I Ke Alo No Ka ‘Ulu a Hala: Regaining Sight Through Culture-Based Education

• In Event: Kāī Kea: Issues in Indigenous Self-Determination

Abstract

With the ongoing pressures of the “No Child Left Behind Act”, the school curriculum in Hawaiʻi has drifted farther away from its home base and closer to a standard test preparation educational experience for our students. Our research focuses on a culture-based Learning Center that resides in a community with a high population of Native Hawaiians. The Center engages in educational renewal efforts by designing its curriculum around the community culture. The focus of the initiative include: how to create and maintain a space for the community knowledge within the school environment; break down the walls between school and community by building relationships with community resources; and strengthen the student’s identity and self-worth in serving the well-being of the community.

Authors

• Mischa Kauaanuhea Lenchanko, University of Hawaii - Manoa

• Krystal Kaleinani Chieko Tim Sing, Ho‘okulāiwi: ‘Aha Ho‘ona‘auao ‘Ōiwi University of Hawai‘i Mānoa