My main aim in this thesis is to apply philosophical analysis to some of the central social and educational questions which were raised by the emergence of the Jamaican variant of democratic socialism, and by the attempt which was made at devising an educational policy as part of its strategy of social reform. I offer an account of the concept of ideology and then use it to give accounts of the idea of democratic socialism, and of the Jamaican variant of democratic socialism. I then bring this conception of ideology to bear on the description and discussion of three of the problems in Jamaican society which the democratic socialists addressed, and on my examination of the related problems of formulating educational policy aimed at their solution. First, I examine the problem of negative attitudes to work in Jamaican society, and the view that the solution is to be found in a socialist ideology of work, and in educational policies based on this ideology. A distinction between Labour and Work is introduced and used to interpret aspects of Jamaican social and historical experience. I argue that this distinction is a suitable basis for educational policy. Second, I examine the problem of bringing educational arrangements to bear on the pursuit of egalitarian ideals. I deny the view that egalitarianism requires a unitary school system, and I argue that a mixed school system is compatible with the pursuit of egalitarian as well as important non-egalitarian objectives. Third, I examine the problem of political development in Jamaica, and the view that in order to aid its development, political education should be made a part of schooling. The notion of political education is analysed. I also examine some of the arguments which might be brought to bear on the issue of political education in schools. I argue that formal political education is justified in the Jamaican context, and that a politically aware liberal arts curriculum is the approach to political education which is most likely to enrich the political life of a developing society. / Arts, Faculty of / Philosophy, Department of / Graduate

An assessment of the knowledge and the behaviors associated with sustainable development was conducted to determine the effect of adult education on sustainable development in Jamaica. The discourse for leadership commitment and governance, as well as continuous learning has its tenets in the discovery that the programs do not significantly address sustainable development (SD). While knowledge was significantly addressed, the programs failed to motivate useful action. The study has provided an explanation of the barriers, costs, and limits to sustainability so that program planners can devise transfer of learning strategies that foster adaptation and mitigation. The investigation involved 35 adult educators and 84 trainees from four programs of the premier adult and continuing learning facility in Jamaica. Both groups agreed that the programs addressed the knowledge, but not the behaviors associated with SD, despite the fact that all three dimensions of SD were addressed in an almost equitable manner. The requirements for achieving SD were met by 7% of the respondents, while the percentage of respondents that achieved environmental sustainability, economic sustainability, and social responsibility was 15%, 16%, and 13%, respectively. The six measures correlated highly with the SD variable and were significant. However, there were no significant differences across the groups. Instructors and trainees agreed that knowing about the concerns of SD had not changed their thinking and behavior. On average, the principles of sustainability were not applied. Although hospitality programs were more effective than agriculture, construction and automotive programs in addressing the content on environmental sustainability, no program paid attention to transfer of learning. Cronbach's alpha for the survey instrument was .973. / Although instructors were applauded for identifying SD concerns with learners, the sample mean was 38.84% with a standard deviation of 12.24. In all three dimensions, the mean for knowledge exceeded 50%, but fell below 25% for behavioral outcomes. These results are not generalizable. They have implications for instructional leadership and for curriculum design and development across the Caribbean. Additional assessments of higher-level adult learners in the select facility and in other specialized training programs are needed for the validation of these findings. / by Pauline McLean. / Dissertation committee error findings noted in the margin. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.