracy "Athenian style" the sovereign authority lay with the people. This paper argues that genuine educational democratization may need such a framework. The arguments are presented in three parts. Part I examines the traditional conceptualization and its inherent weaknesses. Part 2 focuses on factors which I think should influence any reconceptualization. Part 3 outlines some principles of educational democratization to meet the goals of relevance for the 21st century: better value for money; internal consistency; and diffuse, open, and planned decision making.