Learner and Learning Environment Analysis

Course Title: The Principalship in the Global South

This part-time UWI, School of Education postgraduate course is a newly designed course to be

offered, when approved, as an elective course in the 2-year Masters in Education (MEd) programme

for student cohorts especially specializing in Educational Leadership.

General Characteristics of the 2017-2019 MEd (Leadership) Cohort

The 2017-2019 MEd (Leadership) cohort consists of 22 students of which two are males and

19 are females. The cohort consists of practicing school leaders, such as appointed school

principals, vice principals, or middle leaders, and aspirant school leaders. They come from schools

across Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), from both the primary and secondary levels of the education

system. Many selected the Leadership specialization of the MEd programme because of a desire to

equip themselves to improve their schools and T&Ts education system, which is a facilitating factor

for success in the Prinicpalship in the Global South course and the programme.

Entry Competencies

All participants of this MEd (Leadership) programme, and thus the course, come with a first

degree in school leadership/management or in education and have either formal or informal

experience in school leadership and management during their years experience in

schooling/teaching, which averages 20 years.

Participants computer and technological competencies are, on average, medium, which will

aid their successful completion of the course. Beyond basic computer skills, they can perform

internet searches using common search engines and browsers, as well as search scholarly

databases, such as EBSCOHost. They can also use teaching/learning platforms, such as

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Dr Rinnelle Lee-Piggott
Myelearning, and communication tools, such as skype and WhatsApp. Most are either unaware of or

unable to use technological tools, such as zoom, padlet, google docs or perform functions, such as

webpage development, which may be used in the course.

Learning Styles

Using David Kolbs (1984) experiential learning theory it was

found that most of the 22 course participants, (10), identified

their learning styles as Converging, i.e., having a preference

for thinking and doing when learning. Five course

participants prefer to learn by Assimilating (thinking and

watching), four by Diverging (feeling and watching) and three

have an Accommodating (feeling and doing) learning style.

Learning Environment

The learning environment for this course is a

classroom that seats 40 students (pictured left),

which is conducive to

a variety of teaching

methods and learning

activities. It
UWI, School of Education classroom
accommodates well

both whole-class and collaborative learning, movement, multimedia use,

internet access and displaying of students work. It also caters to

students comfort and use of personal technological devices. The

auditorium (pictured right) which is sometimes used, is less conducive in

UWI, School of Education
auditorium
many of these respects.
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Dr Rinnelle Lee-Piggott