CRDG Hosts 37th Annual Pacific Circle Consortium Conference

The Curriculum Research & Development Group (CRDG) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) College of Education (COE) hosted the Pacific Circle Consortium’s (PCC) 37th annual conference at the UHM Hawai‘i Imin Conference Center, June 3–7, 2013.

During the five-day event, participants examined the conference theme, Sharing Perspectives—International Conversations about Education: Recurring Themes in PCC. With more than 40 sessions, which included prominent scholars, award-winning writers from the COE, and University Laboratory School students, participants came from the Pacific, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Fiji, Sāmoa, Japan, and the United States.

The PCC bestows two awards each year – the Peter Brice Award and the Arthur King Jr. Curriculum Innovation Award, named for one of PCC’s founding members. The Peter Brice award is presented by the conference host country to an individual who best exemplifies the aims of the organization. Robert Witt was this year’s recipient.

Witt is the Executive Director of the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools (HAIS) and CEO of the Hawaiian Education Council. He has 40 years of experience in the field of education and is a national leader focused on transformative leadership, generative governance, and teacher professionalism.

COE Dean Don Young said, “Robert exemplifies the qualities for which we honor Peter Brice, who represented New Zealand in the early days of the PCC. The PCC Executive Committee created this award as a credit to Peter’s wisdom, humanity, and lifelong commitment to educational ideals. The selection of Robert Witt was an obvious choice.”

The Arthur King Jr. Curriculum Innovation Award is presented to an individual or group for developing an innovative, effective program or curriculum focusing on the Asia-Pacific Region. David Grossman received this award.

Grossman is the Adjunct Senior Fellow at the East-West Center, former Dean of Education at Chaminade University, and former Head of the Department of Social Science and Dean of the Faculty of Languages of Arts and Science at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. He directed three global education programs that are recognized both nationally and globally

CRDG Director Kathleen Berg commented, “A contemporary of Arthur King, David Grossman exemplifies the values and work celebrated by this award. As a participant and supporter of the PCC for many years, his work has enriched the consortium. Dr. King, who was the founding director of CRDG, would have been very pleased that Dr. Grossman was selected for this award.”

The Pacific Circle Consortium was established in 1977 as an initiative in international co-operation between educational research and development institutions in the Pacific Region initially drawn from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Membership has since been extended to other countries from within this region and from Asia. The focus has also changed from one of collaboratively produced curriculum materials to broader issues of policy development and educational research.