Supporting the Reform of Secondary Education (ROSE)

• Evaluation of the Implementation of the ROSE Curriculum in a Sample of Grade Classrooms
• Jamaican ROSE Students’ Perceptions of Selected Psychological Aspects of Their Science Practical Activities
• Curriculum Change and Development
• Study of the Implementation of Resource and Technology
• Factors Affecting the Response of Jamaican High School Students to the NCTVET Non-modular Examinations
• Caribbean Examinations
  Council
• Developing, Piloting, and Implementing a CXC Examination in Music (Longitudinal Study)
• Supporting the Development of Teacher Education.
• An Investigation into the Cognitive Abilities and Personality Characteristics of Students in the Teachers’ Colleges
• The Early Musical Education and Field Experiences of Jamaican Student Teachers
• College Students’ Metacomprehension Strategy Awareness and Performance in Reading Comprehension
• The Effects of Additional Practice on Learning to Teach Physical Education
• Preservice Teachers’ Metacomprehension Strategy Awareness and Teaching Performance
• UNESCO International Network: Reorienting Teacher Education to Address Sustainability
• Jamaica Primary Education Support Project (JA-0059)—Teacher Preparation and Professional Development Quality Sub-component
• A Study of the Development of New Teacher Educators
  

Publications

Evaluation of the Implementation of the ROSE Curriculum in a Sample of Grade 8 Classrooms

Researchers Dr. Monica Brown and Dr. Winnifred Hall
Sponsor/Cooperating Agency World Bank and Government of Jamaica
Period 1998

Project Description

The primary objective of the Reform of Secondary Education (ROSE) programme was to provide a common curriculum for the lower secondary grades. Several research projects were carried out as part of the main project. This research project was to discover how grade 8 teachers were interacting with the ROSE curriculum from two perspectives: their perceptions of different aspects of the curriculum and how they use it in classrooms; and grade 8 students’ perceptions of the value of the curriculum.

The sample consisted of 69 grade 8 teachers and 349 students from 21 junior high schools in 14 parishes in Jamaica. The measures used were teachers’ and students’ questionnaires, and a teachers’ observation schedule. Teachers were observed while they taught science, language, mathematics, and social studies lessons. A total of 58 lessons was observed.

Findings

• Great congruence between the philosophy underlying the ROSE programme and the personal professional beliefs stated by the teachers
• Overwhelming approval for the curriculum, particularly its user-friendliness, usefulness, and appropriateness
• Appropriate teacher behaviours in getting children ready to learn, engaging them in learning activities, and assessing their understanding

· Limited multilevel teaching

The data also pointed to ambivalence between what teachers said about the programme and what they did in the classroom. For example, most of the strategies/methods observed in the teaching/ learning activity were traditional, yet teachers gave high ratings to the effectiveness of nontraditional methods. For their part, students reported that they found the ROSE programme useful in developing knowledge, skills, and attitudes and values.

Outcome

Report

Brown, Monica, and Winnifred Hall. 1998. Evaluation of the implementation of the ROSE curriculum in a sample of grade 8 classrooms. Kingston, Jamaica: Joint Board of Teacher Education, UWI, Mona.