Master of Arts (M.A.) in Indigenous Language and Culture Education

Home > Graduate Education > Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani Post-Baccalaureate Credential Licensing Programs > Master of Arts (M.A.) in Indigenous Language and Culture Education

Coordinator: Makalapua Alencastre

Faculty:
Makalapua Alencastre, M.A.
Alohalani Houseman, M.Ed.
Noelani Iokepa-Guerrero, Ph.D.
Keiki Kawaiʻaeʻa, M.Ed.

The program is also assisted by other faculty drawn from Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language and by scholars with a national and international reputation in indigenous language and culture education from outside the college.

For information contact:
Kuʻulei Kepaʻa
Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, 200 West Kāwili Street, Hilo, Hawaiʻi 96720-4091
Phone: (808)974-7796; fax: (808)974-7797
E-mail: ma_naauao@leoki.uhh.hawaii.edu
or visit: http://www.olelo.hawaii.edu/khuok/ma_naauao.php

Program Mission

The mission of the M.A. program in Hawaiian and Indigenous Language and Culture Education is to prepare indigenous educators as reflective practitioners and researchers, who are prepared to promote the further development of indigenous culture-based education.

Program Description

The Master of Arts in Indigenous Language and Culture Education is designed for indigenous language and culture education practitioners such as teachers, administrators, and culture resource specialists. The college’s Kahuawaiola Indigenous Teacher Education Program, Hale Kuamoʻo Center for Hawaiian Language, P-12 laboratory school, baccalaureate, and graduate Hawaiian medium education programs and its consortium with the ʻAha Pūnana Leo provide unique and valuable resources for understanding indigenous language and culture education.

The M.A. program in Indigenous Language and Culture Education currently offers only a Plan B practicing track, which requires students to be fluent in Hawaiian language and to simultaneously pursue the Kahuawaiola Indigenous Teacher’s Education Certificate. Hawaiian language use in the majority of Practicing Track courses provides students with the tools to deliver indigenous language and culture education at a high level. In the future, when the faculty is larger, the college intends to open a monitoring indigenous education track that will be open to students focusing on other indigenous languages.

Students accepted into the master’s program must have met requirements for study and fluency in the Hawaiian language and culture, which will be their point of reference throughout the program.

Admission Requirements for the Practicing Track (Plan B, non-thesis):

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a minimum 3.0 grade point average in an approved field of study, e.g., Indigenous Studies, Ethnic Studies, Education, Languages (including English)

1. Three letters of recommendation at least one of which must focus on the applicant’s background in the Hawaiian language and culture and service to the Hawaiian community;
2. 30 credits of study in Hawaiian language or a program approved combination of Hawaiian language and a metropolitan language, Anthropology or Linguistics with no grade lower than a “B” and a 3.5 average;
3. 9 credits of study in the Hawaiian culture or a program approved combination of Hawaiian culture and related social science courses such as Anthropology and Sociology with no grade lower than a “B” and a 3.5 average;
4. Teaching experience either paid or volunteer;
5. Complete taped interview either in person or by telephone;
6. Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores;
7. In the case of second language speakers of English, passing scores on the TOFEL as determined by the College or other evidence of English fluency.
8. Prior completion of the Kahuawaiola Indigenous Teacher Education Program or current enrollment in that program. (Note that enrollment in the Kahuawaiola program requires that the student has previously passed HAW 490 Base-level Fluency for Hawaiian Medium Education.)
9. Further information on the details of fulfilling admission requirements are available from the Program. The College, may under some circumstances, provisionally accept students to the Program.

Graduation Requirements

Practicing Indigenous Education Track (Non-thesis) (31 credits)

1. 3 credits in KEd 630 Research Methods in Indigenous Language and Culture Education
2. 10 credits in group specific indigenous language medium education
   • KEd 620 Foundations for Hawaiian Medium Education (3)
   • KEd 622 Math and Science in Hawaiian Medium Education (2)
   • KEd 623 Social Studies in Hawaiian Medium Education (2)
   • KEd 624 Technology, Arts, and Physical Education in Hawaiian Medium Education (3)
3. 3 credits in KEd 621 Language Arts in Hawaiian Medium Education
4. 6 credits in field study
   • KEd 642 Hawaiian Medium Field Experience I Seminar (3)
   • KEd 644 Hawaiian Medium Field Experience II Seminar (3)
5. 6 credits in appropriate 600 level education, multilingual societies or linguistics electives taken from any two of the following:
   • HAW 632 Teaching Hawaiian as a Second Language
   • KEd 660 Indigenous Culture-Based Education in Theory and Practice
   • KEd 661 Curriculum Development in Mauli Ola-based Schools
   • KEd 662 Cultivating Native Well-being Through Education
6. 3 credits in KEd 693 Applied Research In Indigenous Education
7. Completion of the Kahuawaiola Indigenous Teacher Education Program
   • KEd 641 Hawaiian Medium Field Experience I
   • KEd 643 Hawaiian Medium Field Experience II
8. Passing scores on required PRAXIS examinations