Situating the education of African Trinidadians within the social and historical context of Trinidad and Tobago: Implications for social justice

Abstract

Today, almost a century after gaining access to the country’s most prestigious secondary schools, determining the academic achievement of African Trinidadian students remains a challenge as neither Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Education nor the Caribbean Examination Council, the regional agency responsible for administering standardized testing in the Caribbean, collect school data based on student ethnicity, race or socio-economic class. Public reporting is done at the aggregate student level and school reports for each examination subject are issued and are publicly available online. This article situates the education of African Trinidadians within the social and historical context of Trinidad and Tobago by first providing a brief overview of the history of education and cultural formation in the country since emancipation followed by a theoretical discussion which attempts to explain the educational achievement of African Trinidadians. A comparative look at the situation in Fiji and the way that affirmative action might address underachievement is also presented. The authors also call for the collection of empirical data on student ethnicity and socio-economic class in order to determine and address any educational disparities that may exist.