A MODEL OF PEER TEACHER IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR ST. KITTS, WEST INDIES

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a mastery learning model of in-service peer teacher training in a developing country was effective and efficient for the introduction of a new skill. There were four objectives to the research: to define and describe the general in-service teacher training needs of the educational system on the island of St. Kitts, West Indies; to examine the effectiveness of the in-service peer teacher training model; to examine the efficiency of the in-service peer teacher training model; and to examine the efficiency of the in-service peer teacher training model in terms of time required to attain mastery for onsite and offsite translations.;The sample in St. Kitts, West Indies consisted of 112 primary and secondary college-trained and noncollege-trained teachers. Descriptive data were supplied by the use of an author-developed demographic survey that was part of the mastery test booklet. The research design used in this study was a combination of descriptive and simulated posttest design.;The model of in-service peer teacher training used in this study was both a learning model and a teaching model with two components. In the first component, intermediary teachers were taught certain skills and strategies. In the second component, the skills and strategies learned by the intermediary teachers were then transmitted to another set of teachers, the receiving teachers.;The study concluded that teachers in the developing country of St. Kitts were in need of in-service teacher training. Secondly, it was concluded that peer teacher in-service training was one method of effectively improving the skills of teachers in St. Kitts. Thirdly, it was concluded that a peer teacher in-service model of teacher training was efficient in terms of costs. Lastly, it was concluded that there was no difference in the time required to attain master of knowledge translated, whether knowledge was translated on or off home school sites.