ENGAGED LANGUAGE POLICY AND PRACTICES IN A LOCAL MARSHALLESE AND CHUUKESE COMMUNITY IN HAWAI‘I 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 2018 By Greg Uchishiba Dissertation Committee: Kathryn A. Davis, Chairperson Margaret J. Maaka K. Laiana Wong K-A. R. Kapā‘anaokalāokeola N. Oliveira John Mayer Katherine T. Ratliffe ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS After nearly a decade, it has finally come together! There are so many people who have helped me through this incredible journey! I have learned so much. Dr. Davis, thank you for all your patience, encouragement, and wealth of knowledge. Dr. Maaka, thank you for staying with me all these years and believing in me. Dr. Ratliffe, thank you for all your proofreading help and encouragement. To my committee, thank you all for sticking with me for so long. Barbara, thank you for teaching me so much about the community and your partnership to create positive change. Setiro and Eola, I owe you much for all your dedication to this project. Without you, I would never have completed this. Both of you are truly amazing human beings. To all the Chuukese and Marshallese members who participated in my study, thank you for sharing your hearts. Hopefully, this project will inspire others to continue the work that is very much needed in all our communities. Steph, thank you for always being there to help! Dad, wish you could have been here to see this finished. I know you are watching. Mom and Gordon, and the group from Morgan Hill, thank you for all your prayers! Mike and Jill, thanks, always, for your encouragement. To Tracey, my wife and best friend, I owe you! Lastly, to my sons Yuki and Aki, believe in yourselves and you can do it, in any language you choose! ii ABSTRACT Much can be learned from our Marshallese and Chuukese communities, two populations that are impacting Hawai‘i as their migrant populations grow. The purpose for this engaged ethnography was to document and engage in the process of community transformation through the Engaged Language Policy and Practices approach, which included the researcher and two research assistants as active participants. The research assistants used their home languages and cultural expertise to benefit their respective communities. This project created a community center model that others could emulate in their efforts to empower their communities with spaces that meet their language ideological needs, specifically where they could make their own collective decisions, based on their own language and cultural beliefs and values. Through the creation of community steering committees, the community’s capacity for autonomy was supported by emphasizing relationship building and collective leadership. The Chuukese community, after going through weekly language ideological discussions, decided to create their own language and cultural school through creating community partnerships. The Marshallese community decided to continue to maintain their language and culture through their church structure and weekly activities. This study contributes a community center model that can be replicated. Furthermore, it provides insight into using research assistants from the home communities to conduct research, and a process to empower marginalized communities to critically look at language ideologies and practices. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ ii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 Ethnic Groups of Focus .......................................................................................................1 Marshall Islands ...................................................................................................................2 Early History of Micronesia (Including Chuuk) ..................................................................5 The Japanese School System in Micronesia ........................................................................6 World War II ........................................................................................................................8 The U.S. School System in Micronesia ...............................................................................8 Micronesian Independence ................................................................................................10 Micronesians in Hawai‘i ....................................................................................................12 Research on Micronesian Students ....................................................................................15 Chuukese in Hawai‘i ..........................................................................................................17 The Community .................................................................................................................17 The Community Center......................................................................................................20 The Engaged Language Policy and Practices Approach and Community Organizing .....23 CHAPTER 2: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ...........................................................................26 The Language Ideological Approach .................................................................................27 Monolingualism/The Standard English Ideology ..............................................................32 Identity and Language........................................................................................................40 Language Identity Studies..................................................................................................42 iv Language Policy.................................................................................................................47 Bilingual Community Education .......................................................................................56 Engaged Language Policy and Practices as a Research Methodology ..............................58 Empowering Marginalized Populations .............................................................................70 Insider/Outsider Research ..................................................................................................71 CHAPTER 3: METHODS .............................................................................................................73 Research Design.................................................................................................................73 Participants .........................................................................................................................75 Research Assistants ............................................................................................................77 Confidentiality ...................................................................................................................78 Instruments .........................................................................................................................79 Semi-Structured Interviews ...................................................................................79 Focus Groups .........................................................................................................81 Documents Collection of Written Reflections .......................................................83 Procedures ..........................................................................................................................84 Training Research Assistants .................................................................................84 Member Check .......................................................................................................85 Positionality .......................................................................................................................85 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ...............................................................................................................88 Chuukese Perspectives .......................................................................................................91 A Better Life ..........................................................................................................92 Social Capital .........................................................................................................92 Hardships When Arriving in Hawai‘i ....................................................................93 v Chuukese Focus Groups ....................................................................................................94 The Steering Committee as a Voice for the Community .......................................95 Language Ideology.................................................................................................96 Lagoon Dialect Versus Outer-Island Dialects ...........................................96 Voice/Tone/Accent and Word Selection .......................................97 Gender Role Responsibility ...........................................................98