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You
are here: Collaborating with Multicultural Students and Families, Hawai'i Style
Engaging families in children's learning is a good idea for any school, but it is particularly important, and often hardest to accomplish, in low-income and culturally diverse contexts. Parents in such settings may be suspicious and even fearful of schools, having experienced difficulties negotiating the cultural divide and inherent power differential, both in their former role as students, and now as parents (Cummins, 1986; Koppelman & Goodhart, 2005; Ogbu, 1988).
The schools, for their part, must nurture and guide students in a manner compatible with local approaches to parental and authority relations, and promotion of appropriate behavior (D'Amato, 1993; Deering, 1996; Deyhle & LeCompte, 1994). In addition, curriculum can and should include local knowledge and ways of learning, in addition to those of broader constituencies, such as the educational establishment (Beane, 1993; Freire, 1970).
All these points become doubly important in the education of young adolescents, students between the ages of ten and fifteen, grades four through nine. Early adolescence (10-15 years of age) is characterized by tremendous and varied developmental changes across youngsters' physical, social-emotional and cognitive domains -- an upheaval in every aspect of human functioning (VanHoose, Strahan, & L'Esperance, 2001). This presents great challenges for pre-teens, their educators and their families. Adding to the challenge of such collaboration, many young adolescents discourage parent involvement in school in their attempts to "be more grown up" and "be cool" with their peers. Fortunately, close collaboration by middle level educators with families and communities can help everyone to navigate adolescence successfully (Felner, Jackson, Kasak, Mulhall, Brand, & Flowers, 1997; Jackson & Davis, 2000
Multiculturalism in Hawai'i
Hawai'i is uniquely suited for examining the match between educational approaches and multicultural populations, because the state is comprised of a substantial "minority majority." The state's population is composed of approximately 20 percent each of persons of Native Hawaiian, Japanese, Filipino and Caucasian/European ancestry, with the remainder consisting of Chinese, Korean, Latino, Vietnamese, Samoan, Tongan, Marshallese, Micronesian, African American, Native American and other Asian and Pacific Islander ethnic/racial groups. The state is equally diverse economically, ranging from unbelievable wealth and privilege to poverty, ill health, violence and substance abuse. Sadly, persons of Native Hawaiian, Filipino, and other Pacific Islander cultures are disproportionately likely to suffer from these latter social and economic ills.Another kind of diversity in Hawai'i involves students from military families, some 10 percent of the school population. These students have high transience rates due to parental transfers, thus facing repeated struggles settling in to new schools and communities. In addition, military dependent students and their families face regular disruption of their homes, plus great anxiety when a parent is posted to a distant and/or dangerous environment.
Many of Hawai'i's middle level educators, aided by the Hawai'i Association of Middle Schools (HAMS, 2004) and the University of Hawai'i's Master of Education Degree in Curriculum Studies with a Middle Level Emphasis (Deering, Black, Davidson, DeBaryshe, Pateman, Stone, Ashford, Kahiapo & Apisa, 2004 [MLMED]), excel at working with multicultural early adolescents and their families. The first author is the coordinator of the MLMED and a HAMS board member, while the co-authors are all current or former participants in the MLMED. We will share some insights about collaborating with diverse families clustered around two themes: 1) getting off to a good start; and, 2) culturally inclusive curriculum, instruction and assessment.
Getting Off to a Good Start
Starting the school year successfully is a concern in all schools, and especially in culturally diverse and low-income settings. Moanalua Middle School's suburban student population is 95 percent non-white, 1/3 military, and almost 1/4 low-income. Moanalua welcomes new arrivals with an annual New Student Orientation. Parents follow their child through the first half of the school day, attending a morning assembly, advisory period, and a team meeting. Parents meet in the cafeteria for an open forum with the administration, then have lunch with their child. The orientation has greatly reduced the anxiety of new students and their parents, allowing them to settle into their new school community successfully.Washington Middle School, is located in an urban area that has experienced substantial recent immigration from Micronesia and Southeast Asia, with about 20 percent of its students classified as English Language Learners (ELL). The school population is over one-half low-income and 95 percent non-white. Teachers build success with a two-week summer school for ELL students that familiarizes them with all the survival skills they will need for the coming year: room locations; school procedures; how to tell time using a clock; how to use the student planner book; and how to use the public bus system and library. The orientation culminates with students and families sharing ono grinds at an open house (ono grinds is Pidgin, or Hawaiian Creole, for delicious food; Pukui & Elbert, 1992). The students' adjustment to their radically new environment has improved dramatically as evidenced by their ability to make friends, and from their higher attendance.
Kalakaua Middle School is a very similar socioeconomic context to that of Washington. Kalakaua teachers reach out to nurture and guide new students by assigning them a buddy who helps them get to classes and the cafeteria, and is someone to hang out with -- the assigned buddies invariably turn out to be real buddies in no time. Meanwhile, school counselors help parents of new students to locate health and social services, and keep in close touch, often counseling them about parenting skills.
Culturally Inclusive Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
The content of curriculum, as well as the processes by which students and teachers engage it, and the means for identifying individuals' accomplishments and needs, must all be made accessible and inviting to everyone. Beane (1993) advocates curriculum that is rigorous, integrated, student-driven and real-world-based -- far more than "food, fiestas and fashion" that are all-too-common as "multicultural curriculum" (Cummins, 1986; Deering, 1996; Koppelman & Goodhart, 2005).Several of Hawai'i's middle level schools involve students in challenging investigations into their own cultural identities. Students at Kapolei Middle, a public school, and Maryknoll Middle, a Catholic school, study their ancestry in months-long processes that involve interviews with family members as well as library research. Both culminate with fairs attended by multi-generation extended families where students proudly share dress, dance, drama and foods from their myriad cultures. The teachers annually receive heartfelt thanks from family members for sparking the child's interest in their cultural identity and family.
