Sense of Place, Community, and Identity

Lessons Learned from a Culturally Responsive Case Study

“…The incongruence between the Native Hawaiian culture and western-based educational institutions has been noted by numerous researchers (Kana'iaupuni et al, 2010;Kawakami, 1999;Tharp, Estrada, Dalton, & Yamauchi, 2000;Yamauchi, 2003) who have identified conflicts between students from cultures with more collectivist orientations and the individualist values held by Western educational institutions (Ballinger & Noonan, 2004;Ogata, Sheehey, & Noonan, 2006;Ogbu, 1990;Yamauchi, 2003). Differences between collectivist and individualist cultures appear in matters such as: (a) cooperation versus competition; (b) individual versus group orientation; (c) family responsibilities, gender and age roles; and (d) interaction styles (Triandis, 2001).…”

“…Implications of past colonization continue in the participation and persistence of Native Hawaiian students in today's classrooms: in order to succeed in modern Hawai'i, Native Hawaiian students have had to accept the values and behaviors related to success in Western culture. Native Hawaiians have had to put aside cooperative and collaborative values of laulima (joint action), kōkua (support), and ha'aha'a (humility) and are often faced with the dilemma of adopting values that promote individual achievement and competition (Kawakami, 1999). As an example, Native Hawaiian students may not feel comfortable speaking up in large or whole-group settings but may speak freely and learn more readily in smaller groups (Tharp et al, 2000).…”

Mohala i ka wai

“…Given research evidence that culturally contextualizing education generates robust relationships and support from surrounding communities and families, we expect CBE increases students’ sense of belonging at school (Castagno & Brayboy, 2008; Kawakami, 1999; Lee, 2015; Yazzie-Mintz, 2007). Studies reveal the strong pull of shared priorities for language- and culture-rich education in schools serving Indigenous communities, drawing in parents, youth, and community leaders alike (Demmert & Towner, 2003; Luning & Yamauchi, 2010; Wilson & Kamanā, 2006; Yazzie, 1999).…”

Ethnic Schools

“…Community-based or culturally focused education is one manifestation of the impulse to build community resources and capacity. Research on such efforts usually takes the form of a longitudinal history of a single group and its use of educational apparatus to meet its needs (Anderson, 1988;Cose, 2002;Galush, 2000;Kawakami, 1999;Sexton, 2000;Vinyard, 1998). Some researchers also explore the creation of schools on behalf of a group by outsiders, discussing the sometimes mixed (at best) motives and the paternalistic mind-set that often inheres to such help (Anderson, 1988;Colby & Damon, 1992;Cose, 2002;Delpit, 1995).…”

“…Perhaps the most useful research in terms of really understanding the needs of ethnic groups and the educational alternatives created to meet those needs are through those case studies that focus closely on one or a few particular programs and their efforts to serve that community (Fashola & Cooper, 1999;Kawakami, 1999;Kifano, 1996). This type of study does not give breadth of coverage that can be decontextualized and cross-applied to other situations as a self-existent model but rather reveals the details of a particular program in the context of its own situation and examines how and why it works and who is being served (from their own perspectives) in that situation.…”