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Persistence interventions for Native Hawaiian students

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Persistence interventions for Native Hawaiian students

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Content PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 1

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS

by

Dana Hauanio Lore

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2018

Copyright 2018 Dana Hauanio Lore

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 2
Acknowledgments
The completion of my dissertation and the subsequent doctoral degree has been an
arduous voyage that I could not have journeyed alone. I’d like to give special thanks to Dr.
Lawrence Picus for his encouragement and patience that made for a good working relationship.
I’m forever grateful for his flexibility in scheduling, unwavering faith in me, and relaxed
demeanor right up to the end. Thank you, Larry!
These acknowledgments would not be complete if I did not mention the faculty and staff
at USC’s Rossier School of Education. Special acknowledgment goes to the Doctoral Support
Center for their academic support and personal cheering section throughout the dissertation
process.
Nobody has been more important to me in the pursuit of this project than the members of
my family. My late grandparents: Mahalo for teaching me discipline and responsibility before I
even knew what that meant. To my late mother Charlotte Hauanio: she is my touchstone and
always the voice in my head giving me moral support and emotional guidance. To my father
Richard Hauanio: he worked relentlessly to make sure I could strive for whatever dream I
pursue. They are the ultimate role models and first loves of my life.
Most importantly, I wish to thank my loving and supportive husband, Alan, who believed
in me and helped me to keep things in perspective. He has taken care of whatever needed
tending without complaint so that I could focus on my dissertation. He patiently endured hours
alone while I worked on my dissertation. He has given me so many happy memories throughout
this journey. I could not have completed this journey without Alan.
To my amazing daughter, Anuhea, who has been the apple of my eye since the day she
was born. Throughout my doctoral program, she has been a bright light, often giving me lots of
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 3
hugs to keep me focused on the prize. To my beautiful daughter who provides constant
inspiration and the drive to be my best self in the hopes that she will exceed the pursuit of her
dreams.

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 4
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments 2
List of Tables 6
List of Figures 7
Abstract 8
Chapter One: Overview of the Study 9
Background of the Problem 12
Statement of the Problem 17
Purpose of the Study 18
Importance of the Study 20
Limitations, Delimitations, and Assumptions 20
Limitations 21
Delimitations 21
Assumptions 22
Definitions 22
Organization of the Study 24
Chapter Two: Literature Review 25
Cultural Perspective 26
Importance of Culturally based Programming in Education 31
Institutional Responsibility for Student Persistence 33
Theoretical Framework on Social Capital and Empowerment Agents 34
Social Capital 35
Institutional Agents as Empowerment Agents 36
Discussion of Theoretical Frameworks 40
Intervention Program Effectiveness 41
Elements of Successful Culturally Based Intervention Programs 41
Models 44
Elements of Institutional Effectiveness for Culturally Based Intervention Programs 46
Chapter Three: Methodology 48
Sample and Population 50
Instrumentation 53
Data Collection 56
Analyzing the Data 58
Chapter Four: Findings 60
Data Collection and Information Gathering 61
Case Study 1: “It’s a Kākou thing” - Kumu 62
Case Study 1 Results 64
Empowerment Agent: Direct Support, Integrative Support, System Development, and
System Linkage and Networking Support 65
Institutional Agent Role to Empower: Direct Support and Systems Linkage and
Networking Support. 65
Case Study 2: “It’s about `Ohana (Family)” – Makua 78
Case Study 2 Results 81
Empowerment Agent: Direct Support, Integrative Support, System Development, and
System Linkage and Networking Support 82
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 5
Institutional Agent Role to Empower: Direct Support and Integrative Support 82
Institutional Agent Role to Empower: Systems Linkage and Networking Support 86
Conclusion of Empowerment Agency: Transformation Through Culture 88
Single-Case Inductive Analysis 90
Conclusion 95
Chapter Five: Summary, Implications, and Conclusions 96
Summary of Findings 97
Implications for Empowerment Agents 97
Implications for Intervention Programs and Culturally Based Learning 100
Conclusion: Implications for Research 102
References 105
Appendix A: USC Center for Urban Education – Institutional Agent Self-Assessment
Inventory 120
Appendix B: Institutional Agent Assessment (Interviewer Only) 129
Appendix C: Document Analysis Worksheet 138
Appendix D: Meeting Observation Guide 140
Appendix E: Interview Guide and Consent 143

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 6
List of Tables
Table 1: Forms of Institutional Actions Institutional Agents Provide 37
Table 2: Inductive Themes Emerging from Benchmark Analysis of Characteristics of Student
Success - Makua 79
Table 3: Inductive Cross-Case Categorization Emerging from Case Studies for Kumu
and Makua 92

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 7
List of Figures
Figure 1. Hawai`i median earnings (25 Years and Over), by educational attainment from
2010-2014. Source: Hawai`i State DBEDT - Statistics Brief, January 2016. 11
Figure 2. 2014 educational attainment in Hawai`i - Native Hawaiian vs. Hawai`i state.
Source: 2015 OHA Native Hawaiian Data Book. 13
Figure 3. UH system-wide goal for degrees awarded to Native Hawaiians. Figure 3. Source:
University of Hawai`i - HGI Strategic Plan. 16
Figure 4. UHWO enrollment to degree gap for Native Hawaiian students. Source:
University of Hawai`i Strategic Directions 2015-2021. 16
Figure 5. Institutional agent transformed into empowerment agent. 39

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 8
Abstract
This study applied empowerment agency theory from academic motivation literature to explore
the impact of social capital and culturally based intervention programs on Native Hawaiian
students in higher education. The purpose of the study was to identify the interventions that
empower Native Hawaiian students to overcome embedded barriers in higher education. The
advancement of social capital transfer contributes to academic success for Native Hawaiian
students facilitated through institutional agents in student supportive service programs that
incorporate culture. This theory-guided qualitative study used primary data from observations
and program staff interviews as well secondary data from annual performance reports over three
years. Findings indicate the combined protocol of student supportive services and empowerment
agency by institutional agents in a culturally based learning environment contributes to increased
persistence rates. Analysis proposes the transformative nature of students from receiver to
dispatcher of services exemplifies increased engagement and motivation to persist. This study
begins to bridge the gap between engagement for disadvantaged students, Native Hawaiian
students in particular, and motivation research when examining why they stay in school.
Keywords: Native Hawaiian, empowerment agency, persistence,

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 9
CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
President Barack Obama stated, “A good education is no longer just a pathway to
opportunity – it is a prerequisite. Right now, three-quarters of the fastest-growing occupations
require more than a high school diploma. And half of the students who begin college never
finish” (The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 2009). Although graduation from
secondary education is considered a necessity, a college degree is critical to an individual’s
intellectual transformation that benefits their life trajectory in a changing economy (Carnevale,
Smith, & Strohl, 2010). Carnevale et al. (2010) projected the future global economy would need
a workforce with advanced technical competencies, cross-cultural understanding, and
communication abilities best cultivated on the college campus.
The global marketplace and the rapid economic variations of the United States prompt
employers to demand a skilled and educated workforce that is in continuously shrinking supply
for an economy not yet defined due to a rapidly changing knowledge-based global marketplace.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, 2011) indicates the U.S.
future workforce between the ages of 25 and 34 accumulated similar or less education when
compared to individuals between the ages of 35 and 65. Regarding job placement in 2011, 52%
of U.S. employers cited having difficulty filling jobs primarily because of a lack of higher
education and technical skills in prospective employees (Manpower, Inc., 2011).
Moreover, those without more than a high school diploma can expect decreased job
opportunities in the future economy. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2013) projected labor
intensive and transactional jobs that demand a high school diploma would experience the most
significant job loss between 2010 and 2020. Conversely, professional services jobs, requiring
education and training beyond high school, reportedly have the highest growth between 2010 and
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 10
2020 of 14.3% or 20.5 million jobs (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011). Furthermore, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (2013) projected occupations typically requiring postsecondary
education beyond a bachelor’s degree for entry will grow faster between 2012 and 2022
compared with professions that require a 2- or 4-year college degree. College attainment is
critical for employment and economic growth for the United States.
Hawai`i confronts similar conditions of increasing educational expectations and the
probability of a decreasing pool of qualified future employees. The University of Hawai`i
reported young adults between the ages of 25 to 34 had not attained as much education as people
in older age groups (University of Hawai`i, 2013). Although Hawai`i reported 62% of the
current workforce attained an education above high school, economists project that by 2020,
70% of Hawai`i jobs will require a college degree, and indicating 60,661 jobs will remain vacant
unless post-secondary education rates increase (Georgetown University Center on Education and
the Workforce, 2013). The shortage of an educated workforce not only has negative
macroeconomic effects, but also has an impact on individual future earnings.
The higher earning potential of a higher than high school education is evident from both
national and local perspectives. Nationally, salaries in 2013 averaged $32,000 a year for high
school graduates and more than $89,000 for professionals with advanced degrees (U.S. Census
Bureau, 2011). In, Hawai`i earnings from jobs that require postsecondary education and training
are at least twice greater than those of jobs that do not require it (Figure 1). The Hawai`i P-20
initiative (University of Hawai`i, 2009) reported 2003 average annual income for high school
graduates was $24,830 and $65,539 for individuals with advanced degrees. The U.S. Census
Bureau, which calculates work-life earnings, reported the difference between a high school
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 11
graduate and 4-year college graduate amounts to over $1 million in income over 40 years of full-
time employment (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011).

Figure 1. Hawai`i median earnings (25 Years and Over), by educational attainment from 2010-
2014. Source: Hawai`i State DBEDT - Statistics Brief, January 2016.

The high cost of living in Hawai`i makes supporting a family without a postsecondary
credential difficult. A study reported the living wage for a married couple with two children was
$63,000 (Glasmeier & Pennsylvania State University, 2011), creating a bleak outlook for those
without a degree (Hawai`i P-20, 2008). Among Native Hawaiians, fewer than 10% earned a
bachelor’s or higher degree (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011), which resulted in a substantial portion
of the indigenous population earning less than an adequate wage. Stanton-Salazar (1997)
illustrated it best when he described the importance of education as the “pathways of privilege
and power” and its impact on elevating social mobility through opportunities and resources best
accessed through economic accumulation. The importance of an education beyond high school
$61,965
$46,796
$36,020
$30,613
$14,476
$- $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000
Advanced Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Some College/Associate's Degree
High School Graduate
Not a High School Graduate
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 12
in Hawai`i has never been more important with the cost of living and the marked reduction in
average wage rates exhibited in every educational category as compared to the overall U.S.
population. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the challenges of college participation and
completion to better understand how an intervention program can influence college student
engagement among Native Hawaiian students.
Background of the Problem
Higher education enrollment is on the rise due, in part, to the correlation between
increased educational attainment and income generation (Snyder, Dillow & Hoffman, 2011).
Increased enrollment includes a broader representation of minority students compared to White
students (Planty, Provasnik, Hussar, & Snyder, 2007). However, minority students in higher
education experience inequities in persistence and attainment compared with their White
counterparts (Bauman, Bustillos, Bensimon, Brown, & Bartee, 2005; Harvey, 2003; Snyder,
Dillow, & Hoffman, 2011). For example, the American Council on Education found a growing
achievement gap between minority and White students (Harvey, 2003).
In Hawai`i, the demographic hardest hit by the growing education gap is the indigenous
population: Native Hawaiians. Compared to their non-Native peers, Native Hawaiians had
higher secondary education dropout rates. Moreover, other than a slightly lower rate in some
college and 2-year completion, Native Hawaiians fared well below all post-secondary rates of
completion when compared with non-Native Hawaiians (Figure 2).

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 13

Figure 2. 2014 educational attainment in Hawai`i - Native Hawaiian vs. Hawai`i state. Source:
2015 OHA Native Hawaiian Data Book.

Several studies focused on factors contributing to student persistence from the construct
of student characteristics and the institution. Student characteristics that influence persistence
include academic preparation (Bowen, Kurzweil, & Tobin, 2005), financial assistance
(Goodchild, 1947; Ogunwole, 2006), and curriculum (Bennett, 2001; Bensimon, 2005). Other
studies discussed how an organization’s culture influences institutional policy and social
environments which affect student learning in higher education (Astin, 1999; Bauman et al.,
2005). In an era where educational attainment is so closely tied to economic prosperity,
improvements in institutional quality to bridge the gap between at-risk minorities and their White
counterparts are significant (Shapiro, 2013). Many studies discuss institutional strategies to
promote student completion in higher education (Williams, Berger, & McClendon, 2005).
However, more understanding is warranted regarding outcomes of programmatic approaches
7.9%
43.5%
32.6%
11.6%
4.8%
8.3%
28.5%
32.2%
20.6%
10.5%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Less than High School High School Graduate Some
College/Associates
Degree
Bachelors Degree Advanced Degree
Native Hawaiian State of Hawaii
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 14
geared toward involuntary minorities (& Simons, 1998). Specifically, exploration of the
persistent achievement gap affecting Native Hawaiians in higher education is necessary (Bauman
et al., 2005; Benham, 2007).
To increase underserved populations’ educational attainment, the University of Hawai`i
implemented the Hawai`i Graduation Initiative (HGI). The HGI is a strategic plan that mandates
all campuses create programmatic services to increase the number of graduates. As a federally
designated Native Hawaiian-serving institution, the university included a special commitment to
Native Hawaiian students in its strategic plan to include the development, implementation, and
improvement of programs and services for this population. The reaffirmation of the university’s
commitment allowed for the formation of campus goals specific to Native Hawaiian students as
part of the HGI plan. Of particular interest in the HGI is its targeting of Native Hawaiian
students’ and the interventions implemented to improve persistence and degree completion rates
for all 2- and 4-year campuses.
The HGI plan included efforts targeting participation and program completion among
low-socioeconomic-status (SES) and underrepresented populations in surrounding communities.
The University of Hawai`i–West Oahu’s (UHWO) response was the creation and expansion of a
student academic and support services program called Kealaikahiki (Keala). Established as an
add-on counselor component to student services in the fall of 2008, the Keala Program was re-
tooled in fall of 2009. The program is a Title III federally funded program which aims to
promote the academic success of Native Hawaiian students in a Hawaiian-culture-based
framework of learning.
Communities with a population made up mostly of disadvantaged individuals see low
enrollment in 4-year college programs. In the fall of 2011, the statewide average for UH 4-year
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 15
going rates was 12.8%. The University of Hawai`i defines going rates as the percentage of
Hawai`i high school graduates entering a baccalaureate program at the University of Hawai`i
system upon high school graduation. The surrounding West Oahu communities of the Ewa and
Waianae regions, reported the lowest going rates of 8.9% and 5.9%, respectively, which indicate
the above-average rates of the working-age population with only a high school diploma (U.S.
Census Bureau, 2011). These two regions are considered to have high to very high need for
post-secondary and training education and have populations designated as historically
underserved or at-risk. Moreover, the population in these two regions constitutes a large low-
SES community wherein Native Hawaiians comprise a significant portion (Department of
Business, Economic Development & Tourism [DBEDT], 2010).
The University of Hawai`i system has focused its HGI efforts to target Native Hawaiian
students’ degree completion by defining its strategy in four areas: prepare, participate,
persistence, and perform. In the area of persistence, HGI sought to increase Native Hawaiian
students’ system-wide degree attainment by 6% per year, or 1,439 students by 2015 (Figure 3).
As indicated, the university exceeded its minimum performance measure in FY 2011, four years
ahead of schedule. The successful performance of this multi-campus measure is reflected at the
Leeward campus. The UHWO progressively improved Native Hawaiian students’ degree-
completion rates by decreasing the percentage gap between enrollment rates and degree awarded
between 2012 and 2016 (Figure 4).
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 16

Figure 3. UH system-wide goal for degrees awarded to Native Hawaiians. Figure 3. Source:
University of Hawai`i - HGI Strategic Plan.

