Building Equity Through the Exploration of Place

Building Equity Through the Exploration of Place

Equity Alliance Forum

February 17, 2010

Aloha! We are pleased to share with you our work in PALS (Program for Afterschool Literacy Support); a study funded by the US ED Native Hawaiian Education Program. PALS is in its third year, and currently serves over 120 students from three elementary schools in Wai’anae on the island of Oahu in Hawai’i. PALS makes explicit attempts to incorporate the complex and multiple environments that influence a child's experiences and identities. We ground the kids in the heritage culture but make it relevant to the 'present' culture of their community, the demands and interests of youth culture, and the socioeconomic culture of the kids; which heavily influences their lives. And, as we work with the kids, we attempt to support them in ways that help them see themselves as healthy, productive individuals and empowered contributors to their community.

The PALS curriculum unites culture, community, and children’s developmental assets within an culturally-based project curriculum that integrates multiple literacies. Within this curriculum, culture is understood as fluid and in process (Hermes, 2000; Mahoney & Galis, 2006) and as existing in a dynamic suspension between past, present and future. Thus, projects and other learning activities bring together heritage cultures and contemporary youth and popular cultures. Tutors build curriculum that draws from the cultural backgrounds of the children while providing them with many opportunities to learn through and express new learning using technology and popular, youth culture. We believe that PALS’ ecological framework curriculum can more fully account for children’s various strengths and needs.

Learning from and with the land or place has been shown to be critical to indigenous communities (Hermes, 2000; Lipka, 1991) and particularly for Native Hawaiians (Kanaÿiaupuni & Malone, 2006; Meyer, 1998). ‘Ike ‘Aina, a form of place-based learning (Ho’omanawanue, in press) can be seen as an approach to, “cultivating culturally based literacy learning” (p. 1) for Hawaiian and non-native children alike. Using place as a starting point allows the tutors and children, who come from many ethnic and geographical cultural locations, to learn about the rich history and strengths of the local context as well as develop commitments of stewardship and preservation for the land and culture.

Finally, recognizing the effects of long-term economic poverty in the lives of many of the children in PALS, the curriculum draws upon a Developmental Asset approach (Benson, 2006) to deliberately provide assets that might otherwise be missing in a child’s life. For instance, the low ratio of children to tutors allows the development of close relationships and there are numerous opportunities to engage in the arts and performance – both of these outcomes are recognized as important assets within the research on developmental assets.

In this presentation, PALS project staff and educators from Makaha Elementary School will present the conceptual framework that emerged from our work and projects that demonstrate the way the curriculum takes up culture, place, and the development of assets in their work with children. Learning outcomes will also be explored, particularly as these outcomes relate to literacy learning and positive identity development.

References:

Benson, P. (2006). All kids are our kids. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Hermes, M. (2000). The scientific method, Nintendo, and Eagle feathers: Rethinking the meaning of “culture-based” curriculum at an Ojibwe tribal school. Qualitative Studies in Education, 13(4), 387-400.

Ho’omanawanue, Ku’ualoha (in press). ‘Ike’Aina: Native Hawaiian culturally-based indigenous literacy. Hülili: Multidisciplinary Research on Hawaiian Well-Being.

Kanaÿiaupuni, S. M. & Malone, (2006). This land is my land: The role of place in native Hawaiian identity. Hülili: Multidisciplinary Research on Hawaiian Well-Being, 3(1), 282 – 307.

Lipka, J. (1991). Toward a culturally based pedagogy : A case study of one Yup’ik Eskimo teacher. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 22, 203–223.

Mahoney, C. & Galis, T. (2006). Redefining sudden contact. Culture & Psychology, 12(4), 435-442.

Meyer, M. A. (1998). Native Hawaiian epistemology: Sites of empowerment and resistance. Equity & Excellence in Education,31(1), 22-28.

Panel Contact Info:

Kay Fukuda, PALS Project Director

Leimomi Dierks, PALS Project Coordinator

Thelma Mederios, Makaha PALS Site Coor thelma_medeiros/MAKAHA/

Spencer Harris, Makaha PALS Tutor

Gino Pascual, Makaha PALS Tutor Eugene_Pascual/MAKAHA/

Kristin Risberg, Makaha PALS Tutor Kristin_Risberg/MAKAHA/

Jackie Wills, Makaha PALS Tutor Jaclyn_Wills/MAKAHA/