A Culturally Responsive, Transnational Middle Grades Teacher Education Program in American Samoa

Abstract

Educators in American Samoa learn about teaching young adolescents through a transnational master's degree program.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 Manoa pioneered a graduatelevel 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 inservice teachers ever to receive specialized middle grades teacher training in American Samoa.ContextAmerican Samoa is the center of Polynesia and is home to 65,000 people. Although modern ways have influenced the culture, the traditional Samoan way of life, centered on family and religion, is still predominant in the islands. On Flag Day, April 17, 2011, American Samoa celebrated 111 years of association with the United States. American Samoa has a unique political status as an unorganized and unincorporated United States Territory. As U.S. nationals, American Samoans cannot vote in national elections in the United States and have no representation in the final approval of legislation by Congress (United States General Accounting Office, 1997, p. 9). American Samoan nationals enjoy the privilege of non-restrictive travel to and from the United States and receive the following protections under the law:It shall be the policy of the Government of American Samoa to protect persons of Samoan ancestry against alienation of their lands and the destruction of the Samoans' way of life and language, contrary to their best interests. Such legislation as may be necessary may be enacted to protect the lands, customs, culture, and traditional Samoan family organization of persons of Samoan ancestry. (Government of American Samoa, 1966, Article 1, Sec. 3)The American Samoan education system has been influenced by the United States and tied to an American philosophy of education for more than 100 years. While missionaries began working in American Samoa in 1830, the first public school was established there in 1904, with U.S. Naval wives and officers serving as teachers (Sutherland, 1941). The first students to attend the American public schools were of the Navy officers and part-Samoan children (Allen, 1962, p. 176). The school system in American Samoa evolved through the 20th century and was influenced over the years by the U.S. Navy, the Barstow Foundation for American Samoa, and the U.S. Department of the Interior (see, e.g., Allen, 1962; Pirie, 1976; Reid, 1986; Schramm, Nelson, & Betham, 1981; Sutherland, 1941).American Samoa's young adolescents riskYoung adolescents in American Samoa can be labeled at in terms of academic performance in school and risk behaviors. On the 2002 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 87% of American Samoan eighth graders in public schools scored or below a level in reading (Jerry & Lutkus, 2003), and assessments of American Samoan eighth graders in mathematics and science indicated that 93% and 95% of these students, respectively, lacked basic skills in these subjects (Hunkin-Finau, 2006). To put these results in perspective, 26% of 8th graders nationwide scored or below level in reading. Moreover, American Samoa had the largest percentage of eighth graders or below a basic level in reading, followed by the District of Colombia (52%), the U. …