A culturally responsive, transnational middle grades teacher education program in American Samoa.

Abstract

This article describes the development and implementation of a transnational middle level teacher education program, specifically based on the educative needs of young adolescent students and their teachers in American Samoa. For more than 30 years, the University of Hawai‘i has partnered with the American Samoa Department of Education to provide undergraduate degrees in elementary education to a total of 647 graduates. While elementary education in American Samoa encompasses kindergarten through eighth grade, professional development needs specific to middle grades teachers have not been adequately addressed through these programs. In 2009, the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa pioneered a graduate level middle level teacher education program in American Samoa, the first program of its kind to focus on young adolescents’ learning needs in this Pacific island territory. The 2011 Middle Level Master of Education degree (MLMED) cohort was the first group of in service teachers ever to receive specialized middle grades teacher training in American Samoa