No ‘Ane‘i Ko Kākou Ola: He ‘Elua Hanauna Ho‘ona‘auao Kaia ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i Ma Ke Kula ‘o Nāwahīokalani‘ōpu‘u

Abstract

Hawaiian medium education (HME) is an educational pathway that utilizes a Hawaiian perspective to educating students through the Hawaiian language by way of culturally appropriate and relevant practices and methods. The first generation of HME students graduated in 1999 and the first student from the second generation of HME students just graduated in May 2017. This second generation of students is comprised of children of HME graduates. Examining the factors that compel graduates of Ke Kula ʻO Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu, an HME school, to seek enrollment of their own children in HME at Nāwahī is the focus of this study. Many Nāwahī graduates who currently have their children enrolled at Nāwahī are second language speakers of Hawaiian raising their children in Hawaiian as first language speakers. These graduates were asked to reflect upon the reasons they felt that Nāwahī was the best place to have their children educated. They were also asked to describe their personal experiences as students at Nāwahī that impacted their decision to enroll their children in HME at Nāwahī and to describe the role that identity may have played in their decision-making. These alumni and their children are actively contributing to the revitalization of the Hawaiian language, a language that is extremely endangered. This study investigated the roles that reversing language shift (RLS) and intergenerational language transmission play in promoting the revitalization of the Hawaiian language through HME. The findings of this study show that the alumni and their families have a strong Hawaiian language background and that the factors that influenced the decision to enroll their own children at Nāwahī were their sense of responsibility to revitalize their native language and make it the language of their homes; the nurturing relationships they developed with various members of the school community, especially with their teachers; the culturally appropriate pedagogy implemented at Nāwahī; and the development of their Hawaiian identity to its fullest potential. Implications for increased parent education, enhanced student readiness endeavors, and faculty and staff professional development are offered.