The Hawaii English Project, the first major developmental task of the Hawaii Curriculum Center sponsored jointly by the University of Hawaii and the Hawaii Department of Education, was set up to prepare and test an English curriculum (K-12) and to develop a plan for the curriculum's establishment throughout the state. At the center of the projected curriculum is the theory that a school should be a microcosm of the world of knowledge and that the curriculum of the school should be a deliberately selected set of disciplines to be mastered. Also fundamental to this curriculum is the concept of private man and public man and the roles of language and literature in shaping man's relationship to himself, society, and the world. Other concepts that affect the curriculum design are a definition of English as consisting of language and literature, the belief that a student should be able to account for himself in the symbol system he has inherited, a high regard for individuality, and a belief that the child must recognize his responsibilities for shaping the quality of learning. Plans for teacher preparation and in-service education to utilize the new curriculum are being developed through experiences with university courses, NDEA institutes, workshops, and on-school-time training. (LH)