Bio
Dr. Verna Knight is a tenured Lecturer within the School of Education, and Deputy Dean (Planning) in the Faculty of Humanities and Education at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus. She possesses over 24 years as an educator, and has responsibility for the development, review and delivery of educational courses and programmes within Social Studies Education at the Associate degree and undergraduate degree levels, as well as within the post graduate programme in Social Context and Education Policy. She also serves as the Coordinator for the Bachelor of Education programme offered through the School of Education, and franchised through the teacher training colleges in St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. She is also the Academic Coordinator for the Eastern Caribbean Joint Board of Teacher Education (ECJBTE) which as a regional body coordinates the curriculum, assessment and certification of trained teachers through its Associate degree and Diploma in Teaching programmes.
Dr. Knight’s research work is anchored within advancing equitable, inclusive, and high-quality education systems in alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 4, with a particular focus on Caribbean and comparable small-state contexts. Her research work critically examines the universalization of education, highlighting persistent inequities in access, participation, and student experience; interrogates teacher quality by moving beyond certification to emphasize context-responsive, reflective, and socially just pedagogies; and explores system resilience through analyses of educational responses to crises such as COVID-19 and disaster risk.
Over the last 12 years, Dr. Knight has led, and co-led several research assignments and workshop training activities with OECS Ministries of Education on behalf of various education developmental partners (UWI, UNESCO, Inter-American Teacher Education Network: ITEN-OAS, UNICEF, Eastern Caribbean Joint Board of Teacher Education, Commonwealth of Learning, and the OECS-EDMU Office). Past training activities have been aimed at both classroom/school level improvements, as well as policy level improvements, and as such have targeted teachers, educational leaders, and education officers across the Caribbean region.
Qualifications
- PhD., Education Policy and Planning, UWI – Cave Hill Campus
- BEd., Education Administration, UWI – Cave Hill Campus
- Certificate in University Teaching and Learning, UWI – Cave Hill Campus
- Certificate in Teaching (Secondary Education)
Research Areas
- Education Quality in Caribbean Schools
- Social Studies/Civic Education in the Caribbean
- Teacher Quality and Training in the Caribbean
- Disaster Risk-Reduction, Climate Change and Education
Teaching Areas
Undergraduate Courses:
- EDSO 3102 – The Social Context of Education
- EDSS 2910 – Teaching Social Studies in the Primary and Secondary School
- EDSS 2113 – The Structure and Nature of Social Studies
- EDSS 3200 – Curriculum Issues in Social Studies
Graduate Courses:
- EDSO 6000 – Advanced Sociology of Education
- EDSO 6001 – Caribbean Ideologies and Policies in Education Reform
- EDSO 6002 – Citizenship Education, Democracy and Global Trends
Publications
Key Publications
Peer Reviewed Edited Books
- Fraser-Burgess, S., De Four Babb, J., Knight, V., Odebiyi, O. M., Salami, I. A., & Allert, A. (2024). Edited Handbook on Caribbean and African Studies in Education. Bloomsbury Publishers: USA.
- Robinson, S., & Knight, V. (2019). Handbook of Research on Critical Thinking and Teacher Education Pedagogy (Editors). IGI Global Publishers.
Peer Reviewed Book Chapters
- Knight, V. (2024). The Challenge of Universalizing Access to Basic Education in the Caribbean and Africa: Historical and Philosophical Influences, Challenges, and the Way Forward. In Edited Handbook on Caribbean and African Studies in Education. Bloomsbury Publishers: USA.
- Knight, V. (2019). The Case of Educational Exclusion of Children in the Eastern Caribbean. In S. Blackman, D. Conrad, & L. Brown. (Eds.), Achieving Inclusive Education in the Caribbean and Beyond: From Philosophy to Praxis. Switzerland: Springer
Peer Reviewed Articles Published
- Knight, V., (2022). In-School but Struggling for Success: Examining the Main Barriers to Learning for All in Caribbean Schools. Journal of Education and Development in the Caribbean, 20(1). Advance online publication. https://www.mona.uwi.edu/soe/publications/jedic/article/1504
- Knight, V. (2016). Universalizing Secondary Education in the Caribbean: Contrasting Perspectives. Caribbean Education Research Journal, 4 (1), 97 – 114.
- Knight, V (2015). Disaster Risk Reduction Education in the Caribbean: Policy, Practice, and Implications for Teacher Education. The Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies, Vol. 40 (3).
- Knight, V. (2014) The Policy of Universal Secondary Education: its influence on secondary schooling in Grenada, Research in Comparative and International Education, 9(1), 16-35. http://dx.doi.org/10.2304/rcie.2014.9.1.16
Peer Reviewed Edited Journal Issue
- Knight, V., & Marshall, J. (2023). Guest Editors – Special Edited Issue – Contemporary Issues in Caribbean Education. Caribbean Education Research Journal. Vol 7, Number 2.
Latest Technical Research Reports:
- Knight, V. (2026). Gender Gap in Secondary Education in the Caribbean: Grenada Report. UNESCO: Paris
- Bristol, L., Knight, V., Inniss-Springer, E., Manickchand, N., & Clarke, D. (2026). Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative (CSESI) Curriculum Review and Mapping in the Caribbean Report. UNESCO: Paris
- Knight, V. (2022). OESS Implementation Report 2021-2022: Prepared for the 10th Annual OECS Chief Education Offices/Directors of Education, and Education Planner’s Meeting (December 6th-8th, 2022, Martinique).
- Knight, V., Marshall, J., Depradine, K., & Moody-Marshall, R. (2021). Country review. Challenges and opportunities in the education system of Saint Lucia. Series Working Papers SUMMA. N° 15. Published by SUMMA. Santiago de Chile.
- Knight, V., Marshall, J., Depradine, K., & Moody-Marshall, R. (2021). Country review. Challenges and opportunities in the education system of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Series Working Papers SUMMA. N° 16. Published by SUMMA. Santiago de Chile.
- Knight, V., Marshall, J., Depradine, K., & Moody-Marshall, R. (2021). Country review. Challenges and opportunities in the education system of Dominica. Series Working Papers SUMMA. N° 9. Published by SUMMA. Santiago de Chile.
- Knight, V., Marshall, J., Depradine, K., & Moody-Marshall, R. (2021). Country review. Challenges and opportunities in the education system of Grenada. Series Working Papers SUMMA. N° 10. Published by SUMMA. Santiago de Chile
