University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1996 Perceptions about the role of education at the College of Micronesia-Federated States of Micronesia. Grant K. Suhm University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Suhm, Grant K., "Perceptions about the role of education at the College of Micronesia-Federated States of Micronesia." (1996). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 2289. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/2289 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. UMASS/AMHERST 312DbbDDT432fl^3 *1-: >r ; 'w PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE ROLE OF EDUCATION AT THE COLLEGE OF MICRONESIA-FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA A Dissertation Presented by GRANT K. SUHM Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION September 1996 School of Education © Copyright by Grant K. Suhm 1996 All Rights Reserved PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE ROLE OF EDUCATION AT THE COLLEGE OF MICRONESIA-FSM A Dissertation Presented by GRANT K SUHM Approved as to style and content by: Yn\X/aa, P LIIUMA. Bailby W. Jackson Dean, School of Education-' ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the following people for helping on this project: Professor David Evans for serving , as my major advisor. His vision, encouragement and patience, over the 10 years I have been associated with the Center for International Education, has helped me to grow both professionally and as person. Professor William Thuemmel , who taught me how to be a professor of agriculture and served as committee member. His many years of service in the Agricultural and Occupational Education Department at the University of Massachusetts have been a source of inspiration. Professor Robert Christensen , committee member, long associated with the University of Massachusetts Cooperative Extension Service and the Department of Resource Economics. He graciously came out of retirement to help me prepare for my defense. Dr. Francisco Anello for helping to get the manuscript submitted and approved by the Graduate School. Father Francis X, Hezel, noted historian and Director of the Micronesian Seminar, whose advise and publications helped me to choose a topic and provided invaluable information about Micronesia. COM-FSM professors Liz and Brent MacKinnon, Lewis MacCarter, Calvin Burgoyne, Richard Womack and Harvey Segal for their invaluable support, insights and editing. IV COM-FSM Registrar Betty Heisterman and Executive Secretary to the President. Norma Edwin , who provided hard to find information about the Collegers history and present condition. LibrariansJns Falcum and Dakio Svne. whose extensive Pacific Collection at the COM-FSM’s library is the best source of information on the FSM anywhere. COM-FSM President Susan Moses and Vice President Spensin James , whose openness and assistance made it possible for me to study and freely study the College and who inadvertently kept me having to adjust my findings by making continual and significant improvements at the institution. Aunt Carol and Uncle Nathan Rutstein, who kept me out of the heat and cold while in the States, by lending me small things like their house and car. Wife Marisa and son Morgan , who put up with long absences, lost income, and neglect while I concentrated on my dissertation. Finally, I would like to thank all of the staff and students at COM-FSM who participated in the study. Without them, none of this would have been possible. v ABSTRACT PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE ROLE OF EDUCATION AT THE COLLEGE OF MICRONESIA-FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA SEPTEMBER 1996 GRANT K. SUHM, B.S., UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS M.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Ed.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor David R. Evans This study describes the evolution and range of goals attributed to the College of Micronesia in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). In doing so, it traces the transformation of education from community-based, traditional Micronesian activities, to missionary and Japanese schools, to American formal education, and finally, to the public school system that exists in the FSM today. It tracks the evolution of the College of Micronesia—FSM from its earliest roots in the 1950s to the present. The study includes an interview and questionnaire process that identifies numerous College roles and then asks representative student and staff groups, to evaluate each role in terms of importance. The process allowed comparisons of student and staff perceptions and examined, in-depth, the ramifications of following the eight most-highly valued College roles from each group. Although the College of Micronesia was originally conceived as a teacher education institution, it has evolved into a liberal arts institution, which by having an unclear mission, appears to fill the expectations of its different stakeholders. In all, the vi College was