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In her analysis of a small parochial system in the Caribbean, Shirley McGarrell´s incisive research highlights a subtle yet insidious truth: what is NOT taught in schools (the null curriculum) may be more important than what IS. She shows how the choice of what is taught is a complex one ranging from central office policycrats, to building administrators, and finally, to the ultimate arbiters of the learning process, classroom teachers. McGarrell´s work graphically illustrates how an admixture of misinformation and tradition can combine to deprive youth of civilization´s Great Ideas. And yet, in spite of systemic deficits, McGarrell´s research discovered those passionate pedagogues who (against the odds) quietly closed the classroom door and proceeded to make literature sing in the hearts and souls of their students. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, Shirley McGarrell´s investigation is a "must-read" for anyone interested in that circuitous pathway between official courses of study and teachers-in-action.

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Dr. Shirley A. McGarrell is a Caribbean academic. A graduate of Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, she is the author of three books including Capsules of Time for today, published by the IADPA Press in Florida, USA. She has also written several articles for religious and professional journals and has spoken at many conferences.

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