American Schools for the Natives of Ponape: A Study of Education and Culture Change in Micronesia

Description

With Micronesia's political future currently under negotiation and debate, this book's appearance is most timely. This is the first in-depth examination and analysis of the impact—both socio-psychological and cultural—of a transplanted American school system to peoples of Micronesia.Dr. Colletta begins with a description of the education and enculturation processes practiced before the introduction of formal schooling. He then traces the historical evolution of schooling under various foreign influences-from the early missionaries through the German and Japanese occupations to the current American trusteeship. The author’s major focus is on the socio-cultural interplay between American and Ponapean (Micronesian) value systems, examined at both the primary and secondary school levels. Relationships are drawn between the levels of exposure to American culture (principally as a result of schooling) and degrees of cultural alienation.Dr. Colletta concludes with a discussion of alternative educational structures that might improve the fit between educational, cultural, and economic development throughout Micronesia.