Figure 4. UHWO enrollment to degree gap for Native Hawaiian students. Source: University of
Hawai`i Strategic Directions 2015-2021.
880
933
989
1,058
1,132
1,223
1,320
1,439
960
979
1,192
1,609
1,709
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Goal Actual
-4.7%
-4.4%
-6.6%
-1.5%
-2.4%
-7.0%
-6.0%
-5.0%
-4.0%
-3.0%
-2.0%
-1.0%
0.0%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Figure 4: UH West Oahu - Enrollment to Degree Gap
Native Hawaiian Students
% Degrees Awarded % Enrolled % Difference
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 17
The Keala Program contributed to the university’s performance outcomes improvement
from 2012 to 2016. However, the continuation of this success depends on retention from first to
the second year. Studies report the primary reason retention rates are important is that re-
enrollment is a short-term indicator of student success and academic quality (Hagedorn et al.,
2006). To meet yearly increases in Native Hawaiian students progressing to graduation or
transfer to a 4-year institution, UHWO implemented a yearly goal of re-enrollment of Native
Hawaiian students for a second year. In academic years 2009 through 2011, UHWO (2013)
quantified re-enrollment rates set at 51%, 52%, and 54%, respectively (University of Hawai`i,
2013). Native Hawaiian student re-enrollment rates underperformed for years 2009 through
2011 at 46%, 49%, and 48%, respectively, downward from a high of 52% in 2008. The
university considers performance measures increasing at 3% per year as critical to measuring
effectiveness in increasing graduation or transfer rates for Native Hawaiian students.
Statement of the Problem
There has been research on why underrepresented populations like Native Hawaiian
students have not found greater success in higher education, which leads to economic challenges
such as high unemployment, decreased job opportunities, and low lifelong earning potential.
Disadvantaged students, like Native Hawaiians, report lower educational outcomes because of
limited access to financial resources, insufficient academic preparation, lack of understanding of
institutional practices, and restricted access to academic opportunities (Kanaiaupuni & Ishibashi,
2003). Moreover, as educational resources and teacher quality are often inadequate in largely
minority-populated schools, achievement outcomes for minority students are usually lower than
those of their White counterparts (Gorski, 2008).
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 18
Researchers identified possible solutions to improve educational outcomes for
underrepresented populations like indigenous students. Research conducted at the Kamehameha
Schools identified culturally based academic curriculum as a factor in degree completion for
Native Hawaiian students (Jensen, 2011). Guillory (2008) suggested social programs geared
toward Native American protocols, which strengthen cultural identity, contributed to motivating
student participation in higher education. Ugbah and Williams (1989) indicated students
exhibited increased academic performance when mentored by individuals with shared gender
and ethnic similarities.
These studies argue educational parity can be achieved through access to resources and
opportunities while building an institutional understanding of the disenfranchised, mainly
minority students. Integrating the attitudes, beliefs, and values of the disadvantaged into
pedagogy and curriculum can create a positive academic experience (Kanaiaupuni & Ishibashi,
2003; Gorski, 2008). However, these findings did not identify or describe how these institutional
interventions are implemented simultaneously to improve Native Hawaiian students’ persistence
in college as compared to non-indigenous students or how these interventions can be duplicated
across campuses for systemic change. Further exploration of how university officials implement
intervention resources which influence persistence for Native Hawaiian students is warranted.
Purpose of the Study
The sustained educational disparity between Native Hawaiian students and non-
indigenous students adversely affects prosperity. Darling-Hammond (2007) argued lack of
educational attainment has a negative effect on economic and societal outcomes in the United
States. The absence of institutional interventions to assist disadvantaged populations like Native
Hawaiians contributes to higher dropout rates and an ill-equipped population lacking the
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 19
education to successfully enter the workforce, actively engage in citizenship, and promote
overall well-being. The focus of this study was to identify interventions that empower students
and elevate their access to social capital resources to overcome economic and academic barriers.
The advancement of social capital directly contributes to Native Hawaiians’ abilities to obtain
crucial human capital for sustainable existence, as described by Coleman (1988).
Sociologist and researcher Coleman (1988) asserted social capital creates human capital
through productive relationships. Social capital, as a resource, shapes collaborative structures to
promote and accomplish shared interests within a community. The benefit of social capital
outcomes generates human capital “in the form of a higher paying job, more satisfying or higher
status work, or even the pleasure of greater understanding of the surrounding world” (Coleman,
1988, p. 116). Therefore, researchers contend there is a direct correlation between educational
outcomes and an individual’s socioeconomic future.
The purpose of this study was to explore interventions at UHWO that influence
persistence for Native Hawaiian students. More importantly, this study helps understand
institutional staff members’ perceptions of how these interventions influence these students’
continued participation at and graduation from UHWO. Specifically, this study sought to answer
the following questions:
1. What are the current intervention strategies at the University of Hawai`i–West Oahu to
increase persistence rates for Native Hawaiian students?
2. How are institutional agents at the University of Hawai`i–West Oahu used differently to
increase persistence rates for Native Hawaiian students’?

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 20
Importance of the Study
This study explored the university’s resource allocations to influence persistence and
graduation rates for Native Hawaiian students, particularly at UHWO Oahu. The methods for
higher education success among indigenous students are the catalyst to transformative economic
growth. Should Native Hawaiian students continue to face barriers that limit their higher
education, the state’s economy and culture will be negatively impacted. Currently, data suggest
the Native Hawaiian population will double by 2050 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011; Kanaiaupuni et
al., 2005). This population growth is further evidenced by the U.S. Census Bureau (2011),
which indicated all minorities are expected to exceed 50% of the total U.S. population by 2050.
If projections become a reality, the nation’s ability to compete in the global market will rest on
the ability of its population of color. Ensuring the success of Native Hawaiian students through
equitable education opportunities is not just a socially responsible action, but also an economic
boost and continuation of cultural significance unique to Hawai`i. Targeting effective
interventions validates the use of limited resources for public higher education. Policy-makers
can institutionalize similar programs at all campuses to improve Native Hawaiian graduation
rates. The consequences of inaction to progress and capitalize on the growing minority
population and their industrial spirit will further limit financial and human capital, which will
halt economic growth for all in Hawai`i.
Limitations, Delimitations, and Assumptions
For this study, one university’s sociocultural program was selected based on the
significant population of Native Hawaiian students enrolled and their track record of increasing
student achievement. The methodology follows a case study design that includes a combination
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 21
of quantitative and qualitative data. Given the nature of this research, there are some limitations,
delimitations, and assumptions for consideration.
Limitations
This study is not generalizable beyond the University of Hawai`i system because it
specifically focuses on one program geared towards improving educational attainment for Native
Hawaiian students. The data are based on the institution’s performance measures and funding
resources provided by the state. The study provides only a glimpse in time of how the university
allocated resources and the student outcomes in the 2013 through 2016 academic years. While
the study identified the college’s planning, implementation, and assessment of the program, the
study is limited to 4 years of data.
This study planned for three observations and three semi-structured interviews with staff
members to examine program implementation and performance outcomes. While observation
plans were accomplished, only two interviews were completed in the allotted time frame due to
challenges in obtaining the necessary permissions. The planned research and outcomes of the
data collection phase are described in subsequent chapters and should be considered when
reviewing the results.
Delimitations
While other colleges in the UH system show continued improvement in persistence and
graduation rates for Native Hawaiian students, the limited resources of the researcher dictated
that this study focuses on one campus in West Oahu. The individual campuses in the university
system have specific strategies for allocating resources to improve Native Hawaiian student
achievement, but this study does not evaluate the implementation or effectiveness of these
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 22
programs. However, this study provided analysis and discussion on how staff perceptions of
their role as institutional agents influenced student persistence.
Assumptions
This study assumed the performance measures identified by the University of Hawai`i are
valid and accurate measures of student learning and achievement. Also, the quantitative data
presented in the documents provided for analysis were an accurate assessment of the institution's
strategy of resource allocation. Finally, as qualitative data were used to supplement the study’s
findings, details provided in the interview and surveys from college officials, staff, and students
were an accurate and candid portrayal of resource allocation.
Definitions
To clarify key terms that appear throughout this study, the following definitions are
provided:
Achievement Gap: Any significant and persistent disparity in academic performance or
educational attainment between different groups of students (Harvey, 2003).
Critical Consciousness: The ability to perceive and interrogate the social, political, and
economic forms of oppression that shape one’s life and to take collective action against such
elements of society (or social structure).
Educational Attainment: A term commonly used by statisticians to refer to the highest degree
of education an individual has completed. Educational attainment is distinct from the level of
schooling that an individual is attending (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014).
Empowerment Agent: Institutional agents who understand historically-oppressed communities
and are committed to an enlightened and fair distribution of societal resources and to dismantling
the structures of class, racial, and gender oppression (Stanton-Salazar, 2011).
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 23
Graduation Rates: The proportion of students in a given cohort who started at the university
and who were subsequently awarded a degree, certificate of achievement, or transferred to a
baccalaureate-granting institution (University of Hawai`i, 2009).
Human Capital: The stock of competencies, knowledge, habits, social and personality
attributes, including creativity and cognitive abilities, embodied in the ability to perform labor to
produce economic value (Schultz, 1975).
Indigenous: The descendants of those who inhabited a country or a geographical region at the
time when people of different cultures or ethnic origins arrived. The new arrivals later became
dominant through conquest, occupation, settlement, or other means (United Nations, 2013).
Institutional Agent: Individuals occupying positions of power within institutions who use their
substantial human, social, and cultural capital to advocate and provide additional resources for
historically underrepresented students (Stanton-Salazar, 2011)
Native Hawaiian: Any individual who is a citizen of the United States; and a descendant of the
aboriginal people who, prior to 1778, occupied and exercised sovereignty in the area that now
comprises the State of Hawai`i, as evidenced by certified birth or genealogical records (42 U.S.
Code § 3057k).
Social Capital: Valuable resources and support systems rooted in a network of relationships that
is accessed through direct or indirect connections with institutional agents embedded in social
structures (Stanton-Salazar, 2001).
Student Persistence: First-year students who started at the institution and were enrolled in
successive fall terms (University of Hawai`i, 2009).
Transactional Jobs: Jobs requiring less complex interactions, judgment or experience to
perform (U.S. Bureau of Labor, 2013).
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 24
Organization of the Study
Chapter One provides an overview of the study. Chapter Two is a review of the literature
focusing on the elements of culturally based intervention programs and their impact on student
persistence when constructed in an institutional framework of empowerment for Native
Hawaiian students. Research-driven strategies and best practices in program facilitation are also
identified to highlight current practical applications regarding student persistence. Chapter Three
describes the design, methodology, and analysis for this qualitative study. Chapter Four reports
the findings from the interviews and observations for this study. Chapter Five presents a
discussion of those findings and their implications for practice, concluding with suggestions for
future research.

