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As a developing nation, Jamaica continues to experience economic challenges that have far-reaching implications for all sectors of the society. Education For All (EFA) is a concept that Jamaica has tried to embrace for more than two decades. One of the nation's goals for the 21st century is to raise the quality of education for all its citizens, thus equipping them to be productive contributors to societal growth. Recently, Jamaica turned its attention to information technology (IT), with particular attention to the education sector, because it saw its introduction as a proverbial “Black Starliner;” a means by which the country’s economic prospects could be changed. In the early 1990s, the Jamaica Computer Society Education Foundation (JCSEF) launched an initiative to facilitate the establishment of computer laboratories in secondary schools. These laboratories were to be used to train students to use computers in the workplace, and to prepare them to sit external examinations that were internationally accredited. As a result of this initiative, 90% of the island’s secondary schools were equipped with computer laboratories which facilitated students doing the Caribbean Examinations Council’s (CXC) IT examination. The impact of this project enabled the focus on computerisation to be expanded to include primary schools, enabling them to be equipped with computers and to have their teachers trained to use them to aid learning.

This monograph describes the initiatives that enabled the introduction of computers in Jamaican primary and secondary schools. It also describes the student performance on the CXC IT examination over a period of six years. The results show that each year more candidates were entered for the Technical Proficiency level than for the General Proficiency level of the examination. It further shows that student performance at the General Proficiency level steadily improved over the six years, while it fluctuated at the Technical Proficiency level. It highlights the fact that the performance of Jamaican candidates improved significantly in the year CXC instituted the six-point grading system. However, most of the passes were below the Grade I level. The data suggest that there may be deficiencies in the education system that caused IT teachers to show a preference for teaching the Technical Proficiency syllabus. The implications for this occurrence as it relates to tertiary level training in computer science are discussed.

Teachers should be aware that although there are many different perspectives on ADHD, there is ample scientific evidence affirming its existence and its detrimental impact on individuals. Classroom practices can make a difference for children with ADHD.

This study involved a longitudinal analysis of academic skills and problem behavior through elementary school. The purposes of the study were (a) to explore the interactions between reading skills and problem behavior, and (b) to determine the value of regular screening assessments in predicting which students would not respond to school-wide behavior support in fifth grade. The participants were elementary school students who entered kindergarten in 1998 and completed fifth grade in a school district with school-wide reading and behavior support systems. Analyses consisted of logistic regressions to predict the number of discipline contacts in fifth grade. Results indicated that both reading and behavior variables (including kindergarten reading variables) significantly
predicted the number of discipline referrals received in fifth grade. Results are discussed in terms of determining pathways to problem behavior and implications for a combined approach to academic and behavior problems.

The Ministry of Education has taken a policy position to end the use of corporal punishment of all forms in schools. In support of this decision, and given the culturally embedded nature of corporal punishment in our society and schools, the Ministry is supporting the abolition of corporal punishment by providing information and training to guide school personnel on alternatives to corporal punishment.

It is against this background that this resource guide to support positive discipline in Jamaica’s schools is being produced. Its purpose is to provide easy access to information for school personnel, especially teachers, and Ministry of Education officials to support them in using alternatives to corporal punishment.The document should therefore serve as a guide to help create and maintain environments that support positive discipline in schools.