The study explored student-teachers' perceptions of the most common indicators of stress. It sought, also, to develop separate stress categories and make comparisons among them.The sample consisted of randomly selected 306 student-teachers from two campuses of the University of Trinidad and Tobago -Valsayn and Corinth. There were thirty six males and 270 females in the study. The study examined the relationship between the student-teacher stress factors as well as the predictive power of each independent factor on overall teachers' stress.The study employed a quantitative method using a cross-sectional design. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS-V.17). T-tests were used to examine teachers' stress based on location, sex and full or part time status. Correlation and regression analysis were employed to examine the relationship between each of the stress factors as well as their influence on the overall dependent teacher stress.The findings suggested that there were no significant differences in teacher stress based on sex and location. There was a high correlation between professional development and curriculum-related stressors. Also, curriculum, personal/professional and professional development stressors had the greatest influence on overall student-stress.Keywords: student -teacher, academic stress, the University of Trinidad and Tobago Background and ContextTrinidad and Tobago, a twin-island state, is the most southerly of all the Caribbean islands. The island, after five centuries of foreign domination, gained its independence from Britain in 1962. The island possesses a British-oriented model of bureaucracy, which is reflected in the education system. Within the Trinidad and Tobago's education system, there are government schools, which are fully owned and operated by the state; government-assisted or denominational schools, which are managed by a private body( usually a religious denomination) but given financial assistance by the state; private schools, which are maintained and operated by private bodies without the assistance from the state; and special schools, which are designed for educating children with special needs and which provide education mainly at the primary level. Generally speaking the government-assisted schools are regarded as the better schools and there is a great demand for placement in these schools.At the University of Trinidad and Tobago prospective teachers are exposed to a four-year Bachelor of Education Degree Program consisting of a wide range of content, professional and pedagogical courses and the practicum. The content courses over the four year period included Social Studies, Mathematics, Language, Visual and Creative Arts, Science, Agricultural Science, Spanish and Health and Family Life. The professional and pedagogical courses include Classroom Management, Classroom-based Assessment, Curriculum Studies, Contemporary Issues in Education and Instructional Design. The eight Practicum courses over the four years aim to ...

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This study attempts to examine current approaches to equity pedagogy and to identify the kinds of teacher dispositions necessary for developing culturally responsive teachers who can effectively use technology in diverse classrooms. In this study, particular attention is given to an analysis of six (6) teacher dispositions explicit in focus group overview data (4 focus groups of 5 members each) of twenty (20) pre-service teachers (Years 3 and 4) in the Social Studies Programme, Bachelor of Education Degree at The University of Trinidad and Tobago. The six (6) dispositions are (i) a meaningful philosophy of education, (ii) commitment, (iiii) intercultural sensitivity, (iv) social justice and equity, (v) communication and (vi) reflection. Pre-service teachers can relate the six (6) dispositions to three (3) domains of Knowledge-Knowledge of the Self, Knowledge of the Other, and Knowledge of the Community-in the context of assessing best equitable practices to become both culturally responsive and technologically proficient. The study demonstrates how a profound relationship between equity pedagogy and teacher dispositions provides a foundation for pre-service teaches to use technology in a culturally relevant manner and thus confront the global demands for 21st century inclusive education.

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