Obstacles to change in teacher education in Trinidad and Tobago

This article describes part of a transition process in teacher education in Trinidad and Tobago. After assisting the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) in the development of a four-year Bachelor of Education program that replaced the previous system of two-year in-service training at Teachers College, I describe the contested, complex process of reform in the teacher education system in Trinidad and Tobago. Three major obstacles blocking this transition process were: traditions within the society; an underlying neo-colonialist and hierarchical mentality; and, political circumstances. A neo-colonialist theoretical framework is used to analyse the obstacles to curriculum change in the context of Trinidad and Tobago.