Workforce Development in Palau from Pre-Contact to 1999" (2005)
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University of San Diego Digital USD Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2005-05-01 Omesubel a Ureor: Workforce Development in Palau from Pre- Contact to 1999 Patrick Ubal Tellei EdD University of San Diego Follow this and additional works at: https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations Part of the Leadership Studies Commons Digital USD Citation Tellei, Patrick Ubal EdD, "Omesubel a Ureor: Workforce Development in Palau from Pre-Contact to 1999" (2005). Dissertations. 751. https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations/751 This Dissertation: Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Digital USD. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital USD. For more information, please contact [email protected]. OMESUBELA UREOR: WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN PALAU FROM PRE-CONTACT TO 1999 by PATRICK UBAL TELLEI A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education University of San Diego May 2005 Dissertation Committee Robert Donmoyer, Ph.D., Chair Fred McFarlane, Ph.D., Member Kenneth Galea’i, Ph.D., Member Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ©Copyright by Patrick Ubal Tellei All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DISSERTATION ABSTRACT After being a ward of many nations for over 250 years, the Republic of Palau gained its independence on October 1,1994. One of the many challenges facing this young nation is the workforce preparation of its people to engage in nation building. After many years of being subjugated by foreign governments, the people have developed a taste of material consumerism. This has driven people away from their subsistence way of life in favor of a market driven economy which calls for infrastructure development that cannot be accomplished if there is a nonexistent skilled workforce to undertake this challenge. To better understand the workforce context in Palau, this study examines the history of workforce development from pre-contact and continuing under four administering governments (Spain, Germany, Japan, and the United States) until Palau’s declaration of independence in 1994. The primary method of inquiry is a historical review of existing documents. A supplementary method was studying transcribed interviews of other elders for the purpose of triangulating written historical records. The study specifically sought to answer the following questions: 1. What workforce development policies existed under each administering government? 2. Were there differences in the way these policies were developed across these administering governments? Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 3. Were goals and objectives clear and evident and was there an established way to determine whether goals were met? 4. How did workforce policies fit with the overall orientation of the governing group during a particular era? The benefits of this historical study include the following: 1. It will enable Palauan leaders to have a historical context from which to propose and enact legislation and policies that are not only meaningful, but will bring rewards to the nation in terms of self-sufficiency. 2. It will add new dimensions and an indigenous perspective to the field of workforce development and vocational education in a particularly small and geographically isolated island community. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements I extend my sincere appreciation to my Dissertation Committee, Dr. Robert Donmoyer - Chairperson, Dr. Fred McFarlane - Member, and Dr. Kenneth Galea’i - Member, for their support, dedication, and encouragement over the years; to the leadership of San Diego State University and University of San Diego for devising and supporting a doctoral program of this nature; to the staff of various libraries for their support when I needed materials from their collection; to Commonwealth of the Marianas Islands Public School System Commissioner Dr. Rita Inos for allowing me to join the program in the first place; to the Palau National Scholarship Board which saw fit to support me when I was ready to drop the program for financial reasons and the Board of Trustees of Palau Community College for allowing me to continue this study. I am grateful for the support I received from I am indebted to my parents Adelbairureor Ubal Tellei and Ebilrekungiil Basilia Rdiall Tellei; my daughters Diliaur Lenore Tellei and Elsei Diane Tellei and my son Rdiall Leslie Tellei for their encouragement and daily “Dad Work on Your Dissertation” reminder. My sister Lucinda Tellei Christison, her husband Dale Christison and my nephew Andrew opened their Santee home for me whenever I needed a place to stay in San Diego and I am grateful. My wife Virginia Ruth Crockett Tellei was most helpful; she took care of the household when I had to be in San Diego, Saipan and other places to attend classes, seminars and/or collect information. She was also a great editor and I am indebted to her. vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Finally, I am grateful to the leadership of Palau for seeing fit to chart a course of self governance when it seemed unpopular at the time and the United States of America for bringing democracy to Palau and for being its most trusted friend. If there are errors and mistakes I am solely responsible. Alsekum eng morngii a cheleuid, ngdiak el meral tekoi, terached ma tellemall el tial babier a uchul malechub eng morngii a duubech el otuub ma dellikik ea blachel a kmal di melutk er ngak e merkong. Ngiratudong Patrick Ubal Tellei viii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION The Problem .......................................................................................... 1 Geographical Location ......................................................................... 2 Demography ........................................................................................... 4 Purpose of the Study .............................................................................. 5 Study Objectives .................................................................................... 6 Importance of the Study ........................................................................ 6 Research Questions ................................................................................ 7 Implications of the Study ...................................................................... 7 Limitations of the Study ........................................................................ 8 Definition of Terms Used in the Study ................................................. 10 Design of the Study ................................................................................. 14 CHAPTER 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Introduction ............................................................................................. 17 Pre-Contact Era ....................................................................................... 17 Spanish Era ............................................................................................. 23 German Era ............................................................................................. 24 Japanese Era ........................................................................................... 26 American Era .......................................................................................... 30 Republic of Palau Era ............................................................................. 32 W orkforce Developments ocational Education .................................. 35 Acts, Statutes and Legislation ............................................................... 35 Workforce and Vocational Education Literature ................................. 39 Summary................................................................................................. 46 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY Introduction .............................................................................................. 47 Procedures for Analyzing Written Documents ..................................... 48 ix Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Resources ................................................................................................... 49 Supplementing Written Documents by Analyzing Oral Historical Data 49 Finding and Analyzing Indigenous Writings and Transcribed Data 53 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 54 CHAPTER 4. HISTORY OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN PALAU Introduction ................................................................................................. 55 Pre-Contact Era to 1885 ............................................................................. 55 Background .................................................................................... 55 Leadership Structure ..................................................................... 56 Educational and Workforce Development Systems ................... 57 Contributions of the Pre-Contact Palauans ................................