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 25
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
There has been much consideration of the circumstances that encourage student
persistence in higher education. These persistence indicators are predictive of college
completion, which is fundamental to individual and institutional achievement. Individuals who
obtain a college degree gain advantages in personal wealth (Day & Newburger, 2002; Stanton-
Salazar, 1997), health (Vernez, Krop, & Rydell, 1999), and civic engagement (Dee, 2004). The
Carroll and Erkut (2009) suggested college degree attainment decreases criminal behavior and
recidivism, Medicaid costs, and participation in public welfare programs (Baum & Payea, 2005;
Swail, 2004; Vernez et al., 1999). Minority populations, Native Hawaiians in particular, are
more susceptible to challenging economic and social conditions, as studies confirmed they have
the lowest mean family income, highest rates of poverty, and lowest graduation rates from public
schools of all ethnic minorities in Hawai`i (Benham, 2007; Kanaiaupuni & Ishibashi, 2003, U.S.
Census, 2011).
From an institutional perspective, low retention affects budgets as college costs increase
despite limited state and federal subsidies, which means a loss of investment to recruit and enroll
freshmen (Swail, 2003). These costs are not recouped by educational institutions and are,
therefore, primarily carried by future students, their families, and taxpayers. As Native
Hawaiians account for one in four students in the University of Hawai`i system (University of
Hawai`i, 2012), reducing attrition rates is of primary concern to the system.
This literature review provides an overview of intervention strategies for underserved
minority student populations, Native Hawaiian students in particular, and the impact of those
strategies on persistence from the first to the second year in higher education. This research was
conducted through the lens of institutional agents and the effect of these programs on the
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 26
empowerment and persistence of minority students. First, this review describes the historical
and cultural experiences of Native Hawaiians that influence motivation and learning and
contribute to the educational achievement gap. Next, the use of culturally based interventions in
higher education illustrates the linkages between fostering connectedness for indigenous students
and academic persistence through social capital interventions by empowerment agents. The
review explores relevant theories of social capital on student development, student persistence,
and practical applications for indigenous students in higher education. Although quality
secondary education and access to capital are important factors for college acceptance, greater
emphasis on persistence toward degree completion based on Native Hawaiian students’ level of
integration and critical involvement in higher education warrants emphasis. This review
assessed the research of responsive higher education psychological pedagogy grounded in
indigenous culture. This discussion includes integrated institutional interventions described here
as sociocultural, developmental programs led by empowerment agents and how these cultivate
self-identity and social connectedness, which leads to persistence.
Cultural Perspective
Unfortunately, President Obama’s State of the Union speech addressing the need for
more college-educated Americans did not discuss the historical framework that created
challenges to participation experienced by disparate populations in higher education (Bennett,
2001; Bensimon, 2005; Darling-Hammond, 2007). Historically, higher education institutions
restricted access to disenfranchised individuals (Freire, 1993) and were limited to those with
access to adequate academic preparatory curriculum and funds to afford college (Crouse &
Trusheim, 1988; Fischer et al., 1996; Hurtado & Navia, 1997). This institutional inequity
continues exclusionary and adaptation barriers, meaning only individuals from middle to high
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 27
socio-economic status have the adequate discourse to transition into higher education (Crouse &
Trusheim, 1988; Fischer et al., 1996; Massey et al., 2003). Institutional inequity persists as
minority students continue to experience difficulties navigating through an educational system
that does not reflect their cultures’ SES, values, and beliefs (Chavez & Guido-DiBrito, 1999;
Ogbu & Simons, 1998; Tinto, 2004; Umaña-Taylor, 2004). These difficulties in transitioning are
evident in the case of Native Hawaiian students in higher education.
Regarding negative beliefs and assumptions about the ability of marginalized peoples
purported by Gould (1996) and Riley et al. (2015), society held individuals of color were
intellectually inadequate and could not successfully participate in academia. On the deficiency
and inferiority (deficit model) status of Native Hawaiians, researchers emphasized the fault of
academic failure on the students rather than on continued exclusionary practices that manifested
a negative experience in academia (Guthrie, 2004; Lipka et al, 2005; Sue & Sue, 2003; Thomas
& Sillen, 1972). These adverse beliefs inadvertently created an environment exclusively targeted
to cultural norms unfamiliar to minority students, resulting in low academic performance and the
achievement gap (Bennett, 2001; Bensimon, 2005; Darling-Hammond, 2007).
Critical reviews offered historical and current educational standards of the curriculum are
based on a dominant Anglo-Saxon culture (Chavez & Guido-DiBrito, 1999; Stanton-Salazar,
1997; Tinto, 2004). Native Hawaiians have similar experiences with other indigenous groups
like American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and early Mexican Americans whom Ogbu and Simons
(1998) referred to as involuntary minorities. Indigenous groups often are subject to the historical
damage of cultural identity, removal of connection to their land base, and negative stigma by the
dominant group, which cause mistrust of teachers and schools. The perception of educational
institutions as not valuing the perspectives of minority students (Chavez & Guido-DiBrito, 1999;
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 28
Kanaiaupuni et al., 2010; Ogbu & Simons, 1998; Stanton-Salazar, 1997; Tinto, 2004) further
diminish indigenous participation as evidenced by significantly high rates of high school
dropouts and low rates of post-secondary completion. Rather than influencing positive self-
identity, educational institutions have historically marginalized Native Hawaiians (Kanaiaupuni
& Ishibashi, 2003). Facing a college culture that favors western Anglo-American culture, Native
Hawaiian students are ill-equipped to enter, persevere, and ultimately graduate from college
(Bennett, 2001).
Gorski (2008) asserted disadvantaged students report greater gaps in educational
outcomes because of limited access to adequate resources, disjointedness to institutional systems,
and restricted access to academic opportunities. Kanaiaupuni and Ishibashi (2003) reported
difficulties in educational attainment in K-12 as a result of higher rates of teacher inexperience
and turnover, fewer opportunities for educational support services, and social bias from public
education institutions in Native Hawaiian communities. Therefore, lack of educational
resources, support systems, and teacher quality contribute to minority students’ achievement
outcomes being consistently below those of their White counterparts (Gorski, 2008; Kanaiaupuni
& Ishibashi, 2003). Both authors argue educational parity is achieved through access to
resources and opportunities while building an institutional understanding of the disenfranchised
minority population.
Building institutional capacity of learning based on integrating the attitudes, beliefs, and
values of disadvantaged students into pedagogy and curriculum creates a cohesive academic
experience for minority students (Gorski, 2008; Kanaiaupuni & Ishibashi, 2003). For example,
Gorski (2008) prescribed teachers and educational institutions incorporate critical analysis to
discontinue the policies and procedures that maintain oppressive conditions for disadvantaged
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 29
students. Kanaiaupuni and Ishibashi (2003) suggested intervention programs that build capacity
into public education and providing financial support to increase participation of Native
Hawaiian teachers, communities’, and educational resources to enhance Hawaiian students’
educational outcomes. These strategies suggested an understanding of the student in the context
of their socio-economic reality.
Achievement gaps between minority students and their peers are attributed to a
disconnect between minority and underrepresented students and academia (Bennett, 2001;
Bensimon, 2005). In earlier work, Chavez and Guido-DiBrito (1999) and Stanton-Salazar
(1997) offered critical reviews of current curriculum standards based on Anglo-Saxon culture.
Bennett (2001) argued a cultural mismatch between minority and low-income students in
educational institutions contributed to low student success. Bensimon (2005) suggested
institutional agents, such as faculty, counselors, and administrators perpetuated conditions that
generate unequal outcomes by using cognitive frameworks grounded in diversity and deficit
models. Further, Stanton-Salazar (2011) posited teachers lowered academic expectations of low-
SES and minority youth exacerbated inequities in education. These studies reported the
difficulty of minority students navigating through an educational system that does not reflect the
values and beliefs of their own cultures (Chavez & Guido-DiBrito, 1999; Ogbu & Simons, 1998;
Stanton-Salazar, 1997). Moreover, these studies conveyed an absence of self-development for
students of color in public education, contributing to a marked disconnect between them and
positive learning outcomes (Tinto, 2004). Therefore, educational institutions are perceived as
not valuing the individuality of minority students in a constructive and meaningful way to create
positive outcomes.
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 30
The phenomenon of underachievement among minority students’ is evident when
discussing Native Hawaiian students at the University of Hawai`i (University of Hawai`i, 2012).
Native Hawaiians enter the university system at higher rates than in previous years, but they do
not earn degrees at rates comparable to their non-indigenous counterparts (University of Hawai`i,
2012). Based on data since 2008, the University of Hawai`i (2012) reported that Native
Hawaiian student persistence rates are continually ranked lowest among all minority groups after
the second year of college, as compared to Japanese-American students, who make up the
majority at the university. Native Hawaiians in the university’s community colleges fared worse,
as only 12.3% graduate within three years and have a 16.3% retention rate after six years,
resulting in a 28.4% success rate (University of Hawai`i, 2009). The same report stated
Japanese-American and Chinese-American students reported success rates of 43.8% in the
community college system (University of Hawai`i, 2009). The success rate is calculated as the
combined total of graduation and retention rates.
Determining what maintains Native Hawaiian students’ engagement in higher education
is central to improving their lifelong success, as there is a strong correlation between college
graduation and professional advancement, mental health, and overall social well-being. History
has shown how colonization introduced feelings of inferiority among oppressed peoples, further
marginalizing Native Hawaiians and partially contributing to the current achievement gap. In the
last four decades, largely as the result of the Civil Rights Movement, there has been a cultural
resurgence as Native Hawaiian researchers challenge the notion of western frameworks on
indigenous perspectives of learning (McCubbin & Marsella, 2009). McCubbin and Marsella’s
(2009) research suggested indigenous populations’ success in a western-dominated society is
based on the rediscovery and implementation of indigenous knowledge for application in clinical
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 31
practice. Incorporating a cultural perspective in education where students embrace their self-
identity while navigating, deciphering, and then adapting to the campus culture increases
engagement and degree completion (Jalomo, 1995; Rendon, 1994).
Importance of Culturally based Programming in Education
Culture is described as the combination of beliefs, values, and behaviors shared by a
people (Ogbu, 1993), such as an ethnic group. Ethnic groups possess shared histories,
experiences, and assessments, which contribute to various attributes of social life (LeVine,
1974). Research further subsidized studies by Ogbu and LeVine when describing sociocultural
perspectives as the foundation of student involvement, effort, and sense of belonging (Attinasi,
1989; Hurtado & Carter, 1997). Tinto (1998) observed that a student’s sociocultural identity,
and characteristics such as cultural attributes and pre-college experiences, contributed to the
level of involvement. A greater level of involvement was a key factor of successful academic
integration in higher education, thereby resulting in higher degree-completion rates. Tinto
(1998) further posited consistency between the individual’s sociocultural identity and the culture
of the institution would contribute to increased persistence. In other words, the more students
value themselves in conjunction with the institution's place on them, the more they persevered in
higher education. Therefore, students’ self-value is a major contributor to the degree of
interaction among the higher education community and persistence.
A critical challenge of the higher education system is fostering a student’s engagement in
a constructive and meaningful way to generate higher persistence for low-SES and minority
populations. In earlier work, Chavez and Guido-DiBrito (1999) offered critical reviews of
educational curriculum standards based on the dominant Anglo-Saxon culture. Additionally,
Stanton-Salazar (1997) reported the difficulty of minority students navigating through an
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 32
educational system that does not reflect their values and beliefs. Further research proved a
separation between ethnic identity and academic curriculum as key factors in achievement gaps
(Bennett, 2001; Bensimon, 2005). These studies conveyed an absence in sociocultural identity in
higher education students for students of color. Therefore, indigenous students perceive
educational institutions as not valuing their individuality or culture (Ogbu & Simons, 1998).
Another important challenge for higher education institutions, particularly regarding
minority populations, is fostering student learning to produce positive outcomes. Institutions can
increase student achievement and improve self-esteem by maintaining their connectedness to
ethnicity (Leach et al., 2008 ). Ogbu (1998) discussed including culturally sensitive curriculum
as an opportunity to restore self-identity for minority students. Additionally, Bennett (2001) and
Bensimon (2005) suggested diversity in pedagogy combined with interaction among different
ethnic and social groups can yield positive academic performance for indigenous students.
Bensimon (2005) proposed an equitable cognitive framework of institutional actors requires
leaders, through inquiry, to adequately reflect the attitudes, values, and beliefs of minority
groups. Similarly, Bennett (2001) described curriculum reform based on critical thinking in a
multicultural and historical context better-prepared students for a global community. In other
words, a changed mindset toward education reflected through a framework of equity (Bensimon,
2005) increases learning outcomes. Goodenough (1971) and May (1999) proved to incorporate
diversity through student-centered multi-cultured curriculum and the interactions of different
perspectives in a culturally structured format contribute to positive academic outcomes.
Incorporating multi-cultural pedagogy in the curriculum reinforces students’ connection to the
institutional community, constructing strong bonds related to persistence and degree completion.
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 33
To address future disparity and socio-economic challenges, higher education institutions
should develop academic programs that foster socio-cultural identity in indigenous students.
Strengthening social-cultural identity through a multicultural and shared framework of learning
communities reinforces student integration and persistence. Improved integration and
persistence increase Native Hawaiian’s students’ potential for degree completion.
Institutional Responsibility for Student Persistence
In early theories of college student departure, Tinto described a student’s decision to
persist as predicated on pre-college characteristics, goals, and intentions that influence academic
and social integration (Tinto, 1975). Tinto’s (1987) later revisions on persistence indicated
students regulate college goals based on continuous connections with the university community.
Further, Tinto (1998) observed that a student’s positive socio-cultural identity and characteristics
such as ethnic attributes either self-taught or learned from the campus environment contributed
to increased involvement. Tinto’s (2004) subsequent research revealed higher levels of student
involvement, both academically and socially, were key factors of successful academic
integration in higher education, thereby resulting in higher degree-completion rates.
Furthermore, Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, and Renn (2010) indicated non-traditional students
could overcome doubt of academic ability through active interventions on campus which enable
their sense of self-esteem and confidence in learning. Campus interventions for at-risk students
included bridge and orientation programs that helped the academic and cultural transition to
college and mentoring programs among faculty and peers that also helped integrate students into
campus culture.
Studies on persistence and degree completion for indigenous students introduced the
concept of cohort models that resemble small group learning communities of students and
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 34
faculty who adopted culturally based programming (Harris, 2007; Myers, 2003; Phinney, 1995;
Tinto, 2004) to achieve better integration. These sociocultural programs emulate the academic
cohort model, a community of students working together in the course of study while building
relationships beyond the faculty-student roles found in traditional higher education systems.
Sociocultural support programs could also assist students through faculty and programmatic
services that allow students to continually explore intellectual ideas in a safe and controlled
environment (Evans et al., 2010). Therefore, institutional support through sociocultural
programs could increase Native Hawaiian students’ perseverance in higher education.
Improved parity in education will also require a reformation of how educational and
financial resources are distributed to students to improve academic performance. Darling-
Hammond (2007) proposed educational systems need to revamp administrative practices to
ensure adequate funding and educational resources are available to underserved and
disadvantaged communities. Further, studies reported improved teaching by experienced and
mentored educational agents who incorporated critical thinking and real-world problem-solving
skills in a multi-cultured curriculum would improve student performance among non-White
students (Darling-Hammond, 2007). From an institutional perspective, a reformation of
academic systems will benefit persistence for minority students.
Theoretical Framework on Social Capital and Empowerment Agents
Stanton-Salazar’s (2011)empowerment agent theory is used as the framework for this
study concerning institutional agents for low-SES and minority youth in higher education.
Stanton-Salazar’s theory is rooted in Bourdieu’s cultural capital theory and Lin’s social capital
theory. Bourdieu (1986) discussed that the education system’s historical and culturally inherent
inequalities reproduce class stratification. In terms of education institutions, Bourdieu argued
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 35
certain cultural capital was favored at the expense of others. The selection qualifications,
academic content, and language of dominant social classes reinforced elitism. Therefore,
acceptance for those of similar social and cultural capital benefited those imbedded in the culture
on which institutional structures were created (Anders-Baer, 2008; Benham & Heck, 2008;
Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992). In particular, the discourse for working-class minorities in an
unfamiliar college community reproduces social inequality for low-SES and minority students.
Lin’s (2001) social capital theory purports the amount of highly valued resources an individual
can access for purposeful action through social networks is constrained for disadvantaged
students not accustomed to the cultural discourse of higher educational institutions. Therefore,
social capital structures favor privileged groups and persist because of the creation of systems
that maintain the status quo.
Social Capital
Social capital is defined as the valuable resources and support systems rooted in a
network of relationships accessed through direct or indirect connections with institutional agents
embedded in social structures (Salazar, 2001). These social structures are based on the
participant’s investment in the institution and the value it brings both professionally and
personally. Salazar (2001) described the social capital framework as a two-dimensional
hierarchical network of configuration and integration. The structure’s configuration defines its
concentration of power in the community, while integration measures the maintenance of shared
goals. From an educational perspective, social capital received attention for the ability to
facilitate equality in disadvantaged communities (Bourdieu, 1986; Lin, 2001; Portes, 1988).
Bourdieu (1986) reasoned the construction of social capital is exclusive and maintained through
strict adherence to one’s shared protocol. Social capital inadvertently excludes non-members of
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 36
the network, creating a multiplier effect of class inequality. Furthermore, Lin (2001) contented
these concentrations of social capital have preference and valuation based on the strength and
structure of institutions and their members. As such, in the context of education, individuals are
attracted to and will invest more of their resources and support systems in students who replicate
the characteristics of high-achieving academics. The challenge of social capital is the translation
of these invaluable resources to disadvantaged youth not accustomed to the values and norms of
institutional agents or the institutions they represent.
Institutional Agents as Empowerment Agents
Historically, access to institutional support favored high-status individuals and
populations able to construct diverse relationship pools of human, cultural, and social capital.
Researchers (Cochran et al., 1990; Fischer, 1982) noted the degree of capital for individuals was
directly correlated to differentiations in class. Individuals of privilege are embedded into an
abundant network of resources and opportunities associated with professional and personal
enrichment (Bourdieu, 1986). However, low-SES and minority individuals are not oriented to
institutional resource and support structures embedded in social stratification (Stanton-Salazar,
2011). Stanton-Salazar (2011) suggested the intervention of institutional agents as
countervailing forces can provide social and institutional supports to low-SES youth and
minorities in higher education.
Institutional agents are defined by Stanton-Salazar (2011, p. 1066) as “high-status, non-
kin agents who occupy relatively high positions in the multi-dimensional stratification system,
and who are well positioned to provide key forms of social and institutional support (p. 1066)”
Theoretical scholars agree that student and social development requires relationships with
institutional agents that transmit instrumental structures of academic, economic, and social
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 37
relationships (Lin, 2001; Wynn et al., 1987). Stanton-Salazar (2011) described institutional
agents as individuals that activate his or her authority and reputation to mobilize resources to
cultivate students’ academic, human and social development.
Individuals accomplish their responsibility as institutional agents by taking on various
roles characterized by key forms of institutional support and resources for students (Stanton-
Salazar, 2001). Stanton-Salazar (2001) identified 14 different roles divided into four categories
institutional agents can employ when working with a student (Table 1). Institutional agents
employ a spectrum of actions in corresponding roles which manifest student potential for
academic achievement, class mobility, and self-determination (Stanton-Salazar, 2011).
Therefore, effective institutional agents mobilize multiple and simultaneous forms of support and
resources to a particular recipient, increasing the value of the support and the students’
probability of empowerment. The responsibilities of the institutional agent become
transformative with the introduction of empowerment.
Table 1
Forms of Institutional Actions Institutional Agents Provide
Direct Support Integrative Support Systems Developer
Systems Linkage &
Networking Support
Resource Agent
• Provision of personal
and positional
resources
Integrative Agent
• Integrating actions
Program Developer
• Developing programs
to embed students in
a structure of
resources, supports,
and opportunities
Recruiter
• Recruiting students
into programs
Knowledge Agent
• Understands the
institution
• Transmission of key
funds of knowledge
Cultural Guide
• Guided cultural
exposure
Lobbyist
• Promotes
organizational
resources towards
targeted students
Bridging Agent
• Bridging between
students and
institutional resources
and networks

