Abstract

The underrepresentation of Hawaiian cultural practices in mathematics education has contributed to a disconnect between students' cultural identities and their academic experiences, resulting in diminished engagement among Native Hawaiian learners. This design-based research examines the integration of ethnomathematics into high school mathematics curricula, with a focus on Hawaiian cultural practices as frameworks for teaching mathematical concepts. Participants include approximately 100 students in Hawaiʻi from a public school and a private school, as well as two mathematics teachers with varying degrees of experience in culturally responsive pedagogy and ethnomathematics. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study collects data through classroom observations, teacher interviews, and student surveys, with key measures including student engagement, Hawaiian cultural identity, and math self-efficacy. Findings from this research informs ethnomathematics teaching practices, strengthen the alignment between education and cultural identity, as well as support the development of equitable and meaningful mathematics curricula for Native Hawaiian students. This study also introduces Culturally Restorative Pedagogy as a finding and contrasts it with Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy and Restorative Justice in classroom practice.

Degree

PhD

College and Department

David O. McKay School of Education; Educational Inquiry, Measurement, and Evaluation

Rights

https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

Date Submitted

2026-06-20

Document Type

Dissertation

Keywords

ethnomathematics, math self-efficacy, Hawaiian cultural identity, curriculum implementation, student engagement, culturally restorative pedagogy

Language

english

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