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Okinawan Identity Development Among Okinawan University and College Students Through Activiti

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BEING MORE OKINAWAN IN HAWAIʻI: OKINAWAN IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT AMONG OKINAWAN UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE STUDENTS THROUGH ACTIVITIES, LEARNING, INTERACTIONS, AND EXPERIENCES IN HAWAIʻI A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY August 2019 By Kazufumi Taira Dissertation Committee: Lois Yamauchi, Chairperson Joyce Chinen Katherine Ratliffe Tasha Wyatt Julie Kaomea Keywords: Okinawan identity, identity development, international students, grounded theory i Acknowledgements I would like to express my appreciation to all the participants who spent their precious time and shared their experiences with me for this research. Without their contributions, I would not have been able to conduct this research. Their shared experiences are valuable for not only academia but also Okinawan communities. I am deeply indebted to my dissertation advisor, Professor Lois Yamauchi, and committee members, Professors Joyce Chinen, Julie Kaomea, Katherine Ratliffe, and Tasha Wyatt. I appreciate my advisor’s patience, feedback, and guidance to complete this research. Her academic, as well as personal support, made me persevere and be consistent to accomplish my goal. My committee members’ expertise inspired me to develop and conduct this research. Their insights served as driving forces in me to explore my interests and keep working on this research. Lastly, I would like to thank my mother, Kyoko Taira. She gave me an opportunity to come to Hawaiʻi to learn and experience, while she was struggling. She allowed me to pursue my interests, while she was shouldering burdens that I could have alleviated. Because of her long- time patience and efforts, I was able to start and finish my pursuit. ii Abstract Ryukyu was a former state in East Asia. The Ryukyuan royal government located on Okinawa Island ruled islands in the southwestern area of Japan. However, Japan annexed Ryukyu and established Okinawa Prefecture in 1879. In this position of Okinawa as part of Japan, residents in contemporary Okinawa have complex identities as Okinawan and Japanese. The purpose of this study was to investigate a process of Okinawan identity development among Okinawan university and college students in Hawaiʻi. I employed a grounded theory approach for my research inquiry. Nineteen Okinawan university and college students were interviewed about their self-descriptions, spaces where their Okinawan consciousness was provoked, and influences of activities and learning regarding Okinawa and Hawaiʻi on their Okinawan identity. The results showed the core category of “being more Okinawan in Hawaiʻi” subsumed all the other concepts regarding self-identification, consciousness, and identity as Okinawan, and the foundational and developmental phases, such as self-identification as Okinawan in Hawaiʻi, Okinawan identity consciousness and identity salience, and a strengthened sense of Okinawan identity. The interrelations of the constructed concepts and phases deleniated the process of Okinawan idetitity development among Okinawan universtiy and college students in Hawaiʻi. The results also revealed that the history, society, and culture of Okinawans in Hawaiʻi, as well as those of Hawaiians, were important aspects of Okinawan self-identification, consciousness, and identity development. Thus, some of the constructed concepts were integrated into the contexts of Okinawans in Hawaiʻi, as well as the historical, social, cultural, and political contexts in Hawai‘i, in order to make sociocultural influences explicit. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables and Figures............................................................................................................ viii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 A Brief History of Ryukyu/Okinawa ........................................................................................ 4 From the First Shō Dynasty Onward (the 15th Century–1609) .......................................... 7 Early Modern Ryukyu/the Late Second Shō Dynasty (1609–1879) .................................. 8 Modern Okinawa (1879–1945) and Assimilationism in Education ................................. 12 Education Under the U.S. Military Rule (1945–1972) ..................................................... 14 Summary: The History and Its Relation to Identities Among Okinawans ....................... 17 Chapter 2: Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 19 Literature Review in a Grounded Theory Approach .............................................................. 19 Identities in Ryukyu/Okinawa ................................................................................................ 21 Identities in Ryukyu/Okinawa in the Political Context of International and Domestic Relations ........................................................................................................................... 21 Identity Formation and Negotiation Among Okinawans Who Studied Abroad ............... 31 Survey Research on Complex Identities as Okinawan and Japanese ............................... 32 Locating My Research in the Academic Area of Identities in Ryukyu/Okinawa ............. 34 iv Ethnicity of Okinawans as Cognition ..................................................................................... 34 An Ethnic Identity Development Model and Factors That Influence Ethnic Identity ............ 39 Development in Vygotsky’s Scholarly Work, and Identity and Learning in the Concept of Funds of Identity ..................................................................................................................... 42 Chapter 3: Methods ....................................................................................................................... 47 Research Approach: Grounded Theory .................................................................................. 47 Participants .............................................................................................................................. 48 Procedures ............................................................................................................................... 49 Interview ........................................................................................................................... 49 Survey ............................................................................................................................... 50 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 50 My Role as Researcher ........................................................................................................... 53 Chapter 4: Results ......................................................................................................................... 54 Participants’ Identification ...................................................................................................... 54 Constructed Concepts Regarding Self-Identification, Consciousness, and Identity as Okinawan ................................................................................................................................ 55 The Process of Okinawan Identity Development in Hawaiʻi ................................................. 56 The Foundational Phase of Self-Identification as Okinawan in Hawaiʻi ......................... 57 The Property and Dimension ...................................................................................... 61 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 62 v The Foundational Phase of Okinawan Consciousness and Identity Salience ................... 62 Spaces Promoting Okinawan Consciousness and Identity ......................................... 63 Participating/Involving in Okinawan Communities ............................................. 63 Participating/Involving in Okinawan Events and Activities ................................. 64 Hawai‘i as a Historical, Social, Cultural, and Political Environment ......................... 66 Learning About Hawaiʻi ....................................................................................... 67 Being in a Culturally and Ethnically Diverse Environment ................................. 71 The Property and Dimension ...................................................................................... 71 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 72 The Developmental Phase of a Strengthened Sense of Okinawan Identity ...................... 72 The Property and Dimension ...................................................................................... 74 Summary ....................................................................................................................
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