ABSTRACT The goal of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of the perception that exists for fourteen Jamaican instructional leaders as they integrate Tablet Computers (TCs) into the pedagogical process to prepare grade four students for the Grade Four Literacy Test (G4LT). The research was conducted in four schools; three rural primary schools in the parishes of Trelawny, Manchester and St Elizabeth and an urban primary school in Kingston. The focal group comprised four principals, three vice principals, three grade four coordinators and four grade four teachers from the scope of schools that were piloting the Tablet in School (TIS) initiative. Structured interviews and observation were used as data sources. Findings from the data revealed that the instructional leaders, while receptive to the initiative of utilizing the TCs in the pedagogical process, were unable to speak to how effective its usage was in preparing students for the G4LT. Furthermore, although the devices were somewhat facilitated in the teaching and learning process, the majority of instructional leaders did not use them to teach the components of the examination. Finally, results suggested that the usage of the TC as an instructional tool had encouraged more favourable responses from students in the classroom learning environment. As the first study to investigate the integration of TC to teach literacy in the Jamaican Primary Classroom, the current study provided novel insights and a springboard for more qualitative investigations into this particular phenomenon. It is also anticipated that the emerging data will influence and inform decision making within the Ministry of Education (MoE). / Educational Leadership

This qualitative study sought to gain deeper insights into how English Language Heads of Department (H.O.D.) perceive their roles in teacher development and efficacy, what leadership style inform their role enactment and the different skill sets and beliefs they take to their H.O.D. roles. The population was limited to selected schools in central Jamaica with a sample size of eight Heads of Departments in upgraded and traditional high schools. The motivation to conduct this research arose out of the concerns about Jamaica’s poor ratings in CXC English Language passes and my perception that insights into how H.O.D.s perceived their roles could possibly generate a solution to enable them to facilitate teaching learning experiences that could redound to improved CXC English Language results. Extensive case-based interviews, ranking activity and stimulated recall of artefacts were my primary sources of data, and I used open coding axial coding systems to analyze my data. Presently H.O.D.s engage in more traditional roles align them to a transactional approach as their leadership style. However, the changing roles of the H.O.D.s demand a more transformational leadership style. The findings suggest that some H.O.D.s’ approach is transformational, some transactional, while others display no distinct leadership style. Some play an excellent role in teacher development and efficacy, others play very little or no role. H.O.D.s perception of their role conflict with how they enact these roles and what they believe about them. The conclusion is that i H.O.D.s need a comprehensive system of training in their H.O.D.s specific roles and to help them develop and utilize more transformational leadership skills for use with their departments. Keywords: transformational and transactional leadership, heads of department/department chairs, Jamaican education / Teaching & Learning

Racial tensions in UK escalating to violent conflicts from early 50ʼs on, led to series of changes in British legislation. Migration was systematically restricted, and regulations of entry were becoming much more severe. Discrimination of Caribbean and Asian immigrants in labor market, housing and education was extensive. Every attempt to address racial discrimination on the level of legislation was inefficient and hardly enforceable. Case study presented is situated in this social-political context. It is focused on second generation of afro-Caribbean minority in 70ʼs and its reaction to expulsion from British society, denying British identity and its fight against oppression through music and especially through language used itself. Jamaican Creole and in British, most notably in London surroundings, on Creole based system of adaptations called London Jamaican became significant feature of ethnic identification of afro-Caribbean (black) adolescents. This feature was used in conversations almost always through phenomenon of code-switching, where Creole features used were linked to attempt to define the speaker against dominant white society and oppressive system. Using of the features was often purposeful, because second generation of migrants was fully competent in using standard British English....

This case study explored students’ perception about their performance in CSEC English A at three evening schools in Savanna La Mar. While conducting the research I used ethnographic methods, including interviews, observations and document analysis to better understand students’ perceptions of their performance in CSEC English A. The central questions which guided the research are “how do students at three evening schools in Savanna La Mar perceive their performance in CSEC English A and what factors affect those perceptions, and what strategies do students think can improve their performance in English?” Creswell’s (2008) steps for analyzing qualitative data were used to explore the central research questions. The discussion sought to highlight how students perceived their academic performance in CSEC English A and what attributed for these perceptions. These views were examined using four themes: student factors that influence student learning outcome, influence of Jamaican Creole (JC) on learning Standard Jamaican English (SJE), teacher traits that influence learning and structure and operations of the evening schools. The Attribution and Expectancy Value Theories were used to make meaning of the data. The findings revealed that most of the students exhibited high self-concept and expressed that they would be successful in the upcoming CSEC English A Examination despite previous challenges they experienced with SJE. They attributed this success to the strategies they were using and the encouragement and positive feedback they got from their teachers. However, some students cited several factors which have negatively affected their performance such as the predominant use of JC in the home, school and community. Although the research was a multiple site study, it was limited to one geographical location which delimited the generalizability of the study. However, the insights gained can contribute to and fill gaps in the literature and also enlighten educators and other stakeholders of students’ perception about their performance in CSEC English A. / Educational Leadership

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 218-222).

