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Bridging Contexts, Making Connections -
Featured Speaker
Language Immersion Teacher Education and
Hawaiian Medium Schools: A Story of Innovation and Collaboration |
| William H. “Pila” Wilson,
Keiki Kawai’ae’a, University
of Hawai’i Hilo |
Abstract
Hawai'i is the only state in the United States that has
designated a native language, Hawaiian, as one of its two official
state languages.
The Kahuawaiola Indigenous Teacher Education Program is a three-semester
post-baccalaureate program, delivered primarily through the medium
of
Hawaiian, specifically designed to prepare Mauli Ola Hawai‘i (Hawaiian
identity nurturing) teachers of the highest quality to teach in
Hawaiian language medium schools, Hawaiian language and culture
programs in English
medium schools, and schools serving students with a strong Hawaiian
cultural background.
Based on the Hawaiian concepts Ma ka hana
ka ‘ike (Knowledge comes
from direct experience), and Ma mua ka hana, ma hope ka wala‘au (Direct
experience comes first, discussion comes second), Kahuawaiola places a high value on on-site learning and practicum experience
with high performance outcomes. Academics are integrated in a spiraling
sequence
and holistic indigenous approach utilizing the classrooms and outside
environment for a balance of theory and applied learning situations.
The four areas of teacher preparation throughout the program include,
1) Hawaiian language, culture, and values; 2) pedagogical skills;
3) knowledge of content; and 4) development of professional qualities.
This
presentation provides information on the story of Hawaiian language
revitalization through preK-12 Hawaiian language immersion
schooling with supportive tertiary level language and culture
teaching and teacher
development. The information provided in the is geared toward
language teacher educators, teachers, community members, students, and
linguists
involved with Native American languages as well as others with
an interest in the model. Attention will be given to the stages
of indigenous immersion
program development from initial interest of young college age
adults to the creation of preschools for their children which
then develop into
preK-12 programming. The many challenges in navigating school
systems and sometimes conflicting community interests will be discussed
with suggestions for addressing them.
 William H. “Pila” Wilson
Professor and Chair
Hawaiian Studies Division
University of Hawai’i Hilo
Dr. William H. Wilson (Pila) is founding chairperson of the program that
developed into what is now the state of Hawai’i' s Hawaiian language
college at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo. The college is conducted
through Hawaiian and serves approximately 120 majors per year.
It also includes a Hawaiian medium P-12 laboratory school. Wilson's family
along
with that of Keiki Kawai’ae’a were key players in reestablishing
schools in Hawaiian after such schools had been banned for 90
years. He has written the proposal for every program in the college from
its initial
B.A. through to its current Ph.D. Originally a translator of
Hawaiian language legal documents, Wilson has been very active in developing
legislation
both on the state and national levels in support of the use of
Native American languages in education.
 Keiki
Kawai’ae’a
Director, Kahuawaiola, Program Director
Hale Kuamo'o/Hawaiian Language Center
Hawaiian Studies Division
University of Hawai’i Hilo
Keiki Kawai’ae’a is the founder and director of the Kahuawaiola
Indigenous Teacher Education Program, the first teacher education
program taught entirely in a Native American language. The Kawai’ae’a
family along with that of Pila Wilson were key players in reestablishing
schools in Hawaiian after such schools had been banned for 90 years.
Keiki began her career as an elementary teacher of Hawaiian language
and culture
in a private English medium school for Hawaiians. She left that
position to open the first Hawaiian immersion school on her family’s
ancestral island
of Maui. She was recruited in 1989 to the University of Hawai’i
at Hilo to run the then newly established Hale Kuamo’o, the state's
center for the Hawaiian language. The Hale Kuamo’o is the primary
source of curriculum materials for Hawaiian immersion schools.
Keiki has been a key figure in Hawai’i in developing the structures
within the state
of Hawai’i
to provide for the unique licensing and support structures for
Hawaiian immersion teachers.
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