Decolonising the Coloniser: Indigenous Education Practices in Mainstream Teacher Education Programmes (TEPs) in Hawaiʻi and Aotearoa

Abstract

This research project is intent on identifying opportunities for Teacher Education Programs (TEPs) in Hawaiʻi and Aotearoa to further normalise and integrate Indigenous education in mainstream contexts, and to support mainstream kumu/kaiako (educators) to deconstruct Eurocentric worldviews and build a kahua/kapupapa (foundation) in Indigenous knowedge systems (IK). Despite decades of advancement in the Indigenous education space, we are still confronted with a predominantly neo-colonial context for aʻo/ako (teaching and learning) where Indigenous education is viewed as a ‘side dish’ primarily for Indigenous students or as a ‘token’, but not as a kahua/kaupapa for all who reside in Hawaiʻi and Aotearoa. This research will provide critical guidance to transform the education system to support Indigenous resurgence and context and strategies for more effective collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. This presentation will share the process that I, a non-Indigenous researcher, am using to implement an Indigenous Research Paradigm (IRP) incorporating Indigenous and Western traditions including kaupapa Māori, Kānaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) methodologies, and critical pedagogy. Phase 1 of the research will use methods of oral storytelling to gather moʻolelo/kōrero (stories, narratives, history), ʻike/mātauranga (knowledge, wisdom), and manaʻo/whakaaro (opinions, ideas) from Indigenous leaders on: 1) a future vision for mainstream TEPs grounded in IK, and 2) how they see non-Indigenous kumu/kaiako being involved in the decolonization and Indigenization of education spaces. The moʻolelo/kōrero will be analyzed to develop an interview framework for Phase 2 of the research where select mainstream TEPs will be reviewed to determine how Indigenous education is currently presented. This will include interviews of staff and participants and content analysis. The findings will be organized into a guiding framework tailored to a mainstream audience in efforts to ‘decolonize the colonizer’ and advance goals to build authentic bicultural/multicultural models that uplift IK for all.