Grounding SEL in Nā Hopena Aʻo (HĀ): Navigating Tensions in Transforming Policy and Practice

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Strengthening HĀ (BREATH) in Hawaiian Education: From Pre Service to System Level Leadership

Abstract

This conceptual paper examines the challenges and possibilities of grounding the practice of social emotional learning (SEL) in Nā Hopena Aʻo (HĀ), which affirms that education must be rooted in place, culture, and community. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how SEL can be reframed as practices that uplift and cultivate HĀ and to identify the systemic barriers and tensions that have made it difficult for districts to fully embody HĀ in practice.

Author

• Margary Martin, University of Hawai'i at Hilo