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 38
Table 1, continued
Direct Support Integrative Support Systems Developer
Systems Linkage &
Networking Support
Advisor
• Evaluation, advice &
guidance of students’
decision making
Political Advocate
• Joins political action
organizations to
advocate social and
institutional policies
to benefit targeted
students
Institutional Broker
• Institutional
Brokering between
parties
• Identify and
negotiate
institutional
resources
Advocate
• Advocacy of
students’ interests
Coordinator
• Assess, identify &
acts on behalf of
students’ utilization
of resources
Networking Coach
• Instructs, develops
and models behavior
for influential
relationships

Adapted from Stanton-Salazar (2011) and Dr. Alicia C. Dowd's presentation on Becoming Institutional Change
Agents in STEM at the 2011 NSF STEP Grantees Meeting

Empowerment agents are institutional agents who redistribute supports and resources
towards minority and low-SES youth as counter-stratification strategies. Stanton-Salazar (2001)
advances the role of the institutional agent by incorporating motivations and ideologies which
redistribute key forms of social capital toward low-SES students within the framework of
empowerment (Figure 5). Empowerment is defined by the literature of Stanton-Salazar (2004)
as,
Both the increase in the capacity of an individual, group or community to create change
as well as the process and outcomes of actual change in the conditions that oppress
people, resulting in an enduring redistribution of power and resources. (p. 5)
American society is historically built on a hierarchy of economic and political power based on
class, gender, and race (Lin, 2001; Stanton-Salazar, 2011). Schools can reflect society’s socio-
cultural norms that result in a negative impact on low-SES and minority students or neutralize
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 39
social reproduction stratification. Therefore, disadvantaged youth rarely have access to
opportunities and resources that break the social reproductions inherent in academic institutions.
Empowerment comes from the reorientation of institutional norms where the investment of
resources and support systems are redistributed towards disadvantaged students (Gutierrez &
Lewis, 1999). Agents embody critical consciousness as the framework by which institutional
support, resources, and opportunities are distributed. Empowerment agents are aware of social,
political, and economic oppression and act to counter the oppressive elements of the institution
(Freire, 1993; Ward 2008). Therefore, social relationships can be created to disrupt normal
social stratification and empower low-SES and minority students toward academic success
through increased access to social and institutional support systems (Durkheim, 1997; Portes,
1998; Stanton-Salazar, 2001).

Figure 5. Institutional agent transformed into empowerment agent.
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 40
Empowerment theory is reminiscent of Freire’s (1993) construct in that low-SES
students, through an empowerment framework, participate in the transformation of themselves
and the existing social constructs. Empowerment agents bridge low-SES and minority students
to previously unavailable resources where privilege and economic abundance prevail. Further,
Stanton-Salazar (2011) discusses the transformation of consciousness where underprivileged
students are critically aware of the oppressive social systems and work toward social change.
Discussion of Theoretical Frameworks
Social pressures, particularly from dominant groups, persist in maintaining the current
social order that reaffirms positions of affluence, access to a diverse social network, and
opportunities for career advancement. Low-SES and minority students experience inequity.
Stanton-Salazar (2006) described society as an “unequal distribution of opportunities for entering
into different social and institutional contexts (e.g., schools, businesses) and for forming a
relationship with agents who exert various degrees of control over institutional resources” (p. 4).
The oppressive nature of the disadvantaged individuals engenders a feeling of distrust, defensive
posturing, and disengagement. In essence, social structures impede low-SES and minority youth
from cultivating networks that orient themselves towards emotional, financial and material
supports. Educational institutions reflect the status quo of stratification that empowerment
agents must interpret and convey to low-SES and minority students. Empowerment agents in
academia can ameliorate oppressive social constructs through counter-stratification strategies of
support and resources that transform a low-SES and minority student’s lives. Institutional agents
have extraordinary influence through their social position and transformative influence to
dismantle the current inequities of class, race, and gender oppression by empowering students in
meaningful societal change within themselves and their communities.
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 41
Intervention Program Effectiveness
Overall program effectiveness is the level by which activities conducted in a program
produce the desired outcomes. The recognition of elements in culturally based intervention
programs that translate into academic success for Native Hawaiian students is critical when
addressing increased college persistence. Native Hawaiians enter college at rates higher than in
previous years but do not earn degrees at rates comparable to their non-indigenous counterparts.
The University of Hawai`i (2008) reported that average Native Hawaiian student persistence
rates after the second year of college dropped to 63.8% as compared to 80.8% for Japanese-
American students. Native Hawaiians in the UH community college systems fared worse, as
only 34.6% persist after three years, resulting in a 15.2% graduation rate (University of Hawai`i,
1998).
Elements of Successful Culturally Based Intervention Programs
Understanding what factors influence success in higher education is important. Jensen
(2011) discussed three factors influencing higher education completion for the Native Hawaiian
student population: (a) academic preparation in previous educational settings; (b) college
financial assistance; (c) and connecting sociocultural identity and academic curriculum.
Academic preparation is an important factor that influences degree completion. There is a
significant amount of research to substantiate a positive correlation between academic capital
acquired in previous education settings and successful completion of higher education (Bowen et
al., 2005; Hagedorn, Moon, & Tibbets, 2006; Makuakane-Drechsel & Hagedorn, 2000).
Furthermore, per Tinto’s (1998) retention model, academic rigor prior to college increased
students’ integration into higher education. Additional evidence supports academic performance
in high school was a strong predictor of academic performance and retention for Native
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 42
Hawaiian students in higher education (Harms, 2001; University of Hawai`i, 1998). For
example, Hagedorn et al. (2000) reported Kamehameha Schools’ graduates reported a 12%
increase in degree completion due to the schools’ rigorous college preparatory curriculum in
secondary education. Therefore, the relationship between academic preparation and student
persistence is especially acute in indigenous populations.
Financial assistance is critical to success, as has been prevalent in higher education for
decades. A report published in 1947 by the President’s Commission identified rising costs as an
economic barrier for disadvantaged students considering college (Goodchild & Wechsler, 1947).
In 1965, the Higher Education Act provided financial assistance for students in postsecondary
and higher education (Lucas, 1994) and was amended in 2003 to create additional financial
benefits to minority and indigenous students (Hagedorn et al., 2006; Jensen, 2011; Ogunwole,
2006). The Spellings Commission Report (2006) identified additional measures to streamline
and increase financial aid programs to lower-income families as well as provide informational
resources to assist in the application process. An example of successful financial assistance
programs was at Purdue University, which reported a 90% retention rate due to designating a
financial liaison to incoming minority freshmen (Myers, 2003). Similarly, Native Hawaiian
students at community colleges experienced a 35% increase in bachelor’s degree completion
when provided with financial aid packaging assistance. As a result, financial assistance
programs and application assistance promote increased degree completion among minority and
indigenous students.
A student’s sociocultural perspectives shape their behavior and motivations in school
toward positive academic outcomes. Tinto (1998) observed that a student’s sociocultural
identity, characteristics such as cultural attributes and pre-college experiences, contributed to the
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 43
level of involvement. A higher level of involvement was a key factor of successful academic
integration in higher education, thereby resulting in higher degree completion rates. Tinto
(1998) further posited consistency between the sociocultural identity of the individual and the
culture of the institution would contribute to increased persistence rates. Therefore, a student’s
self-identity is a major contributor to the degree of interaction among the higher education
community and persistence.
Ashmore et al. (2004) defined identity as an individual’s characteristics based on values,
morals, beliefs, and standards. Several scholars described the development of one’s identity
centers on an on-going process of self-discovery within the context of cultural experiences,
societal influences, and historical environment (Chavez & Guido-DiBrito, 1999; Cornell &
Hartman, 2007). Ghavami (2011) with Cornell and Hartman (2007) further explained that the
goal of identity development is to acknowledge one’s place in the world based on the past in an
effort to shape one’s future successfully. When combined with Stanton-Salazar’s (1997)
discussion of education as the pathway to privilege and power, positive self-identity plays a
pivotal role in student’s socio-economic future. Therefore, positive self-identity establishes a
sense of belonging that increases interaction and persistence in higher education for indigenous
students.
Academic curriculum can leverage the positive attributes of a student’s sociocultural
background and counteract deficit feelings or perceptions in the classroom. A critical challenge
of the higher education system fostering a student’s identity in a constructive and meaningful
way to generate positive involvement. In earlier work, Chavez and Guido-DiBrito (1999) and
Stanton-Salazar (1997) offered critical reviews of the current educational curriculum and
reported minority students’ difficulty navigating through an educational system that does not
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 44
reflect their cultures. Further research proved a separation between ethnic identity and academic
curriculum as key factors in achievement gaps (Bennett, 2001; Bensimon, 2005). Researchers
convey an absence of sociocultural identity, particularly for higher education students of color.
Diversity in education is the interface of instructors’ incorporating a multiculturally based
curriculum to a varied student population cultivated by interracial interactions in social events
that foster academic and social growth for all stakeholders (Gurin, Dey, Hurtado, & Gurin, 2002;
Bennett, 2001; Bensimon, 2005). One of the goals of diversity in education is to un-learn
prejudices through inquiry, reflection, and transformation. Further, Gurin et al. (2002) propose
diversity is the culmination of organizational leadership incorporating multicultural-constructed
curriculum and pedagogy to attract a varied array of individuals with different life perspectives
in the pursuit of growth of self, organization, and community.
Models
This section presents a review of two campus-based sociocultural development programs
that incorporate a cohort model has demonstrated successful academic outcomes with students
from indigenous communities. Studies on persistence indigenous students’ higher education
persistence and degree completion introduced the cohort models: small learning communities of
students and faculty that use a culturally sensitive curriculum (Harris, 2007; Myers, 2003; Tinto,
2004). Cohorts build relationships beyond the teacher-student role normally found in the
traditional higher education curriculum.
The Native Hawaiian Science and Engineering Mentoring Program’s (NHSEMP) goal is
to increase the number of Native Hawaiians who earn degrees in engineering and science-related
fields (Inazu & Grant, 2009). The NHSEMP, a 4-year grant to the University of Hawai`i,
combines Hawaiian-based curriculum, mentorship, and financial assistance following a cohort
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 45
model beginning the summer prior to freshman year and ending at graduation. A designated
staffer provides access to service providers and academic resources on campus while maintaining
cultural protocols of relationship and familial connection (Inazu & Grant, 2009). NHSEMP
promotes retention by connecting students’ identity as Native Hawaiians in academia and
promoting familiarity with the university community, increasing the probability of persistence
and degree completion.
The American Indian Student Services (AISS), a federally funded program at the
University of Montana, is a cohort-based curriculum with defined course tracks for native
students structured under indigenous protocol (National Clearinghouse for English Language
Acquisition, 2011). AISS’s goal was to become a bridge between the indigenous and university
communities through interventions intended to foster greater enrollment of Native Indians (The
University of Montana, 2010). Cultural norms included a tribal advisor who worked with
students on matters internal (financial assistance, tutor, and mentor) and external (career
advocate, cultural advisor, and family counselor) to the university. Indigenous students in their
first two years were tracked together to complete general education requirements and received
mentorship from faculty and tutoring from graduate students (National Clearinghouse for
English Language Acquisition, 2011). Additional efforts to build bridges with the tribal
community were the creation of an office of tribal liaison as well as a capital campaign to create
the first Native American center on any university campus (University of Montana, 2010). The
university and the tribe create learned activities to connect culture to higher education. This
involvement reinforces Native American students’ sense of self and belongingness at the
campus, and strong tribal involvements established higher involvement and integration leading to
degree completion.
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 46
Elements of Institutional Effectiveness for Culturally Based Intervention Programs
Best practices provide insights to improve initiatives in education. Ledward, Takayama,
and Kahumoku (2008) explored best practices for culturally based educational programs and
concluded the basis for improved educational attainment through culturally responsive programs
is dependent upon the following attributes:
1. Active participation of family members in educational activities;
2. Using the community as a setting for student learning;
3. Rigorous assessments account for a range of competency and skills;
4. Place-based and service learning projects promoting community well-being; and
5. Career planning and preparation for global citizenship.
Furthermore, successful culturally based intervention programs are effective if implemented and
institutionalized.
Tinto (1993) identified seven action conditions for implementation of persistence
programs for low-income students. When described by Clewell and Ficklen (1986), included are
the characteristics of commitment, comprehensive and supportive staff and faculty systems, and
outcome assessment that identify effective programs. They are as follows:
1. Institutions should provide resources for program development and incentives for
program participation that reach out to faculty and staff alike;
2. Institutions should commit themselves to a long-term process of program development;
3. Institutions should place ownership for institutional change in the hands of those across
the campus who have to implement that change;
4. Institutional actions should be coordinated collaboratively to ensure a systematic,
campus-wide approach to student retention;
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 47
5. Institutions should act to ensure that faculty and staff possess the skills needed to assist
and educate their students;
6. Institutions should front-load their efforts on behalf of student retention; and
7. Institutions and programs should continually assess their actions with an eye toward
improvement.
Programs that run counter to the prevailing structures of large and complex organizations, like
higher education, require a fundamental change in all areas for institutionalized reform.
Empowerment of underrepresented students involves a reorientation of resources and supports to
improve their destiny.

