Utilizing Multiple Perspectives and Situational Analysis to Demonstrate That Education Served Interests of Westerners in Hawaii During the 19th Century

• In Event: Roundtable Session 24
  In Roundtable Session: Philosophy, Pedagogy, and Perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that education in Hawai‛i served Western interests not the interests of Hawaiians as a part of the process of spreading an American hegemony and colonization. In achieving this purpose, this investigation leads participants to understand the importance of telling a story from multiple perspectives and using situational analysis in order to determine the motivation of Hawaiians and the American missionaries, the social groups in Hawai‛i that created a modern educational system. Situational analysis is a research tool created by Robert Berkhofer as a means to compare the words of social groups with their actual deeds. This process yields clues that identify motivation, demonstrating that the education system served the interest of Westerners.

Author

• Carl Kalani Beyer, Ashford University