This dissertation surveys the development of the Hawaiian higher educational system in the 19th century Hawaiian Kingdom as a strategy of Hawaiian leadership in promoting and protecting Hawaiian independence. This analysis revisits a Hawaiian educational history canon that overwhelmingly credits missionaries and foreigners as imposing an…

This qualitative, ethnographic case study investigated the journeys of three mana wahine who earned a certificate or degree from the University of Hawai'i Maui College. The study aimed to understand how these wahine characterized their success in this community college. The study also identified the influencers that contributed to their…

This study examined Kanaka (Native Hawaiian) well-being and focused on two questions: (a) How do Kanaka doctoral students describe their well-being? and (b)What lived experiences contribute to the development of their well-being? Rooted in a multiple case study design, this exploratory qualitative inquiry tells the story of 11 Kanaka doctoral…

This paper outlines a comprehensive project that used the Community Engagement and Social Innovation Model as a framework to drive a continuous quality improvement project focused on enhancing outcomes for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) college students. Recognizing the persistent impact of modern-day colonialism on NHPI communities…

A number of critiques have been positioned against the modern university as the center of multiple modes of colonial and neoliberal violence; however, the vast majority of these critiques fail to speak to the context of people employed in the field of student affairs and its systemic role within the university. Responding to this concern, my study…

This research study makes a significant contribution to understanding the experiences of Native Hawaiian students in higher education and their college choice process. Research and literature focused on or inclusive of Native Hawaiians in higher education is scarce and limited (Reyes, 2018), so there is very little known about how Native Hawaiian…

Ka Papahana Kaiapuni, the Hawaiian Language Immersion Program (HLIP), also called Kula Kaiapuni on Maui is unique in that all schools are situated on public school campuses of the Hawai?i Department of Education (HiDOE). Seven schools span the island from the rural town of Hana, through Hamakuapoko, or Upcountry community, and then to Lahaina, the…

Parents, students, administrators and teachers all make a choice to be a part of a charter school. Since 1991 when the first charter school in the United States opened, charter schools have grown. As of 2018 over 3.3 million students across the United States attend charter schools and the projection for growth continues. In spite of making up the…

Despite the growing visibility of equity and access work in higher education, increasing the college degree attainment of Native Hawaiian students remains an urgent goal. The University of Hawai?i-West O?ahu, a regional public university, has the vision and location to realize this kuleana. Colonization and the illegal occupation of Hawai?i led to…

The University of Hawai?i is the only public higher education provider in Hawai?i. Starting in 1907 with Western academic ideologies, the Native Hawaiian (NH) ?ike and ?olelo were not a priority despite being the indigenous culture and language. More recently, the University has committed to becoming a Native Hawaiian place of learning and a…

In K-12 education, student voice is not often considered when establishing curriculum, addressing school policy, or creating a climate that reflects culturally inclusive teaching practices. Across education systems serving Indigenous communities within the United States, the voices of youth as a form of contribution are silenced, which echoes…

The University of Hawai'i (UH) is among the many colleges and universities worldwide taking steps to integrate Indigenous people, cultures, and histories into its structure, policies, and institutional culture to close achievement gaps and empower Indigenous scholars and their communities. As one of ten campuses in the UH system, Leeward Community…

Many working understandings of giftedness exist within dominating Western frameworks, gatekeeping gifted education from students who do not "fit" inside such frameworks (Owens et al., 2018; Rinn et al., 2020; Sternberg et al., 2021). As a result, K-12 Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students are underrepresented in…

Native Hawaiians have long been underrepresented among Hawai?i's university graduates, yet there is a dearth of studies that explore factors that have contributed to these disparities. My dissertation investigated how multiple factors: prejudices among education administrators, erasures of early advocates from dominant narratives, and failures to…

The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry study was to investigate if Native Hawaiian higher education faculty cultural beliefs influenced their choices to integrate instructional technology into their teaching. Specifically, the study focused on the cultural beliefs or ways of knowing of Native Hawaiian educators and their relationship to…