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 48
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
The purpose of this study was to interventions at UHWO and its influence on Native
Hawaiian student persistence rates. This chapter describes the design, methodology, and
analysis for this qualitative study. Chapter Three begins by justifying the use of qualitative
methodology, design, and analysis specific to this study. Next, the chapter discusses the research
design, sample selection, data collection, and analysis procedures.
In Chapter Two, the roles and networks of program leadership and staff toward the
empowerment of Native Hawaiian students are examined through the theoretical lens of
empowerment agents (Stanton-Salazar, 2011). Empowerment agents are derived from
institutional agents who have the capacity and propensity to directly or indirectly transmit
institutional resources, opportunities, and support (Stanton-Salazar, 1997). Institutional agents
are transformed into empowerment agents “in ways that redistribute resources according to
motives articulated in the service of social justice and counter stratification” (Stanton-Salazar,
2001, p. 1085). Not all program leadership and staff are conscious of their roles as
empowerment agents in an environment that produces exclusivity. More importantly, program
leaders and staff are unaware of their influence to empower youth to think critically about the
challenges society places on minorities and how to overcome those barriers.
The combination of empowerment agents participating in culturally based intervention
programs to increase persistence is effective if a balance of social capital and institutional
support are incorporated. This study employed frameworks and theories to determine whether
program leaders and staff integrate elements reflecting empowerment agents on behalf of Native
Hawaiian students in an intervention program. The research examined program leaders and staff
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 49
practices in their work to empower Native Hawaiian students to persist through social and
academic investment.
The agency of program leaders and staff as empowerment agents is discussed as a
significant element for Native Hawaiian intervention programs through theories of social capital
and institutional support. This qualitative study investigated what supportive strategies were
employed and what challenges were observed for the Onipa`a initiative at the Keala Program at
UHWO. Keala is a frontier supportive service resource unique in the multi-faceted services
offered to students at the university. The situations documented at Keala and research-based
strategies such as institutional agency and culturally based intervention programming are used to
guide the following research questions guiding this study. From the program staff members’
perspectives:
1. What are the current intervention strategies at the University of Hawai`i–West Oahu to
increase persistence rates for Native Hawaiian students?
2. How are institutional agents at the University of Hawai`i–West Oahu used differently to
increase persistence rates for Native Hawaiian students?
The problem and research questions presented in this paper required the use of qualitative
methods as a single case study analysis. Qualitative methods are suitable to explore questions in
ways not conducive to quantitative research. Qualitative research is best suited to understand
how individuals interpret and make sense of their experiences within their environment
(Merriam, 2009). Maxwell (2009) described the design of qualitative research in its natural
setting is to address a social or human problem by assessing direct contact with participants and
observing behaviors within the context of the phenomenon. The goals of this study developed
out of interest in the practices of program leaders and staff in culturally based intervention
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 50
programs aimed at increasing Native Hawaiians’ persistence in higher education. The study
examined the social and resource supports programmatic staff use as part of intervention
programs to empower students toward success.
Sample and Population
The University of Hawai`i’s initiative for increased degree completion included efforts
targeted to participation and program completion among low-SES students and underrepresented
populations like Native Hawaiians. In the fall of 2011, the statewide average for UH 4-year
going rates was 12.8%. Going rates are defined as the percentage of Hawai`i high school
graduates entering a baccalaureate program at the University of Hawai`i system without delay
upon graduation from high school. The surrounding West Oahu community has the lowest going
rates in the state and matches the above-average rates of the working-age individuals with only a
high school diploma in the region (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). As such, the Ewa and West
regions indicate a critical need for post-secondary education as evidenced by a 2015 report
indicating UHWO’s graduation rate at FY 2011 was 6.3%, significantly lower than its peer
average of 25.3%. Moreover, the population in these two regions constitutes a large low-SES
community where Native Hawaiians comprise a significant portion of the population (DBEDT,
2010).
The University of Hawai`i–West Oahu (UHWO) is a public 4-year college in the city of
Kapolei on the west side of the island of Oahu. UHWO is one of three baccalaureate-granting
institutions under the University of Hawai`i system and serves students primarily from the
Leeward and North Shore areas. Enrollment has steadily increased over the past three years to
an average of 2,400 students for the 2013–2014 school year, 27% of whom are designated as
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 51
Native Hawaiian. The average student age is 27. Since UHWO’s inception, academic programs
have increased to six bachelor-degree programs in twenty-five areas of study as of 2014.
To support the university’s initiative for Native Hawaiian students, an academic and
support services program called Keala was formed. Originally established as an add-on
counselor to current student services in the fall of 2008, the Keala Program was re-tooled in fall
of 2009 to encompass all support services to eliminate barriers to entry for Native Hawaiian
students. The Keala Program is a Title III federally funded program and is distinct in that it
facilitates participation in all student services through institutional agents who act as liaisons for
the institution. The program aims to create a centralized location to promote Native Hawaiian
students’ academic success and well-being in a Hawaiian culturally based framework of
learning. Under the direction of the program director and coordinator, the program staff of six
provides culturally based tutoring, academic advising, peer mentoring and support, seminars and
workshops, and community service facilitation. Keala includes the Onipa`a initiative during the
summer prior to the fall semester for incoming first-year students. Onipa`a provides institutional
resources and supports through multiple points of personal interaction and individualized
services from programmatic staff like academic advising, freshman year integration, and
mentorship for community college transfer students.
Participation in the Keala initiatives like Onipa`a is voluntary. Program students are
considered predominately non-traditional as evidenced by their family, responsibilities, and life
circumstances. According to U.S. Department of Education (2015), Keala participation is
predominately Native Hawaiians (71%) from low-SES families from the surrounding district of
Leeward with an average household income of less than $55,000, which is $12,500 less than the
median for the state (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). Among student participants who are
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 52
employed, 58% attend school on a part-time basis. The Native Hawaiian student population
observes the highest rates of at-risk elements such as poverty, substance and domestic abuse,
disease, and insufficient academic preparation. The average age of students in the program is
slightly higher at 28 (25.9%) than the general population average of 25 (24.6%). Moreover,
Keala (2012) reported a significant number of Native Hawaiian participants were first-generation
college students.
The University of Hawai`i –West Oahu (UHWO) identified Native Hawaiian educational
attainment as one of four strategic outcomes. The college tasked the Keala Program with four
performance outcomes to measure Native Hawaiian education attainment on a yearly basis
(UHWO, 2011):
1. Students who participate in the Keala tutoring program will have a higher pass rate (“D”
or better) in the courses they received tutoring than those that did not participate;
2. Of students who participate in the Keala and participate in cultural activities, 80% report
these activities led to an increased understanding of the Hawaiian culture;
3. Of the faculty who attend Keala informational sessions 80% report that their
understandings of Hawaiian learning have increased; and
4. Of students who participate in any Keala service activity 75% report that the quality of
the service met or exceeded satisfactory level.
The Keala, as part of the graduation initiative plan at the University of Hawai`i system,
identifies student success and degree completion through academic services fostering Native
Hawaiian culture. The Onipa`a initiative is one of the programs under Keala specifically created
to support successful performance outcomes by assisting incoming first-year students to
transition from high school to college.
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 53
Merriam (2009) stated, “Purposeful sampling is based on the assumption that the
investigator wants to discover, understand, and gain insight and therefore must select a sample
from which the most can be learned” (p. 77). Therefore, purposeful sampling was used in this
study, and three participants were identified. With the permission of the Keala director,
respondents were initially chosen from a pool of staff currently employed at UHWO. Then, the
director selected one team leader and two staffers employed for at least three years in the
program who could speak to their experiences working with students. All respondents were full-
time staffers living on the Leeward Coast of Oahu Island and received undergraduate degrees at
UHWO. Furthermore, these participants were best situated to provide a critical understanding of
Keala’s efforts across all program personnel. The final criterion was their availability to
participate as a respondent in the timeframe allocated for this study.
Instrumentation
Bogdan and Biklen (2007) and Merriam (2009) described data as carefully and
systematically gathered materials that the researcher, as the instrument of data collection, selects
to ground a study in science. Researchers collect and analyze data from a variety of sources to
verify the study as well as to speak to the validity and reliability of the resulting conclusions
(Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Maxwell, 2013). Patton (2002, as cited in Merriam, 2009) defined
qualitative data as “responses from individuals about their experiences through interviews and
descriptions of behaviors that are recorded when observing their responses (p. 275).” These data
were gathered from Keala staff through observations and semi-structured interviews.
A protocol was used to guide the interviews to explore the institutional agents’ behaviors
while supporting Native Hawaiians students. Weiss (1994) described the interview as an
instrument used to gather data from respondents, in their own words, to assist the researcher in
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 54
understanding the participants’ perspectives and objectives. Furthermore, Merriam (2009)
described the necessity of an interview as the primary method of qualitative data collection when
respondent narratives best explain their experiences that influence their behaviors. Therefore,
this study includes interviews to understand Keala Program staff experiences over the course of
their participation in the Onipa`a initiative as well as their facilitation of supports and resources
for the benefit of Native Hawaiians students (Maxwell, 2013). Bensimon et al. (2012) designed
a self-assessment tool, based Stanton-Salazar’s sociological depiction of empowerment agents, to
understand the actions institutional agents take to help students toward degree completion
(Appendix A). The self-assessment inventory was modified for the Keala Program (Appendix
B) to identify, assess, and evaluate how program staff facilitates student success. The questions
were designed to capture the various roles institutional agents embody and the resources they
possess to assist students. The following eight questions were modified from the inventory as
part of the interview protocol to determine staff members’ perceptions of their experiences in the
program as well as how the program influenced their students’ school lives:
1. Question 1 was designed to capture the institutional agents’ ability to provide students
guidance on issues pertaining to academics and to coordinate institutional resources on
their behalf.
2. Question 2 was designed to illustrate the agents’ knowledge and authority on campus to
assist students’ navigation of the institution and to connect students to all applicable
resources and supports.
3. Question 3 was designed to demonstrate how the institutional agent educates students on
the behaviors necessary to build a network of relationships with influential individuals,
both internal and external to the campus, that builds social capital.
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 55
4. Question 4 was designed to explain how institutional agents advocate for Native students
on campus to ensure academic success.
5. Question 5 was designed to indicate the ways institutional agents bridge the gap between
students and key faculty members who are supportive of Keala and Onipa`a’s mission.
6. Question 6 was designed to assess how agents define their role as brokers to support
students’ connectedness with key personnel who have access to valuable resources on
campus.
7. Question 7 was designed to explore how institutional agents identify themselves as
cultural guides in understanding, communicating, and participating in social contexts
both internal and external to the campus.
8. Question 8 was designed to identify the transformation of program staff from institutional
to empowerment agents to provide emotional and social support in a framework of
mentorship to change students’ behaviors toward participation, engagement, and self-
actualization.
Merriam (2009) found that a semi-structured protocol allows for greater flexibility and
exploration of respondents’ full experiences, which introduce new ideas on the topic. Therefore,
these questions were developed by the University of Southern California’s Center for Urban
Education and modified to obtain relevant data of programmatic staff while supporting Native
Hawaiian students in Onipa`a. Additional probing questions were embedded as follow-up
inquiries to provide more detail, clarify what was said, explore feelings or thoughts, and
understand influences. Moreover, Weiss (1994) explained part of the role of a researcher is to
design questions which enable respondents to provide relevant information. Further, Patton
(2002, as cited in Merriam, 2009) discussed question types to stimulate specific responses based
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 56
on the research question to produce sound findings. All questions included subsequent queries
that probe further by asking how respondents implement specific actions and what obstacles they
faced in pursuit of student empowerment (Appendix B).
Documents that provide supplemental data regarding the resources, strategies adopted,
and perceptions of program staff resources also contributed to this research. These resources
include campus statements, program collateral, and student performance outcomes. Document
analysis guides for these data sources (Appendix C) were used to interpret how Keala staffers
incorporated key forms of empowerment agent theory. Documents were reviewed for key
criteria that can be identified as intervention strategies that provide institutional support for
student empowerment.
The third protocol was used to guide data collection during three meetings to observe
actions and behaviors respondents exhibit for the benefit of Native Hawaiian students (Appendix
D). Maxwell (2013) and Merriam (2009) described an observation as interpretations about
people’s behavior as they happen in the natural setting. Therefore, this study included
observations to interpret Keala staffers’ behaviors during an activity at the university. These
activities were selected to observe actions and behaviors of Keala staffers, as institutional agents,
when providing resources and supports to Native Hawaiian students. Creswell (2009) discussed
the importance of designing a protocol for data collection that researchers use to guide their
study. Therefore, a protocol design was used to record data collected during observations to
organize notes in a systematic way by describing actions and behaviors of Keala staff.
Data Collection
Ethical review procedures as defined by the University of Southern California’s
institutional review board were followed. Upon approval, a request to conduct non-medical
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 57
human studies at UHWO was submitted to the University of Hawai`i at Manoa. Materials
submitted indicated that participation in this study was voluntary and that individuals’ names
were omitted. The final criterion was their availability to participate in the two months allocated
for data collection: May and June of 2015. Participants were informed that they could withdraw
from the study at any time. Three semi-structured interviews, as well as relevant documentation
and observations, were planned for this study.
Program staff participation was decidedly less than planned for the study. Delays with
institutional review board approval at the University of Hawai`i, staff turnover at UHWO,
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and programmatic scheduling prolonged data
collection, which contributed to a reduction in program staff participation. Observations were
completed in the fall semester of 2016 rather than the summer of 2015. Two interviews with
program staff were completed rather than the three planned. The third interview did not
materialize by the end of the semester for reasons unknown to the researcher.
The two program staff members interviewed were the most seasoned. The program
coordinator and specialist had significant experience with student service programs in higher
education targeting Native Hawaiian students and were part of Keala since its inception. The
interviews included discussions of all staff roles to investigate the possible impact of each
member on Native Hawaiian student persistence.
An interview guide was designed prior to the interviews as a set of instructions to ensure
consistency and reliability of the data (Merriam, 2009). Moreover, Weiss (1994) described
allowing respondents to express their experiences in full and descriptive narrative by positioning
them as the experts. Therefore, the interview guide for the study included the following sections:
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 58
introduction, purpose, duration and the use of audio and note recording, confidentiality, and
consent (Appendix E).
The Keala director notified the respondents about a request for an interview with a
researcher interested in learning about their participation in the program and the resources they
provide Native Hawaiian students. Upon the staff members agreement to participate, the
interview guide (Appendix E) was emailed to them with instructions to meet in a pre-determined
room on campus to allow for convenience. Respondents received available dates and times for
the interview. The respondents were notified about the length of time, the use of audio and note
taking in the email as well as on the day of the interview. Confidentiality of the interview, as
well as the concealing of the respondent’s identity, was repeated before the interview. The Keala
Program is the only intervention program at UHWO and, therefore, easily identifiable in
academic circles. For this reason, pseudonyms were not used to replace the campus or the
program, but pseudonyms were used to replace individual participant names. Upon completion
of the interview, respondents were notified that a copy of the interview guide was emailed to
them for their review. Recordings, transcripts, and notes were kept in secure digital folders on
the researcher’s computer.
Analyzing the Data
Data analysis followed Creswell’s (2009) six-step data analysis process. First, data from
observations and interviews were organized and prepared by typing field notes and transcribing
interviews. Second, the data were read and reviewed, including notations along the way, to get
an overall understanding of the phenomenon (Merriam, 2009). As observations were done in
concert with interviews, interview questions could be modified to get a deeper understanding of
behaviors and actions described by the program leader and staff member. Interview notes and
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 59
transcriptions are compared, reduced, and categorized based on their relevance to the study. The
third step involved further detailed analysis using the coding process (Creswell, 2009) to help
explore initial topics found in all observations and interviews. Fourth, main themes were
identified and color-coded to re-analyze in support or opposition to the data collected (Creswell,
2009) as well as speculating how these themes were interrelated (Merriam, 2009). Categorizing
during this data analysis phase followed Merriam’s (2009) five criteria:
1. Responsiveness to the research question
2. Sensitive to the data as possible
3. Exhaustive to all relevant data
4. Mutually exclusive
5. Conceptually congruent (p. 213)
Step five included keyword associations to identify participants’ perceptions regarding individual
resources and knowledge to empower Native Hawaiian students toward academic success.
Finally, step six encompassed interpreting the data to link the elements and create the meaning of
ideas learned (Creswell, 2009).