found to have 25 distinct missions; ranging from teaching English to providing manpower for national development. Two groups, students and staff, were found to view all but one of the missions as important. On the whole, student and staff were found to be in general agreement about the various missions of the College, but for different reasons. Whereas staff tended to see the College a nation-building institution, students tended to see the degrees the College offered, as a vehicle for obtaining government jobs and a higher living standard. Both groups were found to have broad ranges of expectations. The argument was made that in light of decreasing resources, the College should begin to focus its mission. In final analysis, the study sheds light on similarities and contrasts of Micronesian and American educational goals and values and illuminates difficulties of managing colleges in developing micro-states. It presents a detailed look at one of the world’s least known national colleges so that its future can plotted more systematically vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv ABSTRACT LIST OF TABLES xii LIST OF FIGURES x j v GLOSSARY Chapter I STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 1 Introduction 1 The Third World Education Explosion 1 Proliferation of Colleges 4 The Special Case of Higher Education in Microstates 5 Colleges in U.S. Insular Areas 6 Growing Pains at the College of Micronesia - FSM 8 A Need for a Better Understanding of the Forces that Determine The Roles the College of Micronesia - FSM Adopts 10 Purpose of the Study 12 Significance of the Study 13 Chapter Overview 14 II. THE FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA: PAST AND PRESENT 17 Introduction 17 Geography and Demographics 17 History 19 Government 38 Economy 30 34 III. THE EVOLUTION OF EDUCATION IN THE FSM Introduction 34 Pre-contact Education Missionary Schooling (1850 - 1914) 39 Japanese Education (1914 - 1945) 43 viii 1 Education - Under the Americans ( 1945 1986) 46 Primary and Secondary Education Today 58 IV. THE EVOLUTION OF THE COLLEGE OF MICRONESIA - FSM 63 Introduction 63 Teacher Education Roots: The Micronesian AreaTeacher Training School on Guam 63 The Creation of the Pacific Islands Teacher Training School in Chuuk 64 PICS, Ancestor and Model for the Community College of Micronesia 64 College Education During the 1950s and 1960s 69 MTEC,Tne Micronesian Teacher Education Center: The Bridge Between PICS and CCM 70 The Community College of Micronesia 74 The College of Micronesia: Union of Two Colleges Under One Administration 82 The College of Micronesia - FSM: A New College is Born 88 V. THE COLLEGE OF MICRONESIA-FSM TODAY 89 Stated Goals of COM-FSM 89 Campuses 90 Programs 92 Administration 99 Finances 105 Administrators 107 Professors 1 10 Students i 14 A Vision for the Future 127 VI. IDENTIFICATION AND QUANTIFICATION OF PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE COLLEGE'S ROLES: DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY 129 Introduction 129 Identifying the Roles Attributed to the College 129 Evaluation and Prioritization of the College Roles 13 VII. PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND DISCUSSION OF THE DATA. 141 Introduction 141 Part One of the Study: The Range of Roles Attributed to the College 141 IX Pai 1 Two o. the Study: Student and Staff Rating of the Roles 159 Pari Tnree oi tne Stuay: Aoditional Background on Participating Students 166 VII ANALYSIS OF THE MOST HIGHLY RATED COLLEGE ROLES.... 176 Introduction ^ First: Help Students Communicate Well in English (Students #1, Staff #4 177 Second:Teach Students How to Think Well (Staff #1, Students #9) IgO Third: Prepare Students to Get a Job (Students Staff . #2, #3) . .... 1 85 Fourth:Train School Teachers and Thereby Improve The Whole Educational System (Staff #2, Students #8) 191 Fifth: Offer a Four Y ear Bachelor’s Degree So Students Don’t Have to Travel Overseas to Further Their Education (Students #3, Staff #18) 196 Sixth: Create a College that the FSM Can Be Proud of (Staff #5, Students #4) j 99 Seventh:Make it Possible for Students to Transfer and . Succeed at Colleges Outside of the FSM Students #5, Staff #8) 205 Eighth: Offer Students an Associate Degree that is Respected Locally (Students #6, Staff #6) 210 Ninth: Make it Possible for Students Without Much Money to Go to College (Students #7, Staff #15) 213 Tenth: Encourage Students to Grow as People (Students #8, Staff #19) 219 Conclusions 223 IX FINAL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 225 Introduction 225 How Have the Roles of Education Evolved in Micronesia? 225 Why Did the College of Micronesia Come into Existence And How Has it Evolved? 231 What Are the Major Spoken and Unspoken Expectations Placed Upon COM-FSM by Students and Staff 234 How Do the Staff and Students Rate Each of the Roles Attributed to the College and Why? 235 What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Attempting to Meet the Most Highly Valued Student and Staff Expectations? 238 Recommendations 238 x APPENDICES A.