Kaho`iwai Hawaiian Education Teacher Education Cohort

University of Hawai’'i at Manoa, College of Education

Kaho`iwai Needs Statement

There is a clear need to improve the education of Native Hawaiian children in the State of Hawai’'i. This will be best achieved through the preparation of well-qualified teachers, administrators, researchers and curriculum developers who support Native Hawaiian children to reach high levels of academic achievement. In particular, the quality of schooling will improve as more Native Hawaiians from the community become educators.

The educational needs of Native Hawaiian students have long been documented. Typically, Native Hawaiian students as a group score in the bottom quartile on standardized tests of reading and mathematics. Their rates of absenteeism and retention in grade are far above average. Factors contributing to the challenges that Native Hawaiian students face are inclusive of educational methodologies that ignore Native Hawaiian language, culture, and traditions, as well as the absence of Native Hawaiian role models in our schools.

The purpose of the University of Hawai'i College of Education's Hawaiian Education Teacher Education Cohort called “Kaho`iwai” is to prepare teachers to provide instruction aimed at better addressing these unique needs of Native Hawaiian students within the context of Native Hawaiian culture, language, and traditions. Our name, Kaho`iwai, refers to the fresh water spring in Manoa, whose waters are our source of life and sustenance. Kaho’'iwai (metaphorically) speaks of the wai (water) or the essence; waiwai or the wealth—of our ancestral knowledge that kaho`i, renews and refreshes us. Our source of life is renewed by the wisdom of our ancestral knowledge enabling us to know who we are as Hawaiians. We are renewed and empowered by the wealth of wisdom and knowledge (education) that comes to us through the vision of our kupuna or ancestors.

The success of Kaho`iwai Cohort is imperative. It is the only teacher education cohort in the nation that, using Native Hawaiian education methodology, culturally relevant curriculum, and culturally appropriate teaching and learning strategies, trains teachers to become culturally responsive in their work with children in Hawaiian Language Immersion Schools, Hawaiian Charter Schools, and Schools in Hawaiian Communities.

Cohort Overview

The two-year cohort provides opportunities to prepare, primarily teachers of Native Hawaiian ancestry to become excellent teachers of Native Hawaiian children. The teacher education program of courses and field work emphasize culturally driven curriculum that is student centered, and community based. The cohort facilitates the implementation of Hawaiian education methodology; a truly innovative model of education designed to meet the unique needs and cultural propensities of Hawai`i’'s indigenous student population.

There are three components of the cohort that reflect the immediate and unique needs of Native Hawaiian children. These components are: Hawaiian Language Immersion, where pre-service teachers prepare to become teachers in Hawaiian Immersion Schools, fluent in the Hawaiian Language and Hawaiian Pedagogy; Native Hawaiian Charter Schools, and Schools in Native Hawaiian Communities, where pre-service teachers prepare to become competent in both Hawaiian and English, and well-skilled to help children become bi-lingual, bi-cultural, and able to walk successfully in two worlds—-Hawaiian and English.

In our experience and research in the College of Education, we have come to understand the kind of support needed to allow more Native Hawaiian students to succeed in education; at what approaches to teaching and learning are most effective for Native Hawaiian students; and how teacher education programs for Native Hawaiians can allow for these pre-service teachers to be successful and effective in the College of Education and the Hawai`i State Department of Education without having to compromise and suppress their Native Hawaiian values and practices. Kaho`iwai has established a research partnership with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Bachelor’'s of Education Program at the University of Technology at Sydney in Australia. Together, both indigenous groups at both universities focus on indigenous education, indigenous identity, and cultural appropriateness in the classroom.

We learned how important it is for us to work hard at recruiting, mentoring, and supporting Native Hawaiians in teacher education so that they are able to earn their certification to return to their own communities to teach and help native Hawaiian children to achieve success in school. Preparing teachers to teach in culturally driven K-12 schools will result in generations of Native Hawaiian children who are fluent speakers of both Hawaiian and English, who have the tools and capacity to succeed in the 21^st century, and who can walk successfully in both worlds without having to give up their values and traditions. Creating relevant and meaningful learning experiences for Hawai`i’'s indigenous people is vital in our efforts to control our own educational destiny. This commitment collectively ensures academic excellence for Native Hawaiian children and empowerment for Native Hawaiian people over all.

The Hawaiian Education Teacher Education Cohort commenced in January 2002 with 20 preservice teachers, of which 15 are Native Hawaiian moving through six semesters to Fall 2003 when student teaching efforts will take place leading up to graduation in December 2003. The cohort is the starting point of a long range teacher education plan to provide Teacher Education for Hawaiian Language Immersion schools, Hawaiian Charter schools and schools in Hawaiian communities. In teacher education and curriculum studies, the College of Education is enabled to provide strong support to resource and curriculum development that honors culture and learning. The teacher training efforts provide direction in the development of innovative learning experiences that link curriculum to a culturally sustaining pedagogy. The commitment to establish this model of education for Native Hawaiian children are community based, embracing the values and philosophies of the Native Hawaiian people. Native Hawaiian Education is a primary focus in the quest to arrive at self-determination. We believe our only hope for self-determination is through education and our efforts to decision make in the institution of education.

Teaching Staff

Kerri-Ann Kealohapau`ole Hewett, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor/Cohort Coordinator
(808) 956-4407
hewett@hawaii.edu

Kaho`iwai Hawaiian Education Teacher Education Cohort
Institute for Teacher Education
College of Education
University of Hawai`i at Manoa
1776 University Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96822