IDCE Faculty

Nigel O.M. Brissett, Ed.D.

Education

2011 Doctor of Education in Educational Policy and Leadership
University of Massachusetts Amherst

2002 Master of Science in Government
University of the West Indies, Mona

1998 Bachelor of Arts in Literatures in English
University of the West Indies, Mona

Research Interests

Educational policy and leadership; globalization and education; higher educational access and equity; critical policy analysis; postcolonial studies; critical theory; public policy

Biography

Nigel Brissett’s research focuses on how contemporary national educational policies, which are highly influenced by global discourses, impact socio-economic opportunities in post-colonial Caribbean societies, characterized by historical structural inequities. His current work analyzes how the intersection of neo-liberal principles and post-colonial social welfare policies at once produces unintended negative consequences and useful hybrids. His research is particularly attentive to issues of educational access and equity for the lowest income groups.

Brissett’s professional experiences have been quite diverse. He recently completed work on an educational program aimed at assisting with the rebuilding of the Higher Educational system in Afghanistan. He has also worked across the Caribbean in the area of post-secondary educational outreach to extend the tertiary educational programs and services to fifteen Caribbean countries. A significant part of his responsibilities involved coordinating numerous regional and institutional needs assessment studies to guide educational policy choices of Caribbean countries. These experiences allowed him to work with multiple development stakeholders with varied interests and in contexts characterized by high educational demands but limited resources.

In an earlier career, Brissett co-managed a government subsidized student loan facility for low income higher education students in the Caribbean.

Selected Publications

2010. Jamaica’s Policy Discourse in the Age of Globalization: Framing Education as (Private) Investment. The Global South, 4.2.

2009. (co-authored with Jeanette Grant-Woodham). Background, Scope and Conduct of the Study. Introduction in Bevis Peters & L. Whittington (Eds.). Human Resource Needs and the Tertiary Education Sector Response in the Caribbean. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers.

2003. (Co-authored with Vivienne Roberts). Pathways to Tertiary Education in the English Speaking Caribbean. Bridgetown, Barbados: University of the West Indies Press.

Selected Presentations

2010. “A critical analysis of Jamaica’s emerging educational policy discourse(s) in the age of globalization,” Comparative and International Education Society, 2010 Annual Conference, Chicago, Illinois.

2008. “Jamaica’s emerging educational policy discourse: Implications for social equity in the knowledge economy,” Comparative and International Education Society, 2008 Annual Conference, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY, March 17-21.

2007. “National identity (re)construction and Jamaica’s educational system: A case of historical incongruence,” Comparative and International Education Society, 2007 Annual Conference, Baltimore.

2003. “Higher Education and the World Trade Organization: Threat or Opportunity? - A Caribbean Perspective,” UNESCO Philosophy Day, themed: “Philosophy, Global Justice and Teacher Education.” University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.

Courses

International Development and Social Change

Development Theory 
Development Management in Developing Countries
Educational Policy Issues in Developing Countries 
Development Program and Project Management

Related Links

• International Development and Social Change