A Whole Education Approach to Education Reform in Barbados: Effective Provision for Students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Fascinating manifesto-like paper on a suggested educational reform in Barbados that revolves around three dimensions: abandoning the system of selective secondary education, revamping curricula at primary and secondary schools and implementing a comprehensive policy for the education of children with special educational needs and disabilities.

However, although the topic is admittedly interesting, the way it’s methodologically presented is somewhat challenging. No comperative research or literature is cited, so the author’s suggestions are not directly supported by prior literature or research results. A systematic review of similar cases may have been a better approach to introduce the author’s reasoning to the readers. All in all, the manuscript lacks the structure and focus of an academic paper and reads more as a political statement against the educational shortcomings in Barbados.

Firstly, the abstract is too general and provides little introduction to the topic. It does not have a clear justification and there is a lack of contextual information. For instance, the manuscript would benefit from a clear definition of “the 11plus exam” and how it is contextually intertwined with the education in Barbados, as well as present in more detail the “Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) examinations” and “Caribbean Vocational Qualifications (CVQs)”. Furthermore, the main body of the manuscript lacks argumentation or literature to back up its suggestions while the argument often sidetracks to other neighboring topics providing slightly irrelevant insights that do not help the overall aim of the paper. Finally, at different points throughout, the manuscript seems to confuse or conflate learning difficulties with special education needs and disabilities into one uniform segment of the student’s population, without accounting for the need for a multifaceted approach to cater for different needs and potentials.

Certainly the manuscript can also benefit from a proper formatting according to the journal’s instructions, however this could be done at a later stage. However, some spellcheck would help avoiding the unfortunate impression created by phrases misspelled like “the dye is cast” instead of the “the die is cast”.

Last, but certainly, not least, a significant lack of bibliographical references is observed throughout the whole manuscript and especially in the introduction section of the manuscript. Also, 11 out of 15 bibliographical references belong to or are co-authored by the writer which, if nothing else, seems slightly problematic. Finally, there are no limitations and disclosure statements.

In general, the quality of English language is fine, however, some spellcheck would help avoiding the unfortunate impression created by phrases misspelled like “the dye is cast” instead of the “the die is cast”.

Author Response

Thank-you for the issues that you raised about my paper. I have addressed these and added additional references as is indicated on the attached revised paper including track changes. 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Abstract could be more contextualized

 

”a whole education approach”

-This would need to be explained and implemented in the analyses of the material if this is the theoretical framework

 

“The 11 plus exam still dominates the education system”

-would need to be explained what this is and what it concretely means

 

Generally it would be good to tell something more about the context as an introduction to the topic. How many people live in Barbados, which languages are spoken and which languages are used in the education system, how many schools there are in Barbados, how many students do these schools have, how many are private and how many public, how is the level of education in the country in general, do people have chances to educate themselves, does education cost etcetc

 

Generally I would say that the text would need to include more clearly theoretical and methodological sections. Also, the material used is not framed in this text. That is, I, as an reader, have an impression that the results are presented to me, but it is not clear how these were attained.

 

Probably this particular field of study has not been researched by many scholars, but I would invite the author to cite other sources than those written or co-written by him. There is plenty of studies examining educational systems in different countries.

 

Author Response

Thank-you for the issues that you raised about my paper. I have addressed these and added additional references as is indicated on the attached revised paper including track changes. 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

El artículo titulado "Un enfoque educativo integral para la reforma educativa en Barbados: provisión efectiva para estudiantes con necesidades educativas especiales y discapacidades" es relevante para la misión de la revista. El artículo es importante porque trata sobre la mejora de la oferta educativa para niños con necesidades especiales en Barbados.

Se mantiene una coherencia constante entre el título y el contenido del artículo, así como en el resumen, que presenta de forma inequívoca el trabajo de investigación realizado. Esta coherencia contribuye en gran medida a una comprensión más completa del problema abordado en el artículo, facilitando la capacidad de los lectores para abordar la investigación con claridad y sin obstáculos.

La base teórica se sustenta en el propósito de la investigación. La información previa relacionada con el tema es contemporánea y relevante, lo que permite a los lectores adquirir una base teórica sólida. Los objetivos generales están definidos con precisión en relación con el tema bajo análisis. La organización del documento es eficaz, lo que permite una comprensión fluida de la investigación.

En cuanto a las conclusiones, el revisor sugiere ampliar las conclusiones de la investigación, con el objetivo de aclarar los resultados obtenidos para los lectores. De esta manera, sería necesario comentar las limitaciones que se encontraron en la realización de la investigación, así como líneas de investigación futuras que se han ido evidenciando en el transcurso de la realización de la investigación.

Author Response

Unfortunately I have been unable to read you comments as they are not in English

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The manuscript has been improved to warrant publication.