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University of Sheffield 2013
Please note that we are no longer recruiting to the EdD Caribbean or the Masters (MEd) in Education, Globalization and Inclusion
University of Sheffield in the Caribbean: 20 years of collaboration
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The University of Sheffield's School of Education has been involved in continuing teacher personal and professional development in the Caribbean since 1987. The programme began in Trinidad and Tobago on the invitation of educators there who were keen on pursuing professional education in the area of special education. This initiative arose following the government-commissioned Marge Report (1984) which highlighted the need for professional development for teachers, to enable them to better address what was then identified as the educational requirements of children with a wide range of abilities.
In 1989, the University of Sheffield entered into a partnership with the teachers´ union and a community-based organisation concerned with special education in Trinidad and Tobago, to launch the Diploma in Special Education. This course is now not offered, however, it created the opportunity for master´s courses and doctorates to flourish.
In 1998 the first remote location doctorate of the University of Sheffield was launched in Trinidad. By this time, the expansion of the programme became a reality with the launch of the (Ministry of Education approved) Masters in Education Studies in St Lucia, with the EdD being added to the suite of courses in 2006. Sheffield University was invited by the International University of the Caribbean (IUC) in Jamaica to offer the MEd Studies and EdD in July 2006. In July 2008, the MA Working with Communities is being offered in St Lucia.
The Caribbean Programme plays an important role in relation to achieving the University´s objective and in its civic mission in respect of its international communities.
- Establishment of a sustained teacher development programme in the region (since 1989) with progression from post-graduate certificate to doctoral level.
- 318 educators have graduated from the courses and many of them have been influential in policy development at regional, national and institutional levels.
- Support for capacity building in educational research in the region through funded collaborative research projects and targeted research-based professional education.
- Development of successful partnerships and networks with policy-makers, practitioners and other key educational stakeholders in the region.
- Development of targeted curriculum material through collaboration with education stakeholders to ensure cultural relevance and the provision of local, regional and international perspectives.