Parent-teen sex conversations reduce Black adolescents’ HIV/STI risk. Nationally, most studies about Black teens’ sexual risk behaviors omit Afro-Caribbean groups whom are disproportionately burdened by HIV/STIs. Therefore, this exploratory study guided by the PEN-3 model (a) characterized the nature, perceptions, enablers, and nurturers of sexuality conversations between Haitian and Jamaican parents and adolescents and (b) explained the relationship between sexuality conversations and adolescent sexual activity. Using narrative inquiry, 6 Haitian and 8 Jamaican mother-teen dyads’ and triads’ (N=31) experiences were used to characterize the nature, perceptions, enablers, and nurturers of parent-teen sex conversations. Thematic content analysis generated common themes. In phase two, Black adolescents (African American, Haitian, and Jamaican) N=157, completed a validated 52-item questionnaire. Scales included ASAI; measuring recent pre-coital and coital activities; FSCQ measuring families’ orientation towards sex-conversations, and PTSRC-III measuring sexual topics discussed with each parent. Linear and logistic regression determined the relationship between parent-teen sex conversations and teens’ sexual activity. Mothers’ mean age was (41.85±5.50) and teens’ mean age was (16±1.31). Qualitative findings suggest that Afro-Caribbean mothers’ limited childhood and adolescent sex conversations and outcomes of those interactions shaped mothers’ existing attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors about sexual topics, and hindered their ability to discuss sex with their teens. Dyads believed modifying parents’ approach, improving parents’ sexual health knowledge, and increasing families’ comfort with sex- conversations would improve sexual discussions. Survey participants’ mean age was (16±1.49) and mean age of penile-vaginal/anal sexual debut was (14.95±1.71). Twenty percent of sexually active teens had their first parent-teen sex conversation after penile-vaginal/anal sexual debut, p=.01, and 27% after penile-oral/vaginal-oral sexual debut, p=.001. Haitians had lower comfort with family-sex conversations than African Americans, p=.03 and Jamaicans, p=.004. African American teens’ higher comfort for family-sex conversations was predictive of delayed penile-vaginal/anal sexual debut, p=.009 and virginity, OR=1.5, 95% CI [1.154, 1.866]. Teens who never spoke to their fathers about protection from HIV/STI were four times more likely OR= 4.41, 95% CI [1.466, 13.30] to not use condoms. In summary, culturally-responsive, family focused interventions are needed to equip Afro-Caribbean parents for sex conversations with their teens in order to reduce teens’ sexual risk.

A majority of students at the local University College of Science and Education (UCSE, pseudonym) in Jamaica do not have the conceptual understanding of mathematical principles to function in a competitive and highly globalized marketplace. In 2013 and 2014, 88% and 92% of freshmen education students scored at the lowest 2 levels on the Mathematics Diagnostic Test (MDT). The instructional language at UCSE is Standard English (SE) whereas most students speak Jamaican dialect (JD). The purpose of this study was to determine the effect that the language of instruction has on student achievement in math as measured by the MDT. Guided by Vygotsky's social development theory, the research questions focused on comparing MDT change scores between students who were taught using JD and those using SE as the instructional language. The quasi-experimental design used ex post facto data including pretest and posttest MDT scores from 40 freshmen of whom 20 were instructed in JD and 20 in SE. The results of an independent sample t test showed that the difference in the MDT change score was significant. The JD students had a higher improvement score. Consequently, it is recommended that math instructors use JD to instruct freshmen education students whose native language is JD. A professional development session for math teachers was created that demonstrates how to teach in JD while simultaneously scaffolding the instruction in a way that students can learn SE and be prepared for the following year at UCSE. If students understand the math concepts in their freshman year, they are more likely to continue their college education and to become productive members of Jamaica's economy which is dependent on employees that are proficient in math.

This descriptive research paper looks at English teaching in Jamaica, and examines what perceptions upper secondary school teachers have of the teaching mission, the teacher role and the responsibility that comes with the teacher profession. The paper also examines the teachers’ attitudes towards Jamaican Creole and Standard Jamaican English and the relation between these two languages. The paper discusses inequality connected to language diversity in Jamaica and aims to explore attitudes, language ideologies and educational policies, in relation to English teaching in a Jamaican Creole speaking classroom.The study was carried out with a qualitative approach where semi-structured interviews were conducted with five teachers at three public upper secondary schools in Jamaica. The collected data was analyzed with an explorative approach.The main conclusion drawn from this study is that English teaching in a Jamaican Creole speaking classroom is affected by a number of factors. Firstly, the teachers expressed an ambivalence opinion about what language is or should be the first and second language. Secondly, teaching English in Jamaica is difficult due to the absence of a standardized written form of the students’ vernacular. Lastly, the teacher role is not limited to teach a first or second language, the teachers’ role is extended to include a great responsibility for the students’ future life

