Morris K. Lai 
Educational Associate
Graduate Faculty, Department of Educational Psychology
Principal investigator, Program Research and Evaluation
Curriculum Research & Development Group
College of Education
University of Hawaii at Manoa
1776 University Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
Office: University High School Building#2-213A
Phone: (808) 956-7900
Fax: (808) 956-9510
Email: lai@hawaii.edu
Education
PhD in education, University of California at Berkeley, California, 1972
MA in mathematics, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1967
BS in mathematics, Stanford University, California, 1965Research Interests
Program evaluation and research methods
Courses Taught in the Department
EDEP 699 Independent Study or Reading
EDEP 711 Practicum in Evaluation
EDEP 768(G) Seminar in Educational Psychology: Educational Evaluation
Selected Publications
Kawakami, A. J., Aton, K., Cram, F., Lai, M. K., & Porima, L. (November 19, 2007 publication date). Improving the practice of evaluation through indigenous values and methods: Decolonizing evaluation practice: Returning the gaze. In N. Smith & P. R. Brandon (Eds.) Fundamental issues in evaluation. New York: Guilford.
Lai, M. K., Saka, S. M., & Kelly, T. (2003). A comparison of Hawaiian high school students’ and non-Hawaiian high school students’ responses related to tobacco. Pacific Educational Research Journal, 12(1), 91–100.
Pateman, B., Saka, S. M., & Lai, M. K. (2001). Assessing youth risk behaviors and school-based prevention programs in health education: results from the Hawai‘i Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the Hawai‘i School Health Education Profile Survey. Pacific Educational Research Journal, 11(1), 91–111.
Feldman, A. I., Campbell, R. L., & Lai, M. K. (1999). Improving elementary school science teaching by cross-level mentoring. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 10(1), 55–67.
Britten, P. J., & Lai, M. K. (1998). Structural analysis of the relationships among elementary teachers’ training, self-efficacy, and time spent teaching nutrition. Journal of Nutrition Education, 30, 218–224.
Young, D. B., Dougherty, B., Lai, M. K., & Matsumoto, A. (1998). Addressing equity through curriculum development and program evaluation. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 4, 269–281.
Feldman, A., Campbell, R., & Lai, M. K. (1997). Teacher trainers. The Science Teacher, 64(6), 79.
Whitman, N. C., Nohda, N., Lai, M. K., Hashimoto, Y., Iijima, Y., Isoda, M., & Hoffer, A. (1997). Mathematics education: A cross-cultural study. Peabody Journal of Education, 72(1), 215–232.
Britten, P. J., Kanehiro, N. A., & Lai, M. K. (1996, December). Nutrition background and practices of Hawai‘i public school elementary teachers. Pacific Educational Research Journal, 8(1), 51–63.
Pateman, B., Saka, S. M., & Lai, M. K. (1996, December). Adolescent health behaviors in Hawai‘i: Curriculum directions from the 1995 Hawai‘i and national Youth Risk Behavior Surveys. Pacific Educational Research Journal, 8(1), 3–18.
Slaughter, H. B., & Lai, M. K. (1995). Hawaiian language immersion: Lessons from a six-year study. FLES News—National Network for Early Language Learning, 8(3), 1, 4–6.
Knezek, G. A., Lai, M. K., & Southworth, J. H. (1994). Psychological dispositions of children residing in Hawaii in the context of a multinational study on computing. In G. A. Knezek (Ed.), Studies on children and computers (pp. 39–60). Denton, TX: Texas Center for Educational Technology.
Lai, M. K., & Saka, T. (1994). Using differential item functioning procedures to improve interpretation of and performance on the Verbal Subtest of the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Pacific Proceedings, 3, 47–61.
Saka, T., & Lai, M. K. (1993). Differential item functioning among mainland U.S. and Hawai‘i examinees on the verbal subtest of the SAT. Proceedings of the Hawai‘i Educational Research Association, 3, 51–59.
Young, D. B., & Lai, M. K. (1993). Assessing the impact of DASH (Developmental Approaches in Science, Health, and Technology). Science Education, 10(2), 8–13.
Whitman, N. C., & Lai, M. K. (1990). Similarities and differences in teachers’ beliefs about effective teaching of mathematics: Japan and Hawai‘i. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 21(1), 71–81.
Lai, M. K., & Saka, S. M. (1989). Hawai‘i’s kindergarten children with language needs show gains above normative expectations. Pacific Educational Research Journal, 5(1), 59–62.
Saka, T., & Lai, M. K. (1988). Relationships among home language, first-acquired language, and English language acquisition of Hawai‘i’s kindergarten students. Pacific Educational Research Journal, 4(1), 41–52.
Lai, M. K. (1987). Critique of “Causal relationship between attitude and achievement for elementary grade mathematics and reading.” Investigations in Mathematics Education, 20(4), 54–56.
Lai, M. K. (1987). Critique of “Feature frequency and the use of negative instances in a geometric task.” Investigations in Mathematics Education, 20(1), 57–60.
Lai, M. K., & Saka, T. (1987). Gender differences across four computer-related courses. Pacific Educational Research Journal, 3(1), 67–69.
Lai, M. K., & Shishido, J. (1987). A model for evaluating art education programs. Arts and Learning Research, 5(1), 1–13.
Lai, M. K., Giuli, C., & Saka, T. (1986). An alternative (and possibly an improvement) to random assignment. Pacific Educational Research Journal, 2(1), 44–52.
Whitman, N. C., & Lai, M. K. (1986). Differences between Tokyo and Hawai‘i teachers of mathematics. Pacific Educational Research Journal, 2(1), 53–65.
Lai, M. K. (1985). Critique of “Relationships between task time and learning gains in secondary school.” Investigations in Mathematics Education, 18(2), 38–41.
Lai, M. K., & Shimabukuro, S. (1985). Ethnic differences in the diets of Hawai‘i’s children. Pacific Educational Research Journal, 1(1), 6–17.
Lai, M. K. (1983). Critique of “Curriculum and achievement in the mathematics: A study of elementary school children in Japan, Taiwan, and the United States.” Investigations in Mathematics Education, 16(4), 36–41.
Lai, M. K., Shimabukuro, S., Wenkam, N. S., & Raman, S. P. (1982). A nutrient analysis of students’ diets in the State of Hawai‘i. Journal of Nutrition Education, 14(2), 67–70.
Lai, M. K. (1977). Evaluation in large-scale curriculum development settings. Educational Perspectives, 16(2), 28–30. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 127 314)
Lai, M. K. (1974). The effects of teacher skills related to independent study. Performance-Based Teacher Education, 3(1), 3–4.
Lai, M. K. (1968). Applications in statistical quality control, marketing and production: Marketing application II. In K. Sasaki, Statistics for modern business decision making, 295–306. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Last Update: 10/22/07