Notes on Contributors

Abstract

Charmaine Christopher is the Deputy Chief Education Officer – Early Childhood, attached to the Ministry of Education, Grenada. She has 27 years’ experience as an early childhood educator. Dr. Christopher’s research interests are in the areas of Early Literacy Development, Reading Comprehension and Early Childhood Education.

Freddy James is the Deputy Dean Graduate Studies and Research in the Faculty of Humanities and Education, and Senior Lecturer of Educational Leadership at the School of Education at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. She is a University of Warwick Postgraduate Research Fellowship Scholar. She is focused on embedding innovation and entrepreneurship into the teaching and learning process. She is Vice-Chairman of the CARICOM team responsible for developing and implementing standards for school leaders and teachers. She is also the President and Founder of the Caribbean Visionary Educators Foundation, which empowers educators to create, curate and circulate indigenous Caribbean focused educational content.

Georgette Medford is an educator with over 20 years’ experience. She is also, currently an MPhil student.  As part of the secondary school system, she has been an advocate for educational research and is passionate about using her experience, skills, qualifications, and training to assist in school improvement and development. As an Administrator and part of the Middle Management Team at her school, she is instrumental in providing support, leadership and guidance to administration, colleagues, and subordinates.

Iris Hewitt-Bradshaw is an Assistant Professor in Language, Literature and Linguistics at the University of Trinidad and Tobago. She holds a B.A. in Language, Literature and Linguistics, an M.Phil., and a Ph.D. in Language Education (UWI), a post-graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching (Higher Education) (Anglia Ruskin), and Diplomas in International Relations and Education (UWI). She has been a teacher educator for 25 years.  Her areas of research are issues in language education and teacher education.

Janice E. Jules is a Lecturer and Coordinator in Linguistics, in the Department of Language, Linguistics and Literature at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. She received her BA in Linguistics and PhD in Applied Linguistic from that institution. Her research interests are innovations in language teaching, strategies, and methods in Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) and Foreign Language (EFL). An emerging area of interest for her is attitudes towards non-standard languages and the implementation of home language methods and home language awareness in English Language teaching in the Anglophone Caribbean.

Jerome De Lisle is Professor of Educational Leadership at the School of Education, The University of the West indies, St. Augustine, and Chair of the Campus Research Ethics Committee. His current research centers on measuring and intervening for system level educational equity. His research has been published in top international journals in education and includes exploration of key policy issues such as leading high poverty schools in Trinidad and Tobago, marginalisation of poor students in schooling, gendered schooling outcomes in the Caribbean, and the validity and impact of early selection and placement systems in the region.

Paul Balwant is a Senior Lecturer and Deputy Dean (Planning and Programming) in the Faculty of Social Sciences at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. He is also a member of Trinidad and Tobago’s Industrial Relations Advisory Committee. Paul lectures in the areas of organizational behavior and leadership and has supervised numerous master’s and doctoral students. Paul holds a Ph.D. in Management from The University of Sheffield, is a Certified Management and Business Educator, and has been the recipient of prestigious scholarships as well as research and teaching awards. Paul has published journal articles on leadership, engagement, and harassment.

Rhoda Mohammed is a Curriculum Officer with the Ministry of Education, Trinidad and Tobago. She has also lectured at the School of Education, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine in the Bachelors and Masters in Education programmes. Dr. Mohammed has extensive experience as a primary school teacher and in the development and implementation of the processes associated with the transition from the primary to the secondary level of education in Trinidad and Tobago. Her research interests are in the areas of assessment, Data Driven Decision Making (DDDM), Schools Facing Exceptionally Challenging Circumstances (SFECC) and system reform.

Rinnelle Lee-Piggott, PhD (University of Nottingham, UK), is a Programme Coordinator for the PG Diploma in Education and Lecturer in Educational Administration at the School of Education, The University of the West Indies (St Augustine). A former primary school middle-management leader, Dr. Lee-Piggott is also a HE quality assurance external evaluator, feature speaker, consultant, and an Associate Editor for ‘Equity in Education and Society’ journal. Her research interests focus on principal leadership, social justice leadership, education privatization, school culture and school and system improvement. Her most recent publication is “Time to turn the tide: Privatization trends in education in the Caribbean” (2022).

Roland Birbal is an Assistant Professor in Educational Technology and Instructional Design at the University of Trinidad and Tobago. He holds a BSc. in Computer Science and Mathematics, post-graduate Diplomas in Educational Technology and Education (Mathematics) (UWI), a Certificate in Technology Integration (Thompson Rivers University), MEd. and EdD. (University of Sheffield). He has been a teacher educator for over 20 years. His main research areas are online and blended learning and the use of learning management systems in education.

Sandra Robinson is currently a lecturer in English and Language Arts Education in the School of Education at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill. She has worked at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels in the areas of English Education, Language Arts and Literacy. She coordinates the Literacy/Language Arts and English programmes across the Divisions of Teacher Education in the OECS within the Eastern Caribbean Joint Board of Teacher Education (ECJBTE). Her technical expertise, in which she also facilities professional development activities, focuses on the preparation and education of teachers and teacher educators, instructional leadership and inquiry-based teaching, particularly in English Language Arts.

Tyrone Ali is a Lecturer and Researcher with the Academic Literacies Programme at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. He was the 1993 Recipient of the President’s Gold Medal for Teacher Education in The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.  His research and publication interests include, Literacy Studies, Tertiary Level Writing by Caribbean students, Literatures in English, and Masculinity Studies of the Global South.

Vimala Judy Kamalodeen (1965 - 2022) was a long-standing educator at the secondary level in Mathematics and Information Technology and the Curriculum Development Division of the Ministry of Education. In 2004 she was the team leader for the Trinidad and Tobago Mathematics Curriculum forms 4-5. She conducted numerous workshops for the Ministry of Education and the UWI in technological pedagogical content knowledge-her area of interest. Before her untimely passing, she held the position of Lecturer in Education (Mathematics/ Information Technology) at the School of Education, University of the West Indies at St. Augustine and was team leader for the game-based learning research project in primary schools.