Report on Extra-state Jurisdictions: Study of State Programs in Bilingual Education
Report on Extra-state Jurisdictions: Study of State Programs in Bilingual Education (Report). Washington, DC: Development Associates. March 1977. p. 32.
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Abstract: This volume provides an overview of bilingual education in each of the five extra-state jurisdictions visited by the study staff: American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Micronesia, and the Virgin Islands. The study primarily focused on the impact of federal bilingual education policy on each territory’s bilingual education programs. Therefore, local bilingual education projects were not visited or reviewed. The volume includes brief historical sketches of the status of bilingual education in each of the five U.S. territories, covering philosophy, goals, budgetary considerations, materials and curriculum development, and legislation. Additionally, it provides an analysis of the impact of federal bilingual education policy.
Bilingual education is not new to Micronesia. Before the United States assumed responsibility for its governance and administration, Spain, Germany, and Japan colonized, occupied, and administered its islands. During these periods, beginning in 1669 and ending in 1945, institutionalized education was introduced in various forms and languages. Spanish language arts were taught from 1669 to 1898, German from 1898 to 1914, and Japanese from 1914 to 1945. Bilingual education and bilingualism, in a specific sense, initiated during these periods, although it was incidental rather than a result of specific policy. For example, during the Japanese occupation, island children learned about their own culture and communicated in their daily activities using their parents’ language. However, they were required to learn Japanese during a compulsory three-year elementary school period. Students became bilingual as they simultaneously used their own language within their island culture and Japanese in school or when interacting with Japanese institutions.
The American system of education in Micronesia, as administered by the Navy Department, was based on the United Nations Charter. Educational policy included the requirement that schools should teach, foster, and encourage native languages, history, arts and crafts, and provide instruction in English language arts to inhabitants of all ages. When education became the responsibility of a civilian government under the Department of the Interior in 1951, a committee was established to make recommendations about educational policy. These recommendations are reflected in the 1955 Micronesia Department of Education manual.
