ABSTRACT
The USSR used education in preference to the sword: schools and even written languages were created for minorities sometimes for the first time; colleges and universities admitted minority scholars who could then participate in the federal bureaucracy; and progressive constitutions and practices identified the intent to end the old kinds of discrimination. This chapter examines the educational systems in the hierarchical and traditionally agricultural society, using a case study from a relatively progressive rural area. The eastern Caribbean is now a region where social class structure is important and race is a factor in one's place within the structure, but education is also important. The poverty of the islands means that families sacrifice heavily to send their children to schools, and illiteracy remains a problem. Similarly, teachers may not survive on their pay, and augmenting teaching income by tutoring or selling extra educational materials may sometimes contribute to indifferent records as teachers.