Moanalua, described earlier, takes family and community engagement a step further with their Project Showcase in which students share their research on such issues as local water quality, career and educational options, and health risks. The hundreds of family and community members who attend not only learn from the young scholars, but are empowered to give feedback via rubrics.
Dole Middle School has demographic characteristics similar to Washington's -- a majority of students living in poverty, and a high ELL population. The school has struggled for years with very low parent/family turnout at Open House, parent workshops, meetings, and conferences. However, things are changing, due largely to Student-Led Conferences (SLC). As the name implies, these are a shift away from the traditional parent-teacher conference, in which the student sits silently like a condemned prisoner, if they are present at all. In an SLC, the student not only is present, but leads the discussion of their learning and progress, all documented in a carefully structured portfolio, complete with assessment rubrics. The school provides proxies for students whose parents do not schedule conferences, and this often results in the student "dragging in" their parent rather than having the Principal as their proxy! Dole's most recent SLC's drew about 80 percent family participation, an enormous increase. Moanalua holds similar SLC's and is drawing about 98 percent involvement.
Conclusions
Each of the schools described reaches out actively and persistently to their diverse students and families, rather than waiting to draw the inevitable conclusion of, "Parents just aren't involved," that plagues multicultural and low-income contexts (Cummins, 1986; Koppelman & Goodhart, 2005; Ogbu, 1988). In addition, each of the school is highly innovative in connecting with its students and families, tweaking the traditional Open House and Parent Conferences into responsive, engaging interactions. It is also clear that each of these schools respects both their students and families, a far cry from some which treat culturally different and low-income stakeholders as problems to be fixed. Local knowledge and ways are incorporated into the life and learning of the school. Students and family members are empowered to make decisions about curriculum, assessment and evaluation.Clearly, it is not only essential, but quite possible, for schools to collaborate effectively with multicultural and low-income students and their families, even when the students are early adolescents. The "Hawai'i Style" elements of action, innovation, inclusiveness, respect and, of course, ono grinds appear to be key elements that could be adapted and incorporated anywhere. As we say in the islands, "Jus' chance 'em!"
References
Beane, J. A. (1993). A middle school curriculum: From rhetoric to reality (2nd edition). Columbus, OH: National Middle School Association.
Cummins, J. (1986). Empowering minority students: A framework for intervention. Harvard Educational Review, 56(1), 18-36.
D'Amato, J. (1993). Resistance and compliance in minority classrooms. In, E. Jacob, & C. Jordan (Eds.). Minority education: Anthropological perspectives. Norwood, NJ: Ablex, (pp. 181-207).
Deering, P. D. (1996). An ethnographic study of norms of inclusion and cooperation in a multiethnic middle school. Urban Review 28(1) 21-39.
Deering, P. D., Black, R., Davidson, D., DeBaryshe, B., Pateman, B., Stone, T., Ashford, A. N., Kahiapo, S., & Apisa, S. (2004). Master of Education Degree in Curriculum Studies with a Middle Level Emphasis: Program overview. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Retrieved March 15, 2004, from (http://www.hawaii.edu/mlmed/).
Deyhle, D., & LeCompte, M. (1994). Cultural differences in child development: Navajo adolescents in middle schools. Theory into Practice, 18(3) 156-166.
Felner, R. D., Jackson, A. W. Kasak, D., Mulhall, P., Brand, S. & Flowers, N. (1997). The impact of school reform for the middle years. Phi Delta Kappan, 79, 528-553.
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. NY: Seabury.
Hawai'i Association of Middle Schools. (2004). Internet home page. Honolulu, HI: author. Retrieved March 15, 2004, from (http://www.aloha.net/%7Ehams1/main.html). Current URL: http://www.hamsiam.org/
Jackson, A. W., & Davis, G. A. (2000) Turning points 2000: Educating adolescents in the 21st century. NY: Teachers College Press.
Koppelman, K. L., & Goodhart, R. L. (2005). Understanding human differences: Multicultural education for a diverse America. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Ogbu, J. U. (1988). Class stratification, race stratification, and schooling. In L. Weiss, (Ed.) Class, race and gender in American education (pp. 163-182). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Pukui, M. K., & Elbert, S. H. (1992). New pocket Hawaiian dictionary. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai'i Press.
Van Hoose, J., Strahan, D., & L'Esperance, M. (2001). Promoting harmony: Young adolescent development and school practices. Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association.
Paul D. Deering is an Associate Professor of Education at the University of Hawai'i, and directs the Master of Education Degree in Curriculum Studies with a Middle Level Emphasis Program (MLMED). His email adress is deering@hawaii.edu.
The co-authors are all middle grades teachers in Hawai'i and current participants or graduates of the MLMED.
Nancy Hilson (Nancy_Hilson@notes.k12.hi.us ) -- Dole Middle School
Melanie Kohler, Ronnie Gallardo, Reydan Ahuna (tahuna@hpu.edu ), Charlene Watanabe -- Kalakaua Middle School
Julie Arakaki, Michelle Blaisdell (Michelle_Blaisdell@notes.k12.hi.us ), Jennifer Kanetake -- Kapolei Middle School
Heidi McGivern (heidi.mcgivern@maryknollschool.org), Margot Adair (margot.adair@maryknollschool.org)-- Maryknoll Middle School
Christina Simpson, Brian Kaneshiro -- Moanalua Middle School
Treena Guerrera (treena_guerrera@notes.k12.hi.us) -- Washington Middle School
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