Opposed to the repressive socio-economic political climate that resulted in the impoverishment of masses of Jamaicans, the Jamaican Rastafarians developed a language to resist societal oppression. This study examines that language--Dread Talk--as resistive language. Having determined that the other variations spoken in their community--Standard Jamaican English and Jamaican Creole--were inadequate to express their dispossessed circumstances, the Rastafarians forged an identity through their language that represents a resistant philosophy, music and religion. This resistance not only articulates their socio-political state, but also commands global attention. This study scrutinizes the lexical, phonological, and syntactical structures of the poetic music discourse of Dread Talk, the conscious deliberate fashioning of a language that purposefully expresses resistance to the political and social ideology of their native land, Jamaica.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-19T12:56:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Joao Reis Salgado Costa Sobrinho.pdf: 6509513 bytes, checksum: 84a1d776e834645d488bd62d78d1a5c0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-01-17 / The Pimenta dioica Lindl, popularly known as Jamaican pepper, is a native tree from Central America and West India. The tree is a member of Mirtaceae family, can reach 6-15 meters and is found in large scale in Bahia state, northeast of Brazil. Its fruit has an essential oil with great economic value in international market, due its high eugenol level (major compound), which is largely used in chemical and pharmaceutical industries. In this work, it was extracted the essential oil from the leaves of Pimenta dioica Lindl by hydrodestilation process, using a Clevenger's modified system. Some physical properties were determined, like density constancy, refraction index, solubility, color and appearance. Ultra Violet Spectroscopy, FTIR and Mass Spectroscopy were used to identify the major components and these techniques confirmed the eugenol as main compound of Pimenta dioica Lindl. Through the method of external standard using CG, it was possible to quantify the eugenol in the oil. The concentration found was 74% and was confirmed by UV Spectroscopy with similar results. The application of the essential oil from Pimenta dioica Lindl and standard eugenol as bactericide agent as done by Bauer-Kirby method in Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp., Pseudomonas sp. and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The antibiotics cefotaxima, sulfazotrim, oxacilina and vancomicina were applied as comparison group. The essential oil showed more effectiveness than all antibiotics tested for the microorganism V. parahaemolyticus. For Escherichia coli the oil wasn't so effective than sulfazotrim, but better than the others. The oil was less efficient than sulfazotrin and cefotaxima for the Salmonella sp. and Pseudomonas sp. respectively. In the comparison with all others antibiotics the essential oil showed better results. The eugenol component showed to be the main responsible for the biological action against these microorganisms. / A Pimenta dioica Lindl, conhecida popularmente como pimenta da jamaica, é uma árvore de 6 a 15 m de altura, que pertence à família das Mirtaceae e tem como origem a América Central e oeste da Índia. No Brasil, a planta é encontrada em larga escala no Estado da Bahia. Seu fruto e folhas contêm um óleo essencial de grande valor econômico no mercado internacional, devido ao alto teor de eugenol (seu composto majoritário) que é largamente utilizado nas indústrias químicas e farmacêuticas. Neste trabalho, promoveu-se a extração do óleo essencial das folhas da Pimenta dioica Lindl através do método de hidrodestilação, utilizando um sistema de Clevenger modificado. Algumas propriedades físicas foram avaliadas, como as constantes de densidade, índice de refração, solubilidade, cor e aparência. Através de técnicas espectrofotométricas de UV, espectrofotométricas de IV, cromatografia gasosa e espectrometria de massas foi possível identificar o eugenol como constituinte majoritário do óleo essencial das folhas da Pimenta dioica Lindl. Através do método de padrão externo usando a cromatografia gasosa foi possível quantificar o eugenol no óleo em uma concentração de 74%, concentração essa, confirmada pela técnica de espectrofotometria UV. Realizou-se também um estudo biológico através do método de Bauer-Kirby da ação do óleo essencial sobre as bactérias Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp., Pseudomonas sp. e Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Os antibióticos cefotaxima, sulfazotrim, oxacilina e vancomicina também foram testados sobre as mesmas bactérias para efeito de comparação. O óleo essencial se mostrou mais eficiente do que todos os antibióticos sobre a bactéria V. parahaemolyticus. Sobre a Escherichia coli o óleo foi menos efetivo que o sulfazotrim, mas melhor do que os outros antibióticos. Para a Salmonella e Pseudomonas sp. o óleo foi menos efetivo que o sulfazotrim e a cefotaxima, respectivamente. Na comparação com todos os outros antibióticos o óleo essencial mostrou melhores resultados. O eugenol se mostrou ser o principal responsável por esta atividade biológica sobre estes organismos.