A'ohe Pau Ka'ike I Ka Hālau Ho'okāhi: All Knowledge Is
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
‘A‘OHE PAU KA ‘IKE I KA HĀLAU HO‘OKĀHI: ALL KNOWLEDGE IS NOT TAUGHT IN THE SAME SCHOOL: A MULTIPLE-CASE STUDY ON THE NAVIGATION OF PERSONAL, CULTURAL, AND PROFESSIONAL IDENTITIES OF NATIVE HAWAIIAN MEMBERS OF HAWAI‘I’S SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATH COMMUNITY 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 EDUCATION MAY 2014 By Franklin S. Allaire Dissertation Committee: Hunter McEwan, Chairperson Baoyan Cheng Steven Marble Gay Garland Reed Michael Salzman Hannah Tavares Keywords: Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, STEM, Hawaiian, Identity, Education, Science Education, STEM Education DEDICATION This research and dissertation is dedicated to the people of Hawai‘i of all ages, backgrounds, gifts, and talents. May you use this research to do good and to do well. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are so many people to thank who have had a hand in influencing me personally and professionally throughout this process. First and foremost, mahalo to the individuals who gave their time, energy, and mana‘o for this project. Mahalo Lawai‘a, Keala, Melemele, Pōmaika‘i, Keli‘i, Hīhīmanu, Kahelelani, Hoku, Kaipo, and Aloha - your words, lives, and stories are truly inspirational. I feel so honored and privileged that you allowed to me to learn so much about you, to become part of your lives and vice versa, and to share your life stories with the world. I am truly indebted to you and will always consider this to be OUR project because of the journey we took together. Your challenges and accomplishments, laughter and tears, similarities and differences will inspire generations of students, teachers, parents, and professionals. I want to thank my distinguished dissertation committee: Drs. McEwan, Cheng, Marble, Reed, Salzman, and Tavares. You challenged and inspired me individually and collectively. It has been an honor to work with all of you in the classroom and during the dissertation process. I am humbled to have such an amazing committee and it’s difficult to come up with the exact words to properly express my gratitude to you all. Thank you especially to Dr. McEwan for supporting me during and following the pilot study that led to this project and encouraging me to continue the research that culminated in this dissertation. Thank you to mom and dad for being lifelong inspirations, making education a priority in our house, and for teaching me that learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom. It happens anywhere and everywhere! Thank you Ross for being my partner in crime and comedy, a sounding board, but most of all for being you. Thank you Sarah iii for helping me when I needed you most, encouraging me to reach higher and dig deeper, and letting me know that it was okay to feel the way I felt and that everything was going to be okay. Thank you Nikki, Germaine, Lester, Tony, Himay, Matt, Christie, Titus, and Dennis for putting up with me throughout this whole thing and for not sighing too loudly or rolling your eyes too much when I talked about dissertation-related things. I have to thank my Science Olympiad peeps - Jenn, Sheila, Jill, Michael, Roger, Jenny, Gerard, Sharon, Brad, Andy, Steve, and Amber, for helping me to find balance and keeping me laughing. Thank you Andrew, Lillian, Marcie, Scott, Mark, Bryan, Christa, Sandra, Tyson, Jeannie and all my other teacher friends for putting up with me at work and reminding me that science is awesome and that teaching is the best job ever! Thank you to my students (past, present, and future) who inspire me to be the best teacher I can be every single day. Thank you Mele and Kayla for reminding me when it’s time to go out and play, sniff around, and take care of non-dissertation related business. My most important thank you is to my wife Sachie. You are, without a doubt, my rock. You are the most patient person in the entire universe because you put up with me and all the crazy things I’m involved with. You always have a smile, a hug, a kick in the pants, a kiss, and/or a joke for me just when I need it most. You remind me that I’m a good person after having a bad day and you bring me back to reality when my head is up in the clouds. Your warmth and generosity continuously inspires me to be better tomorrow than I am today. I could never ask for a better companion. Thank you for standing with me throughout this process and being the light in the dark when all others had gone out. iv ABSTRACT This project was a multiple-case study of the life stories of ten individuals of Native Hawaiian ancestry who have made beautiful lives for themselves in science, technology, engineering, and math. Each participant’s oral narrative was related over three one-hour periods in which they were interviewed in a semi-structured format. The focus of the first interview was life context and life history. Each second interview built on the biographical background from the previous interview and focused primarily on cultural and scientific areas of expertise. The third interview directed the participants to reflect on themes/meanings both individually and collectively. The themes gleaned from their experiences give a deeper understanding of the experiences being Native Hawaiian members of the STEM community and the challenges and opportunities that come from merging, separating, and navigating the sometimes treacherous waters of personal and professional identities. Their respective stories represent their inspirations, influences, challenges, and experiences. Initial coding of each narrative revealed four major themes: identity salience, personal/cultural connections to science, a Hawaiian doing things vs. doing Hawaiian things, and being a first generation Native Hawaiian scientist. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT .........................................................................................................................v TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS .....1 Research Statement ......................................................................................................... 3 Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 3 Locating Myself Within The Research ........................................................................... 4 I am not Hawaiian… ................................................................................................... 5 …but I am a Science Teacher ..................................................................................... 8 Motivations for this Research Project ........................................................................... 10 How did I become interested in multiple identities? ................................................ 10 How did I get to the point of asking questions about Hawaiians in science? ........... 14 Importance to the Community ...................................................................................... 16 The Impact of Colonization .......................................................................................... 20 The Impact of Contact on Ancient Hawaiian Culture and Society ........................... 23 Modern Efforts at Reform and Oppression ............................................................... 28 Health Status ......................................................................................................... 35 Academic Status .................................................................................................... 36 Bridging the Divide ................................................................................................... 37 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...........................................................................39 Identity – Who am I? .................................................................................................... 40 Symbolic Interactionism ........................................................................................... 41 Identity Theory .......................................................................................................... 43 Social Identity Theory ............................................................................................... 47 Multiple Identities ......................................................................................................... 52 Conceptualizations of Intersectionality for Race, Class, Gender, Sexuality ............ 53 Multidimensional Identity Models ............................................................................ 55 Identity Salience Research ............................................................................................ 61 Indigenous Identity Research .................................................................................... 66 Hawaiian Identity Research ...................................................................................... 69 Science-as-Professional Identity Research