There are many efforts to bolster college-going, especially for minority students. While mainstream research dominates the perspectives that inform development of initiatives aimed at increasing college-going, it is important that student voices and experiences guide these programs. The purpose of this study is to amplify Native Hawaiian voices to…

Family-school partnerships have been shown to improve academic and social outcomes for children, yet there have been challenges in developing effective partnerships with diverse families. This phenomenological study examined perspectives of immigrant and local parents with regards to family-school partnerships in Hawai?i to provide insights…

This dissertation documents the lives of six science teachers whose multifaceted identities were influenced over time by Hawai'i's unique sociocultural and biogeographical factors. Narrative inquiry was utilized through individual interviews which spanned a five-year period. From "restorying," identity narratives and maps were…

This grounded theory study sought to understand how educators who have participated in a Punahou School-Wo International Center professional development program define components of global citizenship, integrate them into their teaching practices, and detect its presence. This qualitative study interviewed 20 educators (after reaching saturation)…

After Japan's annexation in 1879, Okinawa came under the unprecedented influence of Japanization. This research examined how learning in Hawai'i influenced the Okinawan sense of identity of 11 Okinawan students. Grounded theory analysis of interview transcripts indicated that students became more conscious as Okinawan through encounters and…

The contemporary education system in the United States is inadequate in the provision of services to assure that all students exit high school with the knowledge and skills necessary to enter postsecondary education or the workforce. This is particularly true for indigenous youth (Tanabe & Mobley, 2011). According to scholars, dual enrollment…

This qualitative case study explored how three expert secondary special education teachers in Hawaii successfully negotiated their job demands. Purposeful sampling was used to select one secondary school on the Leeward coast of Oahu. We used reputational-case sampling to select participants that fit Dreyfus and Dreyfus' (1980) expert theoretical…

Dating is a highly desirable experience during adolescence and serves as an important developmental milestone. This study explored healthy and unhealthy dating as a step toward improving adolescent well-being. Six focus group interviews were conducted with high school-aged girls and boys (N = 35). Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed…

The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to create a student leadership development model specific to secondary students in a private Christian Hawaiian school system. The paradigm that guided this study was Kouzes and Posner's (2012) transformational leadership theory as it provides a framework of leaders equipping, encouraging,…

After nearly 2 decades of advances in information and communications technologies (ICT) including social media, mobile, analytics, and cloud computing, disaster response agencies in the United States have not been able to improve alignment between ICT-based information and disaster response actions. This grounded theory study explored emergency…

The "creativity gap" is a distressing discrepancy between the ostensible value educators place on creativity and its absence in schools. How do teachers take on the attributes and skills of a creative practitioner? What struggles do they face in doing so? This case study examines the practices of six early elementary teachers who…

Nanette Schonleber makes a remarkable correlation as to why Hawaiian indigenous educators thrive with Montessori pedagogy. Compatible educators share values and goals, such as developmental learning, respect for parenthood, freedom of movement and independence, choice in learning, and specific individualized potential. Hawaiian language and…

The purpose of this study was to discover which andragogical characteristics and expectations of adult learners manifested themselves in the three-dimensional, multi-user virtual environment known as Second Life. This digital ethnographic study focused specifically on adult students within the University of Hawai'i Second Life group and their…

The community as part of the social environment is a key social determinant of health and is a central organizing feature of Pacific culture. A collective worldview informs the way social support is conceived in Pacific cultures, and it is core to Samoan and Tongan elders' perceptions of the influence of community on health and well-being. In…

The focus of this study was on creating a climate for innovation in schools to lead to improvements in student achievement. Bolman and Deal's (2008) four frame model of organizational thinking was used as a framework for the study. The study examined the influence of leadership practices, structure, and school culture in the context of a K-12…