Toward a Framework for ʻĀina-Based Pedagogies: A Hawaiʻi Approach to Indigenous Land-Based Education

Abstract

ʻĀina-based initiatives are not only proliferating in Hawaiʻi communities, but also in academic institutions where interest in place-based education, sustainability education, and STEM has increased. In an effort to uphold the integrity of ʻāina and promotes its integration into PreK-20 learning settings, this article describes characteristics of ʻāina-based pedagogies as a Hawaiʻi approach to Indigenous land-based education. This research presents ancestral Hawaiian principles of ʻāina-based pedagogies, along with the learning environments that ʻāina-based education occurs in, common instructional approaches, fields of study, and purposes of application. Findings from this study ground ʻāina-based learning in a Kanaka ʻŌiwi perspective and may assist others in designing ʻāina-based learning experiences, strengthening their educational initiatives, and evaluating their programmatic outcomes.