Confronting the Challenge of 11+ Policy Change Using Data Storytelling: A Caribbean Case Study

• In Event: Actionizing Change With Photo and STEM Narratives From Africa and the Caribbean

Abstract

The 11+ examination has persisted in Caribbean societies like multicultural Trinidad and Tobago probably because it is supported by complex societal narratives, some inspired by persistent colonially inspired myths about students, religion, families, schools, and learning. To achieve policy change, we attempt to cut across popular stories and myths using evidence-based counter-narratives. This is the essence of data storytelling, the practice of communicating policy narratives using both data and visualizations to convey the need for change in a powerful and compelling way. In the Caribbean, storytelling might be superior to policy argumentation and purely evidence-based approaches. The storytelling tool employed is the infographic, combining images and graphic explanations to influence motivation, increase knowledge and insight, and generate advocacy.

Author

• Jerome De Lisle, University of the West Indies - St. Augustine