Talking about Ethnicity and Inequality
in Public Education

Kū Kahakalau, Ph.D.
Kū-A-Kanaka LLC

Pedagogy of Aloha
Hope for50,000+ Native Hawaiian
HIDOE Students

EVOLUTION OF
PEDAGOGY OF ALOHA
1985 DOE Hawaiian Language Teacher
1992 Hawaiian Culture Family Summer Camps
1996 Ph.D. in Indigenous Education
1997 Kanu o ka ‘Āina Hawaiian Academy (9-12)
2000 Kanu o ka ‘Āina Charter School (PK-12) & Nā
Lei Na’auao – Native Hawaiian Charter School Alliance2003 Hālau Wānana Center for Higher Learning
2010 Kanu o ka ‘Āina WASC/HAIS Accreditation2011 Kū-A-Kanaka LLC

1978 Article X of Hawaiʻi State Constitution
HAWAIIAN EDUCATION PROGRAM
Section 4. The State shall promote the study of Hawaiian
culture, history and language.
The State shall provide for a Hawaiian education program
consisting of language, culture and history in the publicschools. The use of community expertise shall be
encouraged as a suitable and essential means infurtherance of the Hawaiian education program.

1997 NATIVE HAWAIIAN EDUCATION COUNCIL
GOAL # 3: To establish a Native Hawaiian Educational
System that is:• culturally-driven• family-oriented• community-based.

2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rightsof Indigenous Peoples, Article 14
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to establish
and control their educational systems andinstitutions providing education in their own
languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural
methods of teaching and learning.

2007 United Nations Declaration on theRights of Indigenous Peoples, Article 14
2. Indigenous individuals, particularly children,
have the right to all levels and forms ofeducation of the State without discrimination.

2007 United Nations Declaration on theRights of Indigenous Peoples, Article 14
3. States shall, in conjunction with indigenouspeoples, take effective measures, in order forindigenous individuals, particularly children,
including those living outside their communities,
to have access, when possible, to an education in
their own culture and provided in their own
language.

Since at least the 1980s, the achievement of
Native Hawaiian students on state assessments
has lagged behind that of other students in thestate.
(KS: Kana‘iaupuni, Malone, and Ishibashi 2005a).

In each study year, grade 8 non- Native Hawaiianstudents had higher proficiency rates than did
Native Hawaiian students in both reading andmath.
REL, Dec 2011

Hawaiians are disproportionately represented inmany negative social and physical statistics,indicative of special education needs.
Native Hawaiian Educational Assessment ProjectFrom at least the 1980s, disproportionate numbers of
Native Hawaiians students in grades 7-12 continue tobe at risk of dropping out of high school because of
low literacy and math skills, poor attendance, andretention at grade level.

The long standing achievement gap ofNative Hawaiian students in the state’s
public schools represents a significant
concern.

Culture-Based Education and Its Relationship to Student Outcomes, KS Study

The absence of a high quality education, that will stop
the cycle of poverty and disenfranchisement faced bynative Hawaiians, is a civil rights and social justiceissue that the neither the State of Hawaiʻi, nor thefederal government can ignore.

Caught in the Crisis: Students of Color and Native Students in U.S. High Schools
Alliance for Excellent Education, ….

CAUSE OF FAILURE:• Statistics show that the lower educational
achievement of Native Hawaiians is a reflectionof the incompatibility of the current education
system with native Hawaiian cultural andeducational propensities and preferences.

Need for a Native Hawaiian Educational System:• Ongoing failure of DOE to address needs ofHawaiian students• Hawaiian knowledge structure differs from thewestern system of education.
• Hawaiians have a right to education moreconsistent with our culture and values.

Pedagogy of Aloha:• incorporates relations, relevance and rigor• focuses not on the challenges, but on solutions• strengthens and increases diverse Native Hawaiianassets• integrates strategies and interventions that are
successful for Native students• offers the perspective of Native educators who aredeeply engaged with our students and part of thecommunities in which the students live
• 15+ years of success at all levels

Findings of 2010 KS Study:• Culture-based education (CBE) positively impacts
student socio-emotional well-being (e.g., identity,self-efficacy, social relationships).
• Enhanced socio-emotional well-being positively
affects math and reading test scores, particularly for
those with low socio-emotional development

BARRIER:
SY 2015-16​ DOE Budget Allocation$1.9​ billion

FY 2014: Per-student spending: $12,226​
x 50,000 Native Hawaiians = $611,300,000= JOBS

“In the longterm, culturally-driven, communitybased, family-oriented education will be thefoundation upon which the Native Hawaiian
people will rise, i.e. “embracing Native
Hawaiian self-determination through educationalchange.”
Native Hawaiian Education Council, 1997.

When Hawaiian thrive, everyone will benefit!

For a copy of the PPT contact us: Kū-A-Kanaka: kuakanaka@gmail.com(808) 464-5005