The Sociocultural Context of Hawaiian Language Revival and Learning: Project 1.6 Executive Summary

Principal Investigator:

Lois A. Yamauchi, University of Hawaii

Introduction

This project investigated the development and implementation of Papahana Kaiapuni, the Hawaiian Language Immersion Program in the State of Hawai'i. Kaiapuni is the world's only public school K-12 program conducted in the Hawaiian language. It is an indigenous language immersion program, an educational program in which instruction is delivered in an indigenous language. (See pp. 42-52 for a review of immersion education.) Approximately 2000 students, the majority of whom are of Hawaiian ancestry, currently participate in the Kaiapuni program. Considering that only 30 youth spoke Hawaiian before the program was initiated in 1987, Kaiapuni has contributed to a 600% increase in the number of young Hawaiian speakers (Dunford, 1991; Heckathorn, 1987; Yamauchi & Wilhelm, 2001).

Kaiapuni supporters suggest that beyond language revitalization outcomes, the program is also more effective in teaching Hawaiian children than is typical of the English language public school program (Benham & Heck, 1998; Yamauchi, Ceppi, & Lau-Smith, 1999). As a group, Hawaiians are among the lowest scoring groups in the U.S. on standardized measures of achievement (Office of Hawaiian Affairs, 1994; Takenaka, 1995). They are also over-represented in special education and under-represented in higher education. Kaiapuni advocates argue that the program is a more culturally compatible form of education for Hawaiian children because of its emphasis on the Hawaiian language, the Hawaiian culture, and an indigenous perspective on curriculum and teaching methods.

This study is the first of its kind to document how this unique program began and has developed. There were two major research questions that guided the project:

1. What is involved in the development and implementation of a kindergarten to grade 12 indigenous language immersion program? That is, what historical and political events led to the institution and development of the program? How are its efforts sustained? How is the Hawaiian language immersion program similar and different from other immersion and indigenous bilingual programs?

2. What are the perspectives of students and their families, teachers, and administrators regarding the program goals, outcomes, and activities?

Research Design

Literature review. A literature review of indigenous language immersion programs was conducted in order to situate Paphana Kaiapuni within the context of other similar programs worldwide.

Historical analysis. An analysis of the historical and political events that led to the development and implementation of Papahana Kaiapuni was conducted. Data for this study were gathered through (a) semi-structured interviews with 10 people who were involved in early program development; (b) a review of research, newspaper, and newsletter articles written about the program; and (c) a content analysis of 207 pertinent Department of Education (DOE) and Board of Education (BOE) documents.

Stakeholder interviews and focus group discussions. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with 37 teachers, 4 principals, 41 students and 47 parents and other adult family members. Interviews and focus group discussions dealt with what participants perceived to be (a) the most important goals of the program, (b) the most successful program outcomes and (c) the most difficult challenges of participating in this program. Participants were also asked to discuss how they felt their participation in the program affected them as individuals and also affected their families and their community.

Family case study. A case study was conducted to identify some of the variables that impede and enhance involvement of middle school parents whose children are enrolled in the Kaiapuni program. The Kaiapuni program at Kalama Intermediate School on the island of Maui was chosen as the site for the case study because of its reputation for having highly involved Kaiapuni families. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 parents of Kaiapuni students and 15 parents of students in the English language program at Kalama The case study methods also included observations of Kaiapuni families and an analysis of selected school and program documents.

Conclusions

Indigenous Language Immersion Education for Language Revival

According to some estimates, half of the world's 6,000 languages are at-risk for extinction. Across the globe, there is a growing tendency to speak and teach one's children a majority language rather than a minority one. Our study of development of the Kaiapuni program in Hawai'i indicated that indigenous language immersion education can be a means of revitalizing and maintaining minority indigenous languages. Begun in 1987, the Kaiapuni program has been successful in increasing the number of children and youth who can speak Hawaiian. Because the Hawaiian language was banned from educational use for nearly a century, when the program began there were few Hawaiian books and other materials for children. There were also few native speakers who could serve as program teachers). Although the program began with curriculum and materials that were mostly translated into Hawaiian from English, educators in the program today suggest that it is better to promote materials that originate in the target language.

Indigenous Language Immersion for School Reform

The CREDE Standards for Effective Pedagogy present pedagogical principles around which teachers and schools can restructure education to better serve diverse and at-risk student populations (CREDE, 2000a, Tharp, Estrada, Dalton, & Yamauchi, 2000). Viewed from a school reform perspective, the Kaiapuni program emphasizes three of the CREDE Standards: Joint Productive Activity (JPA), Developing Language Across the Curriculum, and Contextualization. In terms of Standard 1, JPA, the program allows for various means by which family members can become involved in their children's education, including collaborating with teachers, students, and administrators on curriculum and governance. These kinds of JPA between family members, teachers, and students are helpful in creating a community of learners and a community of school reformers. Standard 2 emphasizes that literacy should be taught both as a subject itself, and also as it is embedded in the content areas. This is the basic premise of immersion education: a second language is learned by its use as the medium of instruction for other content areas (Genesee, 1987; 1996).

The Kaiapuni program emphasizes both oral and written Hawaiian across all content areas. Finally, Standard 3, Contextualization is highly evident. Teachers apply pedagogical strategies that are consistent with a traditional Hawaiian approach to teaching and learning. The curriculum also incorporates Hawaiian values and knowledge.