Hawaiian language and culture in the middle level math class

UnrestrictedThe Kamehameha Schools (KS) is a private co-educational institution that was established under the terms of the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop in 1887. KS operates three campuses Kapālama (Oʻahu), Pukalani (Maui), and Keaʻau (Hawaiʻi island) that serves over 6,500 students from preschool through twelfth grade. KS recently adopted a Hawaiian Cultural Vibrancy Policy (KS, 2009) that will help meet the Schools’ Strategic Plan’s Goal #3 which states that, “KS will cultivate, nurture, perpetuate, and practice ‘Ike Hawaiʻi (which includes Hawaiian culture, values, history, language, oral traditions, literature, ad wahi pana – significant cultural or historical places – etc.).” For many years, KS has been a college preparatory institution that educated Native Hawaiian students using traditional Western pedagogical strategies. Today, there is a current focus to “indigenize” the pedagogical practices at KS to utilize more culturally relevant teaching strategies.; This dissertation focused on the extent to which Hawaiian language and culture (HLC), is utilized by teachers in the middle level math classes at KS-Oʻahu, the kinds of professional development that has been and can be useful towards teachers’ use of culture-based education practices as well as the effect that HLC initiatives have on the attitudes, philosophy and pedagogy of the participants in this study.; This qualitative study included observations and interviews of six current middle school math teachers as the primary data sources of the research. The author is also a middle school math teacher was a participant in the study.; This study represents a snapshot of the current state of KS-Oʻahu in regards to use of Hawaiian Language and Culture in the middle level math classes during the school year 2009-2010. This study represents the present. The author’s intention of this study was to assist in the development and support of KS’s Hawaiian language and culture initiatives in serving Hawaiian students now and in the future