Approaching the inquiry process from a cultural perspective

Esling, Kathleen
ET
Naluai, N. (2014). Approaching the inquiry process from a cultural perspective. Knowledge Quest, 43(2).

In this article, Naluai discusses how Kamehameha Schools revamped their education with inquiry-based practice; beyond this, they also wanted to implement Hawaiian educational traditions alongside inquiry-based practice. To do so, they focused on Eisenberg and Berkowitz's "Big Six" (task definition, information-seeking strategies, location and access, use of information, synthesis, and evaluation) and paired them with Hawaiian words and proverbs. For example, the guidelines for student "practice" is now "Ho’oma’ama’a." (For a complete list of the Hawaiian terms and how they tie into the Big Six, I definitely recommend checking out this article!)

I really thought this was a good article, especially because the author explains how the school wanted to call upon Hawaiian educational traditions and history in order to help their students work with inquiry-based learning. Implementing new technologies or educational theories doesn't need to cancel out a cultural background or focus in school, and I really enjoyed how this school focused on their history as well as the future.