STEM Education in the Caribbean: Challenges, Goals, and Possibilities

Abstract

In their seminal Caribbean Education Strategy Report, Jules, Miller, and Armstrong (2000) argued that in order to meet the developmental objectives of an internationally competitive labour force by the year 2020, the Caribbean region would need to be able to demonstrate “a 30% increase in persons with qualifications in science and technology at the postsecondary level” (p. xviii). These authors also noted their concern that “the region as a whole lags far behind in science and technology, and a more concerted effort is needed to bridge that gulf” (p. 27). Responding to similar concerns, the Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies indicated that by the year 2020, the institution should be training at least 50% of its students in science-technology-engineering-mathematics (STEM) and STEM-related disciplines to meet science and technology infrastructure needs in the Caribbean (Jaipaul-O’Garro, 2016).