St Joseph’s Convent, St Lucia

I graduated from the St. Joseph’s Convent in July 1979. I was one of the first students to write CXC/CSEC General English examination in 1979. It was a different experience for me because we prepared for Cambridge English examinations as well as CXC English. The two examinations were different so we had to approach the subjects differently. I remember the examination was a difficult one because we had to change the ‘normal’ way of doing things to cater for the ‘the new exams’. We were not very receptive students because we thought that it was extra work. CXC has evolved over the 30 years and the standard of the examination is reputable.

After my secondary educaton I became a trained Mathematics and Science Teacher. I worked as a primary school teacher for 14 years and a secondary teacher for eight years. I pursued a BSc in Psychology at the Univerisity of the West Indies, St. Augusitne. I was among the first students who graduated with a BSc in Psychology from the University of the West Indies. I was also among the first graduates of the Masters of Education offered by the University of Sheffield Caribbean programme in St. Lucia. Currently, I am on a Commonwealth Scholarship at the University of Otago, New Zealand. I have recently completed a PhD in Educational Psychology. I submitted my thesis and am awaiting the result. The focus of my PhD is learning and instruction in higher education. My research interests are assessment for learning in higher education, high-stakes testing, lifelong learning, the first year univerisity experience, and transition issues in higher education.

During my stay at the University of Otago, I had the opportunity to work as a research assistant at the Educational Assessment Research Unit (EARU). My tenure at the unit was valuable as I gained a working knowledge of assessment procedures under the guidance of Professors Terry Crooks and Jeffrey Smith.

I returned to St Lucia at the end of April 2009. After a short stint at the Ministry of Education, I was offered a position as a Lecturer at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus in Trinidad.