Meeting the Challenges of Public Education in American Sämoa—A Collaborative Approach

Abstract

In this article, I propose to describe some of the developments that have taken place in public education in American Sämoa in the past few years. This has really been a period of rapid change and although many challenges remain, there has been considerable progress on several fronts. One of the fundamental organizational reforms that has taken place lies in the new management approach of the American Sämoa Department of Education (ASDOE). This can be characterized as a move away from a top-down management style to a more shared-decision-making model. For many years, decisions have been made at the central office and then handed down to school principals who passed them along, in turn, to teachers. Our current director of education, Malaetele Dr. Lui Tuitele, however, has adopted a much more collaborative approach that is designed to be more inclusive. His leadership style is very open and accessible. He welcomes suggestions from educators locally and abroad, as well as from the community-at-large, and encourages individual initiatives. He understands the importance of educational partnerships and other collaborative endeavors in making change happen. Under his directorship, he has encouraged people to work together so that there has been a more widespread participation in educational decision-mak ing processes. He has been very supportive of the initiatives discussed in this article.