STAFF
Morris K. Lai
(lai@hawaii.edu)
Position: Principal investigator for Program Research and Evaluation projects; graduate faculty in Educational Psychology and Communication and Information Sciences
Education: BS, Stanford University (mathematics); MA, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (mathematics); PhD, University of California, Berkeley (education)
Scholarly interests and expertise: Evaluation; culturally based evaluation methods; Hawaiian culture
Current and recent projects:
1. Pihana Nā Mamo: The Native Hawaiian Special Education Project
2. Nā Lama Heluhelu: The Pihana Na Mamo Early Reading Initiative
3. Kāko‘o Piha: The Pihana Na Mamo Project to Support At-Risk Native Hawaiian Youth
4. Coordination of the evaluation of INPEACE’s SPARK Project
Selected publications and presentations:
Kawakami, A. J., Aton, K., Cram, F., Lai, M. K., & Porima, L. (in press). Improving the practice of evaluation through indigenous values and methods: Decolonizing evaluation practice: Returning the gaze. Chapter in P. R. Brandon & N. Smith (Eds.) Fundamental issues in evaluation. New York: Guilford.
Cram, F., Kawakami, A. J., Aton, K., Lai, M. K., & Porima, L. (2006). Using indigenous evaluation methodologies: Our fundamental right. Presentation at the annual meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Portland, OR.
Dunn, H. H., Higa, T. A. F., & Lai, M. K. (2006). The relationship between a subtest of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) and Hawai‘i State Assessment (HSA) for Pihana Nā Mamo Grade 3 and Grade 5 students in school year 2004–05. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Hawai‘i Educational Research Association, Honolulu, HI.
Lai, M. K. (2006). Challenging past and present inequities of evaluation methodology and practice. Presentation at the annual meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Portland, OR.
Lai, M. K. (2006). How researchers “define” Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian can strongly affect results. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Hawai‘i Educational Research Association, Honolulu, HI.
Lai, M. K., Goo, S. F., & York, S. E. (2006). Building cultural bridges. Presentation at the SmartStart annual conference, Greensboro, NC.
Lai, M. K., Goo, S. F., York, S. E., & Sarsona, M. (2006). Building cultural bridges: The impact of culturally appropriate relationships in programming and evaluation. Presentation at the annual meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Portland, OR.
Lai, M. K., & York, S. E. (2006). Honoring and respecting the cultures of project participants, communities, funding agencies, and evaluators. Presentation at the 2006 Conference on Hawaiian Indigenous Education, Research, and Well-Being, Honolulu, HI.
Lai, M. K., & York, S. E. (2006). SPARK-Hawai‘i Year-3 evaluation report. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i, Curriculum Research & Development Group.
Lai, M. K., Cram, F., Kawakami, A. J., & Aton, K. (2005). Decolonizing evaluation practice. Presentation at the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education, Hamilton, NZ.
Lai, M. K., Cram, F., Kawakami, A. J., & Porima, L., & Aton, K. (2005). Brackish waters: Going with the flow in the space between indigenous cultural identities and Western professional evaluation roles. Presentation at the annual meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Lai, M. K., Dunn, H., York, S., Kishi, G., & Hanohano, M. (2005). Evaluating reading achievement using mo‘olelo (stories) laden with data. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Hawai‘i Educational Research Association, Honolulu, HI.
Lai, M. K., & York, S. E. (2005). SPARK-HI (Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids-Hawai‘i) Year 2 evaluation report. Honolulu, HI: Curriculum Research & Development Group.
Lai, M. K., Cram, F., Kawakami, A. J., & Aton, K. (2004). Decolonizing evaluation practice: Indigenous values and methods as improvements for evaluation practice. Panel presentation at the annual meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Atlanta, GA.
Lai, M. K., & Yap, M. (2004). Culturally appropriate evaluation methods and the use of mo‘olelo (stories). Presentation at the Program Assessment and System Evaluation, Kamehameha Schools Conference on Hawaiian Well-Being, Kea‘au, HI.