In Jamaican Schools

First published titled Partnership for Computer-Assisted Instruction in Jamaican Schools. (1997). In Paths of Change: Reforms Under Way in Latin America and the Caribbean. Editors Benjamin H. Alvarez and Monica Ruiz-Casares. Abel 2 Project. Academy for Educational Development. Washington D. C. Pp 77-106. Reprinted in Caribbean Journal of Education Volume 26 Numbers 1 and 2 April/September 2006 Pp 120-161

Partnership for Computer Assisted Instruction

The paper is a case study of about bottom-up education reform with respect to the introduction of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in primary and secondary schools in Jamaica in the late 1980s and 1990s in circumstances in which governments and international development agencies placed a low priority on CAI in developing countries. The case study is done employing interviews with critical actors, focus group discussions with teachers and students, visits to educational institutions and a review of relevant documents. Part 1 of the study outlines the conceptual framework for understanding the reforms. Part 2 describes and discusses the actions and experience of the main actors. Part 3 discusses the case in relation to the conceptual framework previously outlines. The paper concludes with an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the case and the lessons learned and their implications.