Patricia Espiritu Halagao, PhD (she | her)
Professor & Chair, Department of Curriculum Studies
College of Education
University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa
(808) 956-9295 | phalagao@hawaii.edu

As a Filipina American scholar and teacher, Dr. Patricia Espiritu Halagao is committed to equity and social justice in education. Her scholarship focuses on multicultural pedagogy and policy, specifically on Filipino K-12 education. She received her B.A., Anthropology from Occidental College, and Ph.D., Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Washington.  She hails from Stockton, CA, and is a former Oakland Public School elementary teacher.  She co-developed Filipino American curricula entitled Pinoy Teach and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific Program’s Filipino American Curriculum project. She’s received several grants, including the UH Mānoa Multilingual Multicultural Strategic Initiative and Social Justice in Education Project in partnership with Teaching Tolerance.  She co-founded the UHM College of Education Tinalak Filipino Advisory Council. She serves as a FANHS Trustee and is Co-Editor of the FANHS Journal.  She received UH highest Medal for Excellence in Teaching and Filipina Women’s Network 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World Award. Dr. Halagao was appointed to the Hawaiʻi State Board of Education (2013-2016) and worked with the community to adopt two Board policies: Seal of Biliteracy and Multilingualism for an Equitable Education.