The Effects of Culture-Based Education on a Predominantly Native Hawaiian School

• In Event: Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Indigenous Schools and Schooling and the Power of Educational Research

Abstract

Native or Part Hawaiian (NH) students perform low in the academics and exhibit a high rate of bullying and harassment problems. Accordingly, schools predominantly with NH in Hawaii lag behind in meeting the annual yearly progress. To address the problem, a curriculum based on culture-based education (CBE) was developed and implemented in a predominantly NH school over four school years. A case study was conducted to investigate its effects. The findings include that the school improved reading and mathematics outcomes and climate over years and that the students, teachers, and principal reported positive educational experiences. Despite the limited generalizability of a case study, the findings support the use of CBE for indigenous students.

Authors

• Hye Jin Park, University of Hawaii

• Kelly Drew Roberts, University of Hawaii - Manoa