Pacific Partnerships: The University of Hawai‘i-American Sämoa Cohort Teacher Education Project

Abstract

For the past thirty-one years, the University of Hawai'i (UH) has worked in collaboration with the American Samoa Department of Education (ASDOE) and the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) to upgrade the professional level of American Samoa's elementary teachers. During these early years of the partnership, several UH professors served as consultants to the ASDOE in specific areas of curriculum and educational administration. These professors also provided in-service teacher training in the form of workshops during the school year and more extensive training programs in the summer. Typically, faculty members traveled to American Samoa for four to five weeks during the summer to teach two classes attended by 20-25 students at the community college. Beginning in 1975, the ASDOE began sending a small number of teachers to off-island universities in order to earn their degrees. Additionally, a government scholarship program supported Samoan students earning bachelor degrees in a variety of fields with the understanding that graduates would return to work for the American Samoa government. Many of these graduates became teachers. This article discusses the UH-American Samoa cohort Teacher Education Project. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)