Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) is a twin-island Republic located at the southernmost end of the chain of Caribbean islands. Since 1962, these former British colonies have had a democratically elected central government located in Trinidad. While the central government is responsible for the administration of both islands, there are some aspects of the governance of Tobago (the smaller of the two islands) for which another body, the Tobago House of Assembly, (THA) has some responsibility. Education is an area where THA has some responsibility even though the Ministry of Education of the central government handles overall policy decisions. The education system in T&T spans the range from early childhood care and education to the tertiary education level. This paper focuses on curriculum review at the primary school level. It examines the interplay among the various agencies that comprise the education governing body in T&T with respect to curriculum matters, and uses this platform to explore how these agencies functioned to engender curriculum renewal for educational equity. The research sought to generate new understandings of the interplay among these agencies as they functioned to engender educational change and innovation in relation to the primary schools’ curriculum. Ultimately the intention is to understand how this interplay creates turbulence with respect to primary level curriculum change and innovation and the impact (if any) of that turbulence on efforts to address issues of inequity and renewal at schools in the nation. The data were read through Turbulence Theory (Gross, 2014), which allows for categorizing the impact of the interplay among the various agencies from “light” to “extreme”. A qualitative case study strategy was employed (Yin 2012) with interviews and focus groups from various individuals and groups involved in the primary curriculum review exercise. The research followed the ethical code of conduct of the University of the West Indies. To address the aims we asked the following research questions. Firstly, what are the channels for interaction among the main governing agencies responsible for curriculum development/renewal in Trinidad and in Tobago? Secondly, what was the interaction/negotiation among these agencies like during the 2013 primary school curriculum review process? Thirdly, what factors facilitated/hindered the process? Fourthly, what were the levels of turbulence? Finally, how (if at all) was the quest to produce a primary curriculum that addresses issues of inequity and inequality impacted by the quality of the interplay among the various agencies?

Gross, S.J. (2014) Using turbulence theory to guide actions. In Branson, C.M., Gross, S.J. (Eds.) Handbook on Ethical Educational Leadership. New York: Routledge. Pp. 246-262. Yin, R. (2012) Applications of Case Study Research. London: Sage.