This study examined Kanaka (Native Hawaiian) well-being and focused on two questions: (a) How do Kanaka doctoral students describe their well-being? and (b)What lived experiences contribute to the development of their well-being? Rooted in a multiple case study design, this exploratory qualitative inquiry tells the story of 11 Kanaka doctoral…

Video games, such as the popularized game Minecraft, have been used in a variety of educational settings and learning contexts. Though academic findings of video game usage are mixed, increases in learning competencies, skills and engagement were apparent. While faced with creating an alternative learning plan for teaching kaikua?ana and kaikaina…

Music education does not look the same in Hawai?i as in other states or parts of the world. This study paints a picture of the range of elementary music teacher positions in O?ahu schools and identifies the current needs of music educators. How are O?ahu elementary music teachers prepared to fulfill their professional roles and responsibilities?…

This qualitative phenomenological study examined ten Hawai'i State Department of Education educators teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2019-2020 academic school year. It was designed to understand the challenges Native Hawaiian teachers faced by providing their students with learning experiences using technology while preserving…

In Hawai?i, there are over 170,000 students enrolled in public schools, with Filipinos comprising almost 25% of the student population. Native Hawaiian values, culture, and language have slowly gained an important role in school curriculum, but little is known about how students from other backgrounds respond to it. The purpose of this research is…

Citizens of the Compact of Free Association (COFA) nations of Micronesia are the newest ethnic migrant group in Hawai'i. This relationship is born out of the long history of the geopolitical relationship between the COFA nations (the Republic of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands) and the United States.…

Nana i ke kumu refers to the Hawaiian practice of returning to traditional knowledge and resources to understand the underlying cultural roots of everyday words and actions used in contemporary Hawaiian settings. In this strengths-based research project, videotaped lessons in four classrooms at a Native Hawaiian-serving school were viewed and…

Education is central to the lives of U.S. children. Aside from learning reading and writing, children in schools learn social and cultural norms as well as the development of basic communicative, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills. Schools are a fundamental institution in the U.S. and it is here that students learn not only skills and…

Institutions of higher education are increasingly engaged in sustainability efforts, both in classrooms and on the campus. Yet, little is known about what students really know and believe about sustainability issues. Using Lattuca and Stark's (2009) curricular frame and a single case study approach, this research explored student and non-student…

The purpose of this research project was to understand, explore and describe the digital divide and the relationship between technology utilization and health outcomes. Diabetes and diabetic eye disease was used as the real-life context for understanding change and exploring the digital divide. As an investigational framework, a telemedicine…

The increase number of females in leadership positions provides new opportunities to observe them as leaders. The purpose of this research was to study leadership and to identify the contextual, societal and cultural factors that determined and influenced the styles of leadership of female executives in higher education. The study profiled the…

This study explored the beliefs and practices of diverse families surrounding the emergence of literacy development in young children with disabilities. Interviews were conducted with families of young children with disabilities to identify the beliefs about literacy and disability that influence the literacy experiences they provide for their…

The relationship between Hawaiian cultural identity and student progress at Kamehameha Elementary School (KES) is the focal point of this study. As the student demographics continue to evolve at Kamehameha Schools, most recently with increasing numbers of children coming from orphan and indigent backgrounds, teachers want greater understanding of…

As data depict, Native Hawaiian public school students consistently rank among the lowest of all ethnic groups by nearly every measure of academic engagement and success (Kana'iaupuni & Ishibashi, 2003). As is common with many children of indigenous ancestry, teaching methodologies, pedagogical strategies, and structures of mainstream or…