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 60
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
The purpose of this study was to examine the intervention strategies implemented at
UHWO by institutional agents to increase Native Hawaiian students’ persistence. Of interest
was how program officials use their relationships to provide access to sources of support to
transform Native Hawaiian students and their experiences in higher education. The first three
chapters of this study posed the challenges regarding persistence, a review of the literature of
culturally based intervention programs, and the methodological design utilized for researching
Native Hawaiian students in higher education. This chapter reviews the process for data
collection and information gathering based on the research questions. An analysis of the
information, observations, and interviews provide answers to the questions using the conceptual
framework constructed for this study.
A theory-guided qualitative case study was conducted with data collected through
document analysis, observations, and interviews (Merriam, 2009). Pseudonyms for program
staff, students, and university officials were used to protect participants’ identities as well as
confidentiality concerns. The findings of each case study are presented separately followed by
the findings in relation to the research questions (Yin, 2009). First, the contextual information of
the case presented is followed by the findings in relation to the research questions (Yin, 2009).
The chapter concludes with a cross-case analysis of the findings of each case study. Findings
presented in this chapter answer the following research questions:
1. What are the current intervention strategies at the University of Hawai`i–West Oahu
to increase persistence rates for Native Hawaiian Students?
2. How are institutional agents at the University of Hawai`i–West Oahu used differently
to increase persistence rates for Native Hawaiian Students?
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 61
Data Collection and Information Gathering
Following approval of the preliminary proposal of this study by the dissertation
committee and the institutional review boards at the University of Southern California and the
University of Hawai`i, the study was conducted in three phases. The first phase involved
collecting background information on the program and presenting my request for a study to
program staff. Information collection began with a FOIA request with the U.S. Department of
Education to assess the performance of the program at UHWO. The document review worksheet
(Appendix C) was utilized to assess connections to the research questions. The program is
partially funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to provide student
services to increase Native Hawaiian students’ retention. The FOIA request took three months to
process and included a narrative on the program’s performance from 2012 to 2014. The
presentation was conducted at UHWO with five program representatives in mid-February 2016.
The presentation ended well with staff excited about the study and its impact on their program.
However, follow-up emails to allow for observations and scheduling of interviews proved
unsuccessful. Personnel changes on campus resulted in new staffers I had not built rapport with,
which hindered progress for three months. Resolution came through interconnected networks
between USC and UHWO officials to identify staff willing to participate.
The second phase of data gathering involved observing staff in program-related activity
in support of Native Hawaiian students at the institution. The observations involved the meeting
observation guide (Appendix D) and institutional actions institutional agents provide table (Table
A). Program personnel confirmed my attendance at the student development workshop via
phone and e-mail. The observation was conducted in early July 2016 and took one and a half
hours to complete. Program Person 2 confirmed my attendance at a student success discussion
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 62
through e-mail. The observation was conducted in late July 2016 and took an hour and forty-five
minutes to complete.
The final phase of data collection and informational gathering ended with interviews
conducted separately with two Onipa`a staff members in September 2016. The data collection
phase, as discussed earlier, did not develop as planned due to timeline and program staffing
challenges. The two semi-structured interviews were expanded to survey the complexity of all
staff roles and their potential to affect program student participants. The interview questions
were related to the data collected during the first and second phase specific to the intervention
program and how staff viewed their role in the program. The institutional agency survey
(Appendix A) was used to align responses according to the 14 forms of institutional actions
institutional agents provide (Stanton-Salazar, 2011). Audio permission was not granted by one
program staff member (Makua); therefore, in-depth note detail was recorded for the 3-hour
session. Audio recordings were conducted with permission from the other staff member (Kumu)
and were transcribed and coded.
Case Study 1: “It’s a K ākou thing” - Kumu
The Native Hawaiian program includes an orientation series, entitled “Onipa`a” for
graduates from public schools in the Leeward School District. Onipa`a was created as a bridge
for incoming seniors in predominately Native Hawaiian communities like Waianae, Nanakuli,
and Maili. The district, called the Waianae Coast Complex, reports 25% of the high school
population is Native Hawaiian. Approximately 74% of the student population in both Waianae
and Nanakuli are economically disadvantaged and report the lowest going rates for education
beyond high school. The state of Hawai`i designated the communities of Waianae Coast
Complex as a high-need area for post-secondary education.
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 63
Onipa`a is an orientation program created to continue the academic momentum of high
school seniors in Waianae area as they transition to college. Students in the Onipa`a program
take college preparation workshops to prepare them for the fall semester. In addition, while
taking college credit courses over the summer, students are introduced to faculty, administrators,
and students through learning workshops. These workshops are multi-purposed to integrate
students to academic rigor, introduce faculty and administration services, and implement
professional development initiatives for employment on campus.
The Onipa`a program has classrooms located in the science and technology building on
the university’s campus. Prior to entering the lab, there is a motto, “Ma ka hana ka `ike pukui
`olelo no`eau” in bold letters across the top of the front door. There is no English translation, but
students offer the translation prior to entry, “In doing there is knowledge.” Eighteen students, of
whom 14 were incoming freshmen, performed an Oli Komo (entrance chant) as a greeting for
guests. The “Kumu” (advisor) stood in the back of the lab as the students perform the invitation
ritual. As the students complete the introduction, the Kumu says, “Pa `olelo kuka,” to begin the
discussion.
The meeting space consists of a circle of chairs surrounded by poster boards filled with
notes on how students define college success. The Kumu starts the session by discussing
positive attitudes and the necessity of perseverance. Incoming freshmen take over the discussion
by introducing experiences of difficulty and challenges with college and ‘ohana (family) life.
Mentor students offer words of support and suggest alternative approaches to solve problems.
The Kumu discussed the attitudes, behaviors, and motivations mentor students describe to
overcome feelings of inadequacy during their introduction to the university. Mentor students
then explained internal and external resources, offering incoming students an introduction to
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 64
administration officials. The Kumu explained the concept of anxiety and acceptance are
common emotions that can significantly affect student success. Kumu stated, “Learning to
communicate with your peers, campus officials, and faculty is part of the problem-solving
process.” The Kumu then discussed his behaviors upon entering college and methods used to
overcome mindsets that could have negatively affected his experience. The incoming freshmen
appeared surprised at the confession, which was corroborated by mentoring students offering
similar instances of inferiority on campus. Mentoring students reminded students they were
“here to be a sounding board” and had contacts on campus “we can reach out to help you with.”
Kumu monitored the interaction between incoming first-year students and mentor
students to motivate dialogue among all group members. Kumu facilitated the discussion by
asking leading questions like, “How does that make you feel” or “Based on your campus `ohana
discussion, what can you do?” rather than offering solutions to students. The students, both
freshmen and mentors, continued to lead the problem-solving discussion. The meeting ended
with Kumu prompting students, “It’s a Kākou thing. We are all here to support one another. We
rise and fall on the efforts of everyone in this room. It’s up to you to decide what is important
for all of us.”
Case Study 1 Results
An examination of the data revealed that supportive academic services alone are not
enough to address the problem of Native Hawaiian underrepresentation. Moreover, current
intervention strategies like tutoring, counseling, and developmental instruction are only partially
effective in influencing practices associated with increased persistence rates. Integration is
driven by the amalgamation of supportive services through institutional agents transferring
empowerment through social capital and relational networks to counter-stratify education
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 65
systems toward low-SES students. This process is implemented from the foundation of Native
Hawaiian culture, values, and beliefs that ground students in the familiar. They can then draw
from this foundation to thrive when confronted with an unfamiliar campus community.
Empowerment Agent: Direct Support, Integrative Support, System Development, and
System Linkage and Networking Support
According to Tinto (2006), congruency between the student’s social-cultural identity and
the culture of the institution contributes to increased persistence. Social-cultural perspectives
familiar to minority students promote student involvement, effort, and a sense of belonging
(Bensimon, 2005; Gorski, 2008). Stanton-Salazar (2011) expanded on theories of persistence to
include institutional agents’ access to key resources and their utility to impart practices and
processes essential for success in higher education. This form of access is described as social
capital used to access resources and networks on behalf of disadvantaged students (Lin, 2005;
Stanton-Salazar, 2011) to empower them, their communities, and society.
Institutional Agent Role to Empower: Direct Support and Systems Linkage and
Networking Support.
Kumu displayed institutional support during the observation of a student discussion about
success on campus. One of the topics of concern was the transition from high school to their
freshman experience on campus over the summer. Students discussed issues of peer pressure
and acceptance. The conversation included the kinds of academic and financial expectations
placed on students from both the university as well as from the family and community. Kumu
validated students’ fears as a normal occurrence for incoming first-year students and spoke to the
importance of collaboration and communication to facilitate resolution. Throughout the
discussion, Kumu gave advice and guidance on navigating fears and feelings of uncertainty as
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 66
well as asking for academic assistance from faculty, program staff, and mentor students. Kumu
asked students questions such as, “Why did you believe feelings of inadequacy are wrong?”
“What can we do to overcome those feelings?” and “How can we all assist each other to
persevere?” The process of deliberation during the discussion allowed for student-led problem-
solving as well proposed supportive services available at the university. Kumu reflected on the
event by explaining,
My primary role is as their academic adviser, so I make sure that not only are they taking
the appropriate courses so that they are on track for graduation, but I always ask them
how they are doing. The problems students have may be basic comprehension of how to
access certain resources or how to utilize the various platforms for university and student
interaction. So, I show the students all of the crucial components needed to operate and
whom to contact. And it's not just “you can go here for it.” It is taking the students there
and meeting with staff or faculty who operate that particular area so that they are not
afraid of making the decision to utilize the resources on campus. I will bend in all kinds
of directions to get the students to become successful and active members of our campus
and in their communities. So, I always inform the students of things happening on
campus or events relating to their specific interests. I actively engage them with our
faculty and guest speakers because it will help them in developing their network. I mean
it is what you know, but it really is whom you know. And if they can develop those
interpersonal and communication skills, it will benefit them in the long run. If you were
to ask these students, a lot of them would not have come to the university if they didn’t
go into the program and get that real-time experience, if they didn’t develop a
relationship with the people on campus.
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 67
Kumu’s action as an advisor and advocate providing resources and knowledge to navigate the
university is evident here when discussing his interaction with students. Stanton-Salazar (1997,
2011) identified actions associated with institutional agents as their ability to provide problem-
solving techniques within the bureaucracy of the university in concert with sources of support for
minority and disadvantaged youth, thereby conveying forms of human and social capital.
Institutional agents provide both positional and personal resources to transmit pools of
knowledge and resources for academic success by connecting students to key officials to ascend
within the education system (Gee, 1989; Lin, 2001; Stanton-Salazar, 2011). In the example
provided above, Kumu acted as a direct source of support to students by offering suggestions on
empowering themselves to overcome uncertainty and persevere with assistance from key
resources on campus. Kumu used social capital to access campus resources and coordinate
opportunities for employment and networking for students. Kumu allowed for student-led
discussion on problem-solving and solutions to address challenges. The transformation occurs
when students create their own forms of direct support and bridging. Mentor students
experienced a form of social mobility generated since their participation in Onipa`a. Stanton-
Salazar (2011) and Zimmerman (1995) described the transformative process as creating a greater
awareness of the necessary resources and the acquisition of such support systems to gain control
over students’ own “lives and destinies (p. 1091).” Kumu explained,
It is more than mentorship because the older students work in different departments, so
they know what's happening in their department. So, they come and share what's
happening. They'll see that something needs to be done, and they'll do it. The students
allow staff and faculty to showcase and be boastful about their respective offices to the
entire campus. And then what happens is that these students will actually become their
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 68
own advocates, their own bridges to actively serve others like incoming freshmen. So,
what's happening is that my students have made friends with other students outside of the
program introducing them to all of the resources that they were taught. And, so, I've been
the reach for them, and they have become the bridge for others. So, they've taken
responsibility for their lives and our program identity at the university.
This behavior is consistent with the literature offered by Stanton-Salazar (2011) whereby
the author suggests social capital as a concept of ambient access to forms of institutional support
to empower students toward academic achievement. Institutional agents like Kumu provide key
actions in small learning communities of students in Onipa`a to explore ideas and feelings in a
safe environment, which leads to persistence. These types of coping strategy behaviors to
network and seek help to problem-solve are necessary to orient developmental and educational
tasks towards goal achievement (Cochran et al., 1990; Stanton-Salazar & Spina, 2000). Kumu,
through the construct of the Onipa`a program, creates the social construct to transform students
into becoming their own source of support, working and learning together. As Stanton-Salazar
(2001) described,
For low-SES adolescents and significant others, empowering relations necessitate
relational dynamics (negotiations, compacts, coping styles) that run counter to the logic
of the surrounding institutional structures (e.g., segregated, poor urban community; a
stigmatized, resource-poor urban school environment). Usually, organized structures of
resistance and collective engagement are required to generate relational dynamics that
facilitate truly empowering forms of social support. (p. 30)

