The Education System of Trinidad and Tobago: Overview and Foundations

Abstract

The postemancipation period marks the start of formal attempts to develop the education sector of Trinidad and Tobago. Over the decades that followed and with the changing political, social, and economic landscapes, the education system has experienced many changes, with specific advances in terms of curricula reform, consolidation, and coordination of the sector, and with increasing access/participation for diverse groups of citizens and across many levels of the education system. This is certainly evident in the increasing expansion of schools, curricula as well as continuous introduction and expansion of emerging areas such as information, communication, and technology (ICT) and STEM education. Despite these advances within education provisions and infrastructures, deep-seated issues of inequality and inequities remain pervasive challenges that continue to weigh on progress of this sector. The chapter presents therefore an overview of these advances with a substantive discussion on these challenges across specific levels and timelines.