RESEARCH & INNOVATION
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RISE for
Educational Research
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ducation researchers have initiated a project that is expected to revolutionise teaching in this region. Officials involved in the Research Initiative for Supporting Education in the Caribbean (RISE Caribbean) said it will immediately impact an estimated 1,500 leaders in education, 10,000 teachers, and 200,000 students in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean. The project, which is being coordinated by the School of Education in the Faculty of Humanities and Education, involves the re-establishment of a research facility within the faculty, with an expanded mandate to inform education planning, policies and practice in the Eastern Caribbean and Barbados. The new Caribbean Educational Research Centre replaces the Education Evaluation Centre that was dormant for over a decade and will operate from the historic Mutual Building in Bridgetown. Some US$3.6 million in funding is being provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with an additional US$3 million in support provided by The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. Another partner, the University of South Florida, is assisting with capacity building through mentorship and training. Personnel at the Eastern Caribbean Joint Board of Teacher Education will receive training in research that would result in them being part of research teams engaged across the subregion. During the launch of RISE Caribbean last 15 September, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Cave Hill Campus, Professor Clive Landis, commended co-authors of the project proposal who are: Director of the School of Education at Cave Hill, Professor S. Joel Warrican; his colleagues Dr. Coreen Leacock and Dr.
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Verna Knight; along with Associate Professor at the College of Education, University of South Florida, Dr. Patriann Smith. He added that the proposed areas of research were consistent with the UWI mission. “As a premier tertiary-level institution in the English-speaking Caribbean, The UWI is a key stakeholder that, through its research, is able to guide the development of education in this region. The acute need for such research was brought into sharp focus in 2020 with the arrival of the unwanted visitor, COVID-19.”
Professor S. Joel Warrican Director, School of Education, Cave Hill Campus