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 69
Institutional Agent Role to Empower: Integrative Support and Systems Developer
A second instance revealed institutional support from documents and the observations of
Kumu. For example, the program’s annual performance report (U.S. DOE, 2015) discussed the
creation of a student employment component as part of the intervention strategy. The report
summarized a survey of students identified as at high risk for departure. These students
acknowledged financial constraints as the primary factor for attrition during the first year at the
university (University of Hawai`i, 2015). The program countered with the creation of student
employment as part of the Onipa`a. The report read,
The three-part summer program is for 8 weeks and earns student two college-level
credits, throughout which they take career inventories and explore careers; become
familiar with college campus, work 5-6 weeks as a student employee on campus; learn
study skills, time management, college-level course expectations, and are exposed to
college-level science, math, reading, and writing.(p. 4)
First-year students started taking classes and student development workshops in the summer
before their fall session. Students received career development training to assess personality
traits, skills, and goals to complement employment options available on campus. Group
discussions covered due diligence on researching background information on the various office
and employment positions available. Resume-building, application-writing and mock questions
were conducted to prepare students for interviews.
When asked about the significance of student employment during the interview, Kumu
responded,
We know that student employment is very crucial in summer and in their general
schooling here at the university. So, during the summer we know, once graduation
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 70
happens again, it's a culture and socio-economic thing where, once you graduate, you've
got a job. We knew that was a barrier to student success. One of our remedies was to
have a job for you in our program and teach you how to be the best student employee as
possible. We have roughly a dozen incoming freshman students every year. Many
students have been successful, as the various offices on campus retained students in the
fall and maintained employment until graduation.
Kumu asserted the university did not understand the complex needs of the Native Hawaiian
community and the dynamics of the Hawaiian family regarding financial support. Kumu noted
that one of the biggest obstacles to Native Hawaiians students’ success is the need to provide
financial support to the family. Although financial aid was readily available to offset student’s
inability to afford higher education, a deeply held cultural trait within the community included
maintaining employment to augment household budgets. The Onipa’a program created a career
development component preparing students for employment as well as maintaining a connection
by hiring students for positions on campus to facilitate greater involvement. The development of
the 4-year employment program further facilitated student integration and provided cultural
exposure to key agents and systems on campus.
Kumu continued the discussion with regards to developing the added component of
student employment to the program:
Being that the students are embedded in different departments on campus, if a resource
needed something from another department, the student would use their relationships
with a student in that department to make a connection. Students will go directly to that
department and ask for a favor, so there is a crisscrossing of requests between
departments on campus that is being initiated our students. They’ll see that something
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 71
needs to be done, and they’ll do it. The departments now recognize the value of our
students and the talents they bring in different areas. It’s an opportunity for the staff and
faculty to be boastful about what they [office] can do through our Native Hawaiian
students’ efforts.
Stanton-Salazar (2011) described empowerment social capital as actions institutional agents
perform to redistribute resources and support systems that run counter to the structural norms of
institutions better suited to those of privilege. Institutions have inherent economic and social
inequalities which amplify exclusionary forces (Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992; Carnoy & Levin,
1985). These institutional forces that conflict with the cultural norms of disadvantaged youth are
mitigated through institutional forms of integrative and systems development support.
Individuals, acting as institutional agents, create opportunities for social integration that expose
students to pools of knowledge, social-cultural conventions, and career possibilities. Students
become empowered by the experiences and connections galvanized by the socialization process
to transform themselves, their communities, and society (Boykin, 1986; Phelan et al., 1991;
Stanton-Salazar, 2011). Kumu explained:
Most I would like to say about 90% of students said they're going to school. It's shifted
over time because of the new positive outlook and the benefits of what a college degree
can get you. But it’s not just on the monetary level, but the fact that these students see
the lack of resources in their communities when you speak with them. They will say, “I
want this degree because I want to do this in my community. We don't have this.” They
see the need in their community, and they see the solution in themselves.

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 72
When asked how Kumu sees his role in the transformation of these students, he replied,
I have established a relationship with these various resources, and I collaborated with
them on many levels. And the fact that my relationship with these people is great and it's
my ability to share the relationship that I have with these people [UH officials] with
students. Knowing that you [student] are in good hands, I promise they will take care of
you, and I’ll make sure they'll take care of you. But it's the fact that I stand there and I'm
always watching them [students] even though they don't know it, and I will push them in
the direction that they need until it's become such a habit that it turns on for them and
they assume the role of leading by example. So, if I want them to do something, I share
with them my story and how it got me to here and how I wish them to surpass me and do
more. It's sharing that I did the same thing, you know, to learn these things. You know,
it takes practice. You’ll always be practicing it. If you don't practice it, you won’t learn.
And if you don't actually engage and do it, then you’ll never know.
Stanton-Salazar and Dornbusch (1995) argued the challenges between minority students and
institutional agents’ stems from the lack of interpersonal trust and mutual support necessary to
reinforce student engagement. Given that disadvantaged students are more dependent on
institutional resources, interactions with various institutional agents in various roles assist in the
accumulation of social capital needed to reduce disengagement (Mehan et al., 1996; Stanton-
Salazar, 1997).
An examination of the data for Kumu revealed that, while his role is to initiate exchanges
between Onipa`a students and promote confidence to engage with key agents at the university,
he recognized his primary role is to motivate inherent transformations that define individual
student success. Moreover, Kumu acknowledged the concept of the triple bottom line return; the
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 73
success of the university, the student, and the minority community is achieved when the
manifestation of actions runs counter to the current hierarchical structure which inhibits social
mobility (Stanton-Salazar, 2011).
In terms of integrative support, Kumu discussed the significance of cultural exposure as a
transmission that occurs from the perspective of the student as well as staff and faculty. Kumu
explained, “I am providing them with the cultural lens to understand, although it may be viewed
differently, it’s still the same education process.” Kumu spoke of conveying the importance of
the Native Hawaiian student perspective to key agents on campus as well as providing guidance
to disadvantaged students on the nuances of cultural values and norms prevalent on campus. The
2014 annual performance report (U.S. DOE, 2015) mentioned implementing programs to
introduce the social complexities of the community to key agents at the university:
Poverty Simulation sessions were used for faculty, students & staff utilizing tools and
methods of the nationally renowned Missouri Association for Community Action
organization. Participants role-play the lives of low-income families having the task to
provide food, shelter, and other basic necessities during the simulation. This enables
participants to view poverty from different angles in an experiential setting. The purpose
of these sessions at UHWO was to expose faculty, staff, and fellow students to the
realities of some of their students and classmates, many of which comprise UHWO’s
student body. (p. 3)
The report described additional programs to integrate an awareness of the Hawaiian culture by
introducing faculty to indigenous practices:
Prior to the start of the fall 2014 semester, faculty and staff were invited to a field
orientation of the communities UHWO serves. Survey results (33 respondents out of 60)
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 74
of this daylong event titled “Pili Aina” (to become closer to land) indicated that 100% of
the attendees’ state that the experience increased their awareness and sensitivity about the
Leeward Coast of Oahu and our students that come from this region; 97% reported that
this experience increased their knowledge and understanding of the Native Hawaiian
culture, values, and learning styles; and 78% said that it had influenced how they will
teach. (p. 3)
Bensimon et al. (2012) contended the challenge of universities is to recognize their inherent
contribution to the lack of success for disadvantaged youth. The authors reported institutional
officials focused on interventions to change and adapt students to university processes rather
than look at institutionalized structures and processes that inhibit retention of disadvantaged
students (Bensimon et al., 2012). Implementation of both the poverty simulation and the
indigenous events were professional development programs so that faculty and staff could
experience the sociocultural construct of disadvantaged students and the indigenous cultures they
adhere to. The implementation of the two programs was to create culturally response pedagogy
to establish congruency between the academic world and the minority community (Tinto, 1998;
Tinto, 2004). Kumu stated,
I believe that the number one challenge is a cultural challenge. As we would see in our
indigenous practices for Native Hawaiians, is students will not speak unless asked to. I
believe that is a cultural challenge, and students will remain silent even if they need help.
I believe the number one thing is to try to get them to engage actively and contribute
through ways of learning that students are familiar with. I think understanding that this is
their campus and that if they don't utilize it to its maximum capacity, then they are the
only ones who will lose out on this great opportunity.
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 75
So, I guess in a sense trying to get them acclimated to a different version of what we
expect education to be in the process that we use. It’s not what I want to do; trying to
westernize students.
Stanton-Salazar (2010) referred to institutional agents providing cultural exposure as an essential
part of the socialization process from both the student and key officials on campus. Integrating
opportunities for a sociocultural exchange allowed students to familiarize themselves with the
values, beliefs, and actions of key agents who control resources. More importantly, cultural
exchanges allowed faculty and staff to incorporate practices and principles of culturally
responsive pedagogy that incorporate knowledge and experiences familiar to the student
(Bensimon & Dowd, 2015).
The transformation of an institutional agent to empowerment agent is further delineated
by Stanton-Salazar (2011) as occurring for agents who use their experiences, knowledge, and
networks to manifest low-SES youth’s potential for student success. Institutional agents use
their hierarchical status and network power within organizations to confer opportunities to
students through supportive systems. Empowerment agents advance the role of the agent by
integrating hierarchical and structural changes within the campus system (Stanton-Salazar,
2011). Empowerment agents are motivated by a “critical consciousness to bridge structural
holes of educational stratification and by using their networks to teach the student not to just get
by in the existing system, but rather how to change the world” (Stanton-Salazar, 2011, p. 1093).
Conclusion of empowerment agency: Transformation through culture. As initially
postulated in the conceptual framework, institutional agents transmit actions through social and
organizational systems. These actions constitute interventions like student mentorship, academic
advocacy, employment, and cultural advisor. Institutional agents, through motivational and
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 76
ideological characteristics, provide supportive relationships that create a redistribution of power
and resources to disadvantaged youth in college that increase the probability of persistence in
higher education. Institutional agents become transformed into agents of empowerment as they
facilitate and cultivate students’ human development of critical consciousness and self-
determination (Stanton-Salazar, 2011). Empowerment agents do more than their normal duties,
exhibiting support, advocacy, and overall concern for students. In the case of the program
advisor, Kumu, empowerment agency is the confluence of direct support, system development,
integrative support, system linkage and networking in conjunction with motivations and
ideologies that transform the university and Native Hawaiian students to create long-term
internal and external change which redistributes power and resources.
While the findings presented in the previous section substantiate the framework of
empowerment agency, the data also revealed a collective action taken by the empowerment agent
and students to address the academic and social challenges prevalent during the first year of
college, a finding not anticipated at the outset. The implementation of Hawaiian culture and
values into the Onipa`a program was identified at the outset of the study; the manifestation of
“Hawaiian-ness” was discussed in terms of language, culture, and behaviors of shared histories
for the individual student. The creation of programs that associated a student’s ethnic identity to
the academic curriculum was a key factor in achievement for minority students (Bennet, 2001;
Bensimon, 1005). Connections of self-identity and culture through curriculum fostered
individual student motivation towards academic achievement (Erickson, 1968; Ogbu and
Simons, 1998). However, the concept of collectivist action, the foundation of the Native
Hawaiian culture, was absent in research discussing disadvantaged students’ persistence in
higher education.
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 77
The Native Hawaiian value of Kākou is described as follows:
Kākou is about inclusiveness. At its elemental core, the spirit of Kākou acknowledges
that we are not on this Earth alone and as the human race we seem to survive better—we
thrive—in each other’s company, sharing the ups and downs of our day-to-day existence.
Kākou promotes sharing, and making the effort to promote the well-being that is felt with
inclusiveness (Say, 2008, para. 18).
The concept of Kākou is based on the premise that the individual’s challenges are the group’s
challenges. Chanbonpin (2013) discussed the concept of Kākou is fully realized in cases where
subordination amongst a group exists; the inclusiveness of the subordinated group, as well as the
participation of the dominant group, will impact the entirety of the unit that will transcend
societal change. This collectivist action is described in an interview with Supreme Court Justice
Sonia Sotomayor:
You were one of 15 Latinas…when you landed in an alien land (Princeton) you seek out
comfort from those who are similar to you. It is important to draw strength from your
community. All of us need the comfort, security of that which is familiar to us. Use it
(community strength) as a springboard to explore the larger world; don’t isolate yourself
in what you know, keep a tie, keep tethered to it. Then go off on your rocket ship and
explore the universe. (Rosenberg, 2013, 1:12)
In essence, the Hawaiian culture fosters a collectivist or group-orientation that promotes
sharing and effort-making to encourage well-being through inclusivity. The combination of
empowerment agency theory provisioned through the Hawaiian orientation of active inclusion
and participation further embeds the idea of success stems from the concept of “it’s about a we
thing” (Say, 2008, para.).
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 78
Case Study 2: “It’s about `Ohana (Family)” – Makua
The Onipa`a program is primarily run by three staffers. The team consists of a project
director, academic advisor, and career services coordinator. Makua (Uncle) is the career services
coordinator tasked with monitoring students’ progress with employment opportunities as part of
the Onipa`a program. Incoming first-year students have classes over the summer for two days a
week, work in various departments on campus for two days, then participate in a student
development workshop at the end of the week. The program’s annual performance report
(UHWO, 2015) describes the summer program as an opportunity for students to “engage with
faculty, staff, campus resources, and peers…elevate our students’ understanding through
building relationships, becoming practitioners of Hawaiian cultural values, and transforming into
role models for the Waianae community” (p. 2).
Although all staff has specific assigned roles in the program, staff responsibilities are
flexible to allow for coverage in all areas of the program and offer maximum high-touch between
students and program staff. Makua is assigned the role of career services coordinator for
Onipa`a and was tasked with conducting a workshop encompassing life skills. The Onipa`a
program developed curriculum based on a group discussion format regarding the challenges of
college transition. Upon entering the classroom, 12 freshman students were working on their
presentations using poster boards spread along the walls of the classroom. Four mentor students,
sophomores and juniors, were scattered around the room speaking with first-year students about
presentation topics. The group work revolved around identifying the characteristics of student
success. The discussion was lively and animated as students conversed about classes taken
during the week and anecdotes of professor personalities and classroom activities. Mentor
students were quick to impart previous experiences with professors and gave advice or
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 79
recommendations to interact with faculty for the remaining semester. Other conversations
concerned financial aid, library services, employment options, academic advising, and tutoring
options. Mentor students were astute in their recommendations and offered opportunities for
introduction to various faculty and staff on campus.
Once student presentations were complete, the group discussion was led by Makua
regarding common characteristics of student success in higher education. Makua started the
session by asking mentor students to identify an obstacle experienced as a freshman on campus
as well as actions taken to overcome the challenge. During mentor students’ speeches, Makua
wrote themes on the board summarizing students’ discussions. The themes of the discussion
created by students and posed by Makua in the benchmark analysis are illustrated in Table 2.
Table 2
Inductive Themes Emerging from Benchmark Analysis of Characteristics of Student Success -
Makua
Category Theme Comments made and discussed
Characteristics of Student
Success (Soft Skills)
Strong Work
Ethic
1. Commitment to work
2. Punctual and present
3. Attentive to needs of the customer
4. Productive
5. Perseverance
Communication
1. Appropriate and consistent
2. Respectful
3. Listening and active response
Organization
1. Promote organizing techniques
2. Shows responsibility when physical
environment is organized
3. Stop procrastination

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 80
Table 2, continued
Category Theme Comments made and discussed

Respect
1. Importance of interaction with
colleagues, faculty and decision makers
2. Commitment to one another
Leadership
1. Consistency
2. Conflict resolution management
3. Mentorship
4. Positive attitude
Creativity
1. New approaches to school and work
challenges
2. Change perspective
Empathy
1. Understand the "others world"
2. Identify with others’ experiences
3. Open-minded
Friendliness
1. Engage
2. Accept Criticism
3. Connectedness

