Bethlene Ferdinand, M.Ed is a Research Assistant in the Caribbean Educational Research Centre at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill. She is Vincentian and holds a BA in Linguistics, a Postgraduate Diploma in the Teaching of English (Secondary) and an M.Ed where she specialized in Educational Leadership from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill. Bethlene has worked for eight years as a secondary school Educator and was the Head of the Modern Languages Department of a secondary school in St. Vincent and the Grenadines for six of those years before joining the team at the Caribbean Educational Research Centre. Bethlene aspires to complete a PhD in the field of Education Policy and the characteristics surrounding teaching and learning in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Caribbean.
Session Descriptions
School climate is an important construct in educational research in the Caribbean countries. Due to lack of a school climate scale developed for the population of students in the Caribbean countries, a scale developed in the western contexts is adopted. However, because of differences in cultures, languages and educational systems, to name a few, a scale developed for the US student population may not be relevant in the Caribbean countries. In this study, we examine the psychometrics of the Elementary School Climate Assessment Instrument – Student (SCAI-E-S, version 3.1; the Alliance for the Study of School Climate, California State University, Los Angeles) for its use in primary and secondary schools in five Caribbean countries.
The session will explore the concept of wellbeing and its western expression as characterized by individualism and self-expression, which can be contrary to the cultural values of community and interdependence within the Caribbean. A review of wellbeing framed within the Caribbean environment will further be explored and an ensuing discussion on the preliminary literature review findings regarding the importance of wellbeing and its significance in the classroom educational context.