In Sociology, education is described as the systematic transmission of its knowledge such

as norms, values, skills and culture. Education can be passed down either formally or informally.
Formal Education takes place in established institutions whether primary, secondary or tertiary.
Informal education takes place in an unstructured and unplanned way for example at home or in
friend groups.
Education in the Caribbean was started since the europeans settled in the Caribbean as
they brought African slaves in. Formal education was given exclusively to white people as
education the slave would lead to rebellion however some were taught by missionaries. In the
post emancipation era educational institutions were built but were very poor but even so
education was still valued in the Caribbean as in the 1900s more formal education was developed
by black leaders as they got into politics to fight for the right of education for slaves and it still
valued today.
New jobs associated with higher technology (higher entry levels). Due to the late start in
the development of formal education institutions in the Caribbean, its curriculum is not as
advanced as its larger counterparts thus its academic milestones such as degrees are sometimes
on a lower level than others and this results in lower chance of employment for those educated in
the Caribbean who go abroad for work. This also affects us when it comes to the advancement of
technology. Not many people in the Caribbean are technologically savvy and thus can not keep
up with other countries when it comes to accessing levels of education as well as lower quality
internet connections and networks causing trouble for those wanting to learn online in school.
Lack of mobility. Functionalist theorists believe that education acts as an identifier for the
more academically capable individuals to function in society properly. However, in societies
middle class students are more favored when it comes to class. Marxist theory proves this issue
as conflict does not promote equality depending on gender -bias towards females in the
Caribbean and towards males in other societies-, race, and class.
In formal education institutions, there is a bias towards women for academic success.
Applewhaite (1998) states that girls tend to be treated better than the boys from as early as
primary schooling. Miller (1991) states that there is a lack of male role models in education
institutions. This is the result of the majority of school staff being women. The reason for this is
because of the change of perspectives in certain careers as some are seen as masculine or
feminine. Because of the perspective that teaching children is seen as more of a women’s job,
men are often either discouraged or turned down from becoming teachers. Miller (1999) and
Chevannes (1995) state that girls are taught to accept education more as a result of the rise of
feminism and equal rights.
A mismatch between job availability and graduates. Due to the fact that education levels
in the Caribbean are less advanced, job skills may also be limited. For those who graduate the
courses are still not guaranteed employment because of this and for the fact that education in the
Caribbean is not as advanced.
There are systematic ways for governments to stop and prevent these problems from
hindering the advancement of education in the Caribbean such as, creating more ways to get
familiar with technology, creating more inexpensive opportunities for educational mobility,
creating more male role models into schools, and expanding curriculums or encouraging
innovation in the Caribbean.
In order to combat the inexperience of using technology, governments of countries can
create courses that help immigrant technology users to become more knowledgeable about
technology and the internet. This can help to make the Caribbean region keep up with bigger
countries when it comes to globalization and can also improve the education system in the
Caribbean by making distant learning more effective for students by using different educational
software.
By increasing the mobility of education, this increases the chances of success for students
in the ‘long run’. In order to increase educational mobility, governments can conduct inexpensive
classes in order to help students who may be of lower class who are also struggling academically.
This gives everyone equal opportunity in order to graduate and to become workers in society.
By creating more male role models in the educational system, it encourages more men to
become teachers or become successful in their work as well as lessen the stigma of teaching
being a feminine job.
In order to increase job availability, there can be two ways in which the government can
do so such as expanding school curriculums and encouraging innovation within the Caribbean.
Expansion of curriculums can make more experienced workers and be more employable.
Encouraging innovation can help those in the Caribbean have more opportunities for creating
businesses and increase employment for others.