35.072 - Reflecting on the P in REAPA: Education Research on (and for) Pacific Islanders

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

The United States of America has worked prodigiously to incorporate its diverse population into the prevalent racial system. Through this system, Pacific Islanders (PI’s) have become rendered a minority with the larger umbrella category “Asian Pacific American.” Research on PI’s, particularly within the field of education, has invariably relied on or reified this racial project (Omi & Winant, 1994). This has resulted in exclusion, misrepresentation, and silencing of PI’s unique position within the United States (Museus, 2013). Using a variety of theoretical lenses, including critical discourse analysis, counter-story telling, and indigenous methodologies, this session focuses on provoking dialogue within the scholarly community about the status of Pacific Islanders within the “APA” racial category.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Research on the Education of Asian and Pacific Americans

Chair

• OiYan A. Poon, Loyola University Chicago

Papers

• Navigating Race: Pacific Islanders in Higher Education Research Journals - Natasha A Saelua, Indiana University - Bloomington; Ester Sihite, Loyola University Chicago

• A Critical Analysis of Quantitative Research and Pacific Islanders - Jenna Sablan, Georgetown University

• Unknown and/or Misunderstood: Higher Education Institutions in Compact of Free Association Pacific Island Nations - Joy Hannibal, Michigan State University

• Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Critical Race Theory: Bridging the Gap From Access to Degree Attainment - Keali'i Troy Kukahiko, University of California - Los Angeles

Discussants

• Frankie Santos Laanan, Florida Atlantic University

• Erin K. Wright, University of Hawaii