The Education Leadership Institute

The Education Leadership Institute is focused on meeting the enormous challenges that will face education in the Asia-Pacific region over the next 15 years. The powerful social, economic and cultural changes occurring in the region will compel corresponding changes in how education is conceived, organized and delivered. The Education Leadership Institute is designed to meet this challenge. During the four-week Institute, participants will develop collaborative teams that will continue to interact for the year subsequent to the Institute.

Each year the program brings together a cohort of twenty-five individuals, five each from five countries. Some participants will be drawn directly from educational environments in their countries. Others will come from other settings, such as the media, parliament, universities, business and the arts. Selection will include both public and private sectors. The Institute seeks individuals with a passion for education, and a capacity to think creatively and with rigor.

EWC staff work with cooperating institutions in the five countries selected for each year’s Institute. Short workshops on global interdependence and education are conducted in each country for 20-25 individuals. Institute participants are selected from these workshops.

The Leadership Program takes place in three phases: the pre-Hawai`i phase to develop case studies drawn from educational experiences in participant’s countries; the four-week program at the East-West Center in Hawai`i during the month of September, the curriculum of which incorporates these case studies; and the follow-up phase during which participants develop action plans to address some central educational issue in their country.

The Institute is designed to develop capacity for those seeking to address emerging educational challenges. Noted scholars work with participants in settings that allow free exchange of ideas, development of new ideas, and the creation of strategies designed to provide equity in an increasingly interdependent world. Small group interactions allow participants to address ways to appropriately restructure education to meet emerging needs, and pursue creative innovation.

During the follow-up phase, the 25 members continue to work together as a virtual community along with Institute staff. Regional sessions are conducted in each country by Institute staff at the six-month point to assist in action plan development. Participants return to the East-West Center for one week the following September to present action plans and meet the next cohort.