Refiguring a Caribbean school within and across local and global communities

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the case of a school on the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten that was created to serve students who had experienced educational and other injustices in the broader society. Design/methodology/approach Using qualitative methods, the paper explores two research questions: how did Triumph Multiage School (TMS) conceptualize community and the goals of education, and how did these perspectives reflect or diverge from those of the local, national, and global educational communities to which TMS was connected? What was the nature of curriculum knowledge at TMS, and what points of alignment and difference existed among TMS’ curriculum knowledge and those of its local, national, and global educational communities? Findings Analysis found points of symmetry and disjunctures among TMS’ conceptualization of community, purposes of education, and curriculum and those of the local, national, and global educational communities to which it was connected. However the strength of ideological and sociopolitical boundaries separating TMS and its local and national communities constrained opportunities for building professional community and curriculum knowledge across them. Originality/value The paper contributes to research on the creation of new schools and teacher professional communities by demonstrating the need to expand the construct of community to include local and trans-global dimensions. Such a reconceptualization of community is essential for building professional capital and community that will equip schools and teachers to meet the social and educational needs of student populations in a globalized world.