Teachers' perceptions on academic recovery through educational therapy: A therapeutic intervention in three co-educational government schools in North Trinidad

This study introduced the notion of academic recovery through an alternative pedagogical practice of therapeutic intervention called Educational Therapy. As such, its purpose was not only to explore and evaluate an alternative educational practice but also to determine its feasibility in adapting to the local context. This was done using teachers’ perspectives from three co-educational secondary schools whose students had a history of academic underachievement and where violence and student aggression were becoming the norm. Twenty three English and Mathematics teachers participated in the study which was encased in an ethnography theoretical perspective. Their perspectives on the current state of the secondary sector brought bearing to the types of best practices that teachers in their departments subscribed to in terms of teaching, understanding how children learn, assessment strategies and accommodating students who have learning deficits in the regular classroom. In addition, it clarified their stance on the adaptation of therapeutic intervention in Trinidad and Tobago while determining the extent to which it could improve academic achievement in these subject disciplines. Findings from the study revealed that teachers needed assistance to effectively manage, teach and assess children with learning problems. They felt that there was an urgent need to implement therapeutic interventions in educational practice as they had no knowledge of how to deal with students who had underlying cognitive deficits which then became manifested in the forms of social, emotional and behavioural problems. As the study was steeped within a qualitative inquiry, its findings also noted the emergence of eight themes which described the factors believed to be responsible for the present crisis within secondary schools where indiscipline was concerned. The framework of this study thus provided a useful basis for identifying school discipline issues and children who may have learning problems and for suggesting plans for appropriately targeted interventions through Educational Therapy.