BREATH Analysis: Improving Community Readiness Outcomes for Native Hawaiian Students in K-12 Education

Overview

Native Hawaiian students are over-represented in nearly every negative student indicator; lowest proficiency scores, highest suspension rates, lowest matriculation into college. With these inequities coming to light, there is a movement in funding and policy by the Hawai?i Department of Education to improve learning conditions for Native Hawaiian students. Amongst these initiatives is a state-wide policy called Na Hopena A’o; a student-outcome framework that outlines 6 core community readiness values (Belonging, Responsibility, Excellence, Aloha, Total Well-Being and Hawai‘i [BREATH]). Hawai?i DOE schools have successfully implemented the BREATH framework statewide to measure varying student outcomes. However, educational institutions have yet to analyze the student experiences and learning conditions that are producing these outcomes. This gap in knowledge inspired the research question: What educational P4 (practices, policies, programs, projects) most significantly impacts community readiness outcomes for Native Hawaiian students in Hawai'i's K-12 Schools? To answer this question, this study operationalizes a student self-assessment survey that (1) measures Native Hawaiian students’ BREATH outcomes on a 0-4 likert scale and (2) collects reported experiences that strengthened each student’s sense of BREATH. The student responses are then categorized into the correlating P4 type (established within methodology). The analysis produced a comprehensive break-down of the school practices, policies, programs, and projects most significantly impacting community readiness outcomes for Native Hawaiian students. These findings will ultimately allow schools to maximize these components of school programming to better serve this marginalized student population.

Awards (1)

• American Psychological Association: Second Award of $1,000 $1,000

Competition history

• ISEF 2022 Behavioral and Social Sciences · Entry BEHA038 · Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Resources

• ISEF abstract page ↗

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