TWO education experts are the envy of their colleagues after enjoying a 10-day conference -- in Honolulu!

Now with the palm printed shirts tucked back in the wardrobe, the globetrotting researchers are sitting down to reflect on the more serious aspects of teaching.

Alan Child and Steve Merrill are putting pen to paper after being invited to write part of an international book on education.

The pair were selected for the Hawaii International Conference on Education, along with 900 delegates from all over the world, after one of their research papers was submitted.

They were then called on to present their two papers 'Making the Most of Initial Teacher Training' and 'Professional Mentors Have Their Say.'

Luckily for them it was Aloha to Waikiki beach!

"It was fantastic to meet people from all over the world who all had education and youngsters' best interests at heart," said Alan, former deputy head and acting head of Beardwood High School.

"It was great to hear that some of the issues we talk about here like teacher shortages or recruiting and retaining teachers are being looked at all over the world."

And the Preston-based scholar found himself rubbing shoulders with the guest speaker, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Peking and headteachers from New York city.

Alan said: "We learnt a tremendous amount and now we are writing a report about the conference, new ideas and material.

"The editor of an internationally-compiled book on education also approached us and asked us to write a chapter on our findings regarding teacher mentoring.

"We were thrilled!"

But the trip itself, funded by St Martin's College, Lancaster, and Edge Hill College, Ormskirk, where the teachers are currently working, is already firmly ensconced as a trip of a lifetime.

"When you fly into Honolulu the scenery is just so dramatic," said Alan. "The islands are all volcanic so there are yawning craters everywhere surrounded by crystal-clear water.

"I have never been there before, but we did not just get to see the tourist area. The island is populated with a million people and there are pockets of serious problems."

Alan and Steve, a former teacher at St Wilfrid's CE Technology College, Blackburn, visited one of the islands' largest schools before returning to chilly Lancashire.

There, they saw security teams made up of former police officers overseeing operations at the school and learnt about a variety of social challenges, including unemployment and violence.

The inaugural conference was organised by the University of Honolulu and is expected to be host country again next year.