073x-115Y.7/84$3 00 + (1.W Pcrgamon Prc~r Ltd HOW TO IDENTIFY AND CLARIFY EDUCATIONAL TASKS IN THE CARIBBEAN: AN EXAMPLE WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES WARREN A. HODGE University of North Florida, College of Administration, Department of Education and Supervision, St. John’s Bluff Road. P.O. Box 17074, Jacksonville, FL 32216, USA Abstract - The study had five objectives: first. to determine what Virgin Islanders believe the tasks of their public schools are; second, to determine what Virgin Islanders believe the tasks of their public schools should be; third, to determine if the existing task of public education theory, as it is used in several countries, applies in whole or in part to a Caribbean society; fourth, to identify educational goals or tasks which may have relevance for the entire Caribbean region; and fifth, to demonstrate a research procedure for identifying and clarifying educational goals, objectives and tasks in West Indian countries. The significance of the study lies in the information it provides for (I) specifying educational goals, objectives. and tasks; (2) synchronizing perceptions and beliefs of educational tasks; (3) planning and formulating educational policy; and (4) evaluating education programs. The design of the study was developed around the task of public education theory developed by Downey. four research questions, and two hypotheses which interrelated the beliefs of the Virgin Islands Legislature, the Virgin Islands Board of Education, Department of Education, principals. teachers. students, and administrators and professors of the College of the Virgin Islands, Among other findings, the study revealed that (I) Virgin Islanders’ beliefs about educational tasks were not that different from beliefs other people hold about educational tasks; (2) the task of education is interpreted and applied in the Virgin Islands as it is in other countries; and (3) schools in the Virgin Islands do have a set of viable education goals and tasks which can focus curriculum development, instruction practices. and learning outcomes. INTRODUCTION Education is always in a state of flux. Changes in world values and socioeconomic pressures are demanding that educators rethink, refor- mulate, and rewrite educational philosophy, goals, and objectives (Adler, 1982; Hart, 1983). While in the late 1950s Sputnik was the incentive which influenced several Western countries to regard education as a primal and critical process. in the 1980s it is advances in Japanese and German technology that have placed educational reform in the forefront of major policy issues. Some countries are beginning to realize they are being outdis- tanced in the area of educational development and academic achievement (Husen, 1983). Recently in the United States several studies and reports critical of education have appeared. Studies conducted by the National Commission on Excellence in Education (Gardner et. al., 1983). the California Round Table, the Task Force of the Twentieth Century Fund, the National Task Force on Education for Economic Growth, and most recently, Goodlad (1983), all point to the dismal condition of education in the fifty states. All ostensibly effective reforms of yesteryear are now under scrutiny, including individual- ized instruction, back to basics, and compe- tency-based education. This scrutiny is uncovering more and more evidence which says schooling is in bad shape, needs reforma- tion, needs to become more accountable to its constituencies, and, importantly, needs to become more explicit in its purpose. Although the need for change and clarity of purpose exists on a national, indeed, on a global level, it is, however, individual school systems that must adapt to increasing demands for change (Coombs, 1982). In the process they must re-examine and if necessary redefine and restate educational goals so that relevant objectives can be developed and meaningful outcomes derived. In the Caribbean the need for change is also 231