Makua guided the discussion while encouraging communication to instill a sense of value
regarding students’ experiences. Students were encouraged to voice their concerns, conflicts,
and lessons learned from negative experiences. First-year students formed mind maps to connect
their experiences with actions expressed by mentor students in an effort to problem solve. A
freshman identified her inability to find her “voice” in the classroom during a lecture for fear of
failure. When looking at the student success chart created by mentor students, she identified
implementing active response techniques as well as interacting with the professor outside of the
classroom to overcome her fear. Laughter and encouraging words of support among the group
were highlighted with responses of “You’re good, my sister” and “Brother, don’t worry about it”
from mentor students. The conversations with first-year students about their experiences on
campus became more detailed in subsequent descriptions during the session.
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 81
First-year students appeared to be more confident in their responses and feelings about
campus life, which were described as dissimilar to experiences in their school and home
communities. Mentor students were responsive to their questions, offering advice through
similar lived experiences during their first year at the university. Mentor students offered
referrals and introductions to resources on campus to assist with challenges covered during the
discussion. Makua reaffirmed the mentor students’ efforts by offering to engage the appropriate
faculty and staff to assist. Makua followed the discussion by addressing students through goal-
orientation dialogue such as, “Why are you at the university?” and “What kinds of changes do
you see in yourself since you’ve been here?” to bring consciousness to the transformations
occurring within themselves. Makua closed the session by addressing the concept of `ohana and
support systems to assist “each other in what we’re going through makes us a stronger
community of successful students that can create change within ourselves and here on campus.”
Case Study 2 Results
An examination of the data revealed that supportive academic services are only part of
the solution to address the problem of Native Hawaiian underrepresentation in higher education.
Moreover, current intervention strategies like tutoring, counseling, and developmental instruction
are only partially effective in influencing practices associated with increased persistence rates.
Integration is driven by the amalgamation of supportive services through institutional agents
transferring empowerment through social capital and relational networks to counter-stratify
education systems toward low-SES students. This process is implemented from the foundation
of Native Hawaiian culture, values, and beliefs that ground students in the familiar. They can
then draw from this foundation to thrive when confronted with an unfamiliar campus
community.
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 82
Empowerment Agent: Direct Support, Integrative Support, System Development, and
System Linkage and Networking Support
As described previously, the resemblance of the student’s cultural identity at a higher
education institution promotes increased persistence as it encourages a sense of belonging
(Bensimon, 2005, Gorski, 2008; Tinto, 2006). The framework of empowerment agency adds to
the research on student persistence to focus on institutional agents and their use of social capital
to access support systems and networks for the advancement of minority and low-SES students.
This process of counter stratification transforms the critical consciousness of disadvantaged
students that will invigorate their communities and their presence in society (Lin, 2005; Stanton-
Salazar, 2011).
Institutional Agent Role to Empower: Direct Support and Integrative Support
In the description of leadership characteristics during the workshop, the students
discussed the concept of consistency as it relates to examples of leaders. Makua asked students
to describe the various forms of consistency they experienced on campus. A student responded
by explaining events where there was an expectation of a reading assignment prior to class. The
student expressed the example of consistency was her preparation for the professor’s discussion
of the readings and its application to the lecture. The student then joked that she made a mistake
and was teased by classmates in that instance. Makua praised her efforts in the classroom while
reinforcing the idea that leadership “does not mean we are always right, but establishes a sense
of trust that you will deliver on your end of the deal regardless; that is a mark of consistency.”
The other students in the workshop were quick to support her efforts in the classroom despite the
error. Makua asked students questions such as, “Why do what you did?” “Why are you here and
what is the goal?” and “When you see your sister being mocked, what would you have done?”
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 83
Students discussed the experience as it relates to having the courage to overcome fears and
negative attitudes.
Makua then responded with a quote from a famous actor of Polynesian descent, “Success
isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success.
Greatness will come.” Makua quoted Dwayne Johnson during an interview about his rise to
fame from college football player to a professional wrestler, and, then, a famous actor. Makua
explained the challenges of being a leader is maintaining a positive attitude which assists in
personal growth as Dwayne Johnson’s path included struggles and challenges that contributed to
his success. Makua corroborated the sentiments of the group that making mistakes build
experiences to make informed decisions later which others will look towards as “you’ve built a
reputation of expectations that others learn to trust in.”
Makua’s integration with students is evidence of his function as knowledge agent and
networking coach providing socialization guidance to students managing their sense of place in
the university. Institutional agents transmit knowledge to assist youth in developing coping
strategies through communication, interaction, and resource access techniques to ascend in the
high-status spheres of the educational system (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977; Gee, 1989; Stanton-
Salazar, Vasquez, & Mehan, 2000). Practices associated with knowledge transmission involve
Makua describing characteristics of success like leadership among students, building trust and
respect with faculty, and participating in the development of influence on campus (Bowles &
Gintis, 1976; Bourdieu & Passerson, 1977; Porter, 1976). These actions create an environment
where social structures that normally excluded them are now embedded in low-SES youth with
the purpose of increasing their academic success (Stanton-Salazar, 2011)
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 84
Stanton-Salazar (2011) described one of the roles of an empowerment agent as, “the
agent in the process of gathering information, co-assessing problems and helping the individual
[student] make appropriate and effective decisions related to ascension within the education
system” (p. 1099). When asked during the interview how Makua viewed his role as knowledge
agent to Native Hawaiian students, Makua stated,
The challenge for students is the transition from high school to college. They come with
a lack of confidence and self-esteem that makes college more difficult when students
can’t relate to the culture of the campus. Onipa`a was created to provide daily
engagement with faculty and staff and other students, whether through classes, one on
one tutoring, or employment to get comfortable with the university and encourage
successful connections that will have lifelong benefits. This program was initiated with a
collaborative concept that stems from the Hawaiian value that we all work together;
students looked at staff and each other as their sources of support. We worked with
students to identify and give voices to their fears and concerns; making them aware of the
right kinds of decisions and behaviors they need to adapt to engage on campus
successfully. More importantly, the program wanted their collective voices to work
together and find solutions, becoming their own network and interacting for themselves
and their group that eventually lead to facility and administration. My role was to
facilitate Native Hawaiian students to believe that the entire school system was here for
them so that they could identify themselves with the university and take pride in that
connection. We wanted Onipa`a students to buy-in to the concept that this was their
community rather than an outsider looking in; so, they belong just as much as anyone
else, to a certain extent, even more so.
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 85
The observation and interview revealed Makua possesses the motivational and ideological
characteristics of a direct service provider with the added resolution of transforming students’
critical consciousness to create change in themselves and their community (Ward, 2008).
Makua’s role as knowledge agent and networking coach is transformative as it incorporates
integrative agency. Stanton-Salazar (2011) describes an integrative agent as
[Someone] not only aware of the empowering socialization experiences derived from
participating in high-status networks and associations, but also that such networks and
associations are key sites where networking, help seeking, and reciprocal exchanges of
institutional support are the norm, and where “bridging” and “brokering” are typical
organizational activities. Such sites also provide excellent opportunities for network
development, and for providing cultural exposure, as articulated above. An “integrative
agent” also fulfills the role of institutional agent when incorporating student[s] into their
very own professional network, which often include connecting the student[s] with the
agent’s own cadre of students and mentees. (p. 1101)
This perspective of change was seen as Makua encouraged students’ collaborative efforts to
realize responses and actions to experiences that influence positive perspectives by key agents on
campus. The observed was a manifestation of Native Hawaiian students working together to
problem-solve challenges with the assistance of networks and relationships to build solidarity
with hierarchical structures in the university that provide supportive institutional systems for
student success (Stanton-Salazar, 2001; Valencia, 1999).
Stanton-Salazar (2001) described the phenomenon of connecting and amalgamation in
the field of education as follows:
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 86
When such bonding between agent and student becomes a defining characteristic of the
school community as a whole, students experience a certain “we-ness,” a collective
identity that is highly consonant with increased effort engagement and academic
achievement. In sum: school personnel treats students in a caring manner, creating the
conditions for “bonding”; in turn, students come to identify with, and conform to, the
established order; now integrated, students experience a heightened degree of motivation
a make the necessary efforts to meet academic demands. (p. 13)
Onipa`a students’ bond and integrate on campus through experiences based on mutual respect
and trust. Makua worked to provide connections between him and the students, incoming
students with current students, and all students with staff and faculty. Students sharing campus
experiences with faculty and administration create positive experiences to build common
interests on. These experiences allow students to create relationships between faculty and staff
which embolden standards of behavior and encourage mutual investment towards a common
cause. Native Hawaiian students begin to form communities of power and influence, thereby
creating networks of social capital from high-status positions to achieve goals both on and off
campus (Stanton-Salazar, 2011). Therefore, Makua transcended his reach as a knowledge agent
and advisor by introducing critical thinking in a Hawaiian cultural context, translating skills
taught and accepted by students to the extent of changing behaviors.
Institutional Agent Role to Empower: Systems Linkage and Networking Support
The next instance where empowerment agency was evident occurred in an interview
subsequent to the observation of Makua. One of the questions during the interview focused on
the identification and transmission of forms of knowledge and resources to students participating
in Onipa`a. The question covered knowledge transfer of basic academic skills, educational
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 87
bureaucracies, and labor opportunities linked to degree completion. Makua described his role as
an institutional agent as a familial bridge between the students and institution:
Remember during the ho`ike [presentation], you noticed I made sure the older students
spoke their experiences and how they resolved their issues, both on and off campus. I
encourage that interaction just like I encourage their interaction with various faculty and
staff. I encourage that interaction with their employer, both on and off campus.
Throughout the year, I’m that gruff uncle that makes calls to make sure my students are
on the right track. I’ll call the student mentor to find why a freshman is having problems
and talk about how we kokua [help] `ohana – all of us. I’ll meet various staff and faculty
to do a temperature check between them and my students; so, multiples of engagement
are happening with my kids. Sometimes, I’m a broker of sorts, trying to find new and
different ways to link students in all the pathways available on campus. When folks on
campus see my students as those in the know, then my kids become encouraging and
motivational resources to other students who build even more connections. My kids, they
want to succeed, but they also want their community to succeed too. That’s why we do
what we do, all of us, it’s about `ohana.
Makua’s response describes his institutional role as a coordinator and broker between Onipa`a
students and key institutional representatives. Makua discussed the significance of bridging
students to multiple sources of support both in the community and on campus as pathways to
success. Lin (2001) described these types of brokers as “individual actors in one [network] to
have access to resources embedded in nodes in another [network] that otherwise would not be
accessible” (p. 71). In juxtaposition, Burt (1992) explained brokers can view the diverse
landscape of disconnected networks to detect and develop opportunities for beneficiaries. In
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 88
research by Hepworth et al. (2006), institutional agents, as coordinators, assess the needs of the
students, coordinate the provisions of support, and refer key agents best suited for student
success. Agents also assume the role of intermediaries between institutional resources and the
student to broker agreements with key agents with needed expertise (Heffernan et al., 1997).
Stanton-Salazar (2011) discussed the concept of network orientation which combines the ideal of
institutional agents who operate as both bridges between various sources of supportive networks
and brokers who strategically visualize pathways of networks and resources to empower students
across the campus and community.
Conclusion of Empowerment Agency: Transformation Through Culture
Institutional agents are committed to the success of low-SES students through the transfer
of social networks and relationships in higher education. Agents become bridges for low-SES
youth and minorities, providing them access to educational and professional opportunities both
within and outside the institution. The transformation of Makua to empowerment agent occurred
when he recognized his role entails more than providing institutional sources of support.
Empowerment agents validate students’ cultural backgrounds by incorporating their values and
experiences into educational practices. During the observation, Makua communicated to the
students that long-lasting relationships are built on trust and respect. The construction of
connections between high-status individuals on campus and in the surrounding community
induces the activities that elevate Native Hawaiian students’ engagement. More importantly, the
impetus to motivate engagement establishes opportunities to change the system that subjugates
Native Hawaiian students. Stanton-Salazar (2011) described institutional agents as recognizing
and working counter to structural forces that contribute to low-SES student failure by identifying
themselves as advocates and providers of various forms of institutional support. Empowerment
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 89
agents foster the students’ individual motivations to change their circumstances as well as
revolutionize the systems that maintain social oppression.
Similar to Case 1, the collectivist action is an inherent part of the Native Hawaiian
culture. Research supports the implementation of small cooperative-learning communities
similar to instructional cohorts working together to maximize scholarship (Harris, 2007, Myers,
2003; Tinto, 2004). Kamehameha Schools’ Emalani Case, associate professor of Hawaiian-
Pacific Island studies at UHWO described her collectivist learning model:
We were there to kākou one another, there to support one another, help one another
whereas in a more mainstream (education) system it’s about individualism and individual
assent…I really wanted that culturally based (learning), not necessarily content like
learning Hawaiian content although I definitely wanted that even deeper than that I
wanted the traditional values. To me, that’s what made education more enriching…If I
want to teach students here, then I have to be knowledgeable of the philosophies,
epistemologies (and) everything dealing with people in Hawai`i. When you give them
stuff that is relatable and relevant to their lives, then they’re able to really use that and
become the authority in the classroom which changes the dynamic.
Professor Case applies concepts based on an understanding of the culture of students in the
classroom and frames teaching methods and strategies to encourage interaction and engagement.
The results of incorporating culture in education were increased feelings of self-worth and
engagement in school, which improved academic outcomes (Thomas & Kana`aiupuni, 2012).
Stanton-Salazar (2011) expanded the notion of cooperative learning by including empowerment
agents who build beyond student-to-student networks to relationships with administration and
faculty. Moreover, Stanton-Salazar (2011) described these supportive relationships as the basis
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 90
of “transitional and transformative” (p. 1091) from a place of oppression to mobilizations of
power and resources conducive to self-determination of one’s destiny. Dr. Maenette Ah Nee-
Benham, chancellor of UHWO, illustrated the importance of culture in the classroom that
positively affects Native Hawaiian students:
Learning through our Hawaiian world view, the genius of our ancestors gives us a strong
sense of wonderment and through that gives us a spark that anything is possible. We are
deeply connected to this pai`aina [place] because it’s in our DNA. Bringing a Hawaiian
world view into the classroom is something solid to stand on, and it propels students to
achieve success. It’s through these moments of deep connection to our mookuauhau
[genealogy] that we know where we’ve come from, who we are, and where we are going.
It opens the doors to explore limitless possibilities.
Culture is the lens through which education occurs. Therefore, alignment between activities on
campus and the cultural values instilled in the community is an integral part of student success in
higher education. The connection between culture and campus builds the foundation on which
Native Hawaiian students empower themselves to venture beyond the realm of oppression
towards enlightenment, which leads to increased persistence.
Single-Case Inductive Analysis
This study involved two institutional agents with different programmatic roles for the
Onipa`a program. It was assumed agents would behave differently from one another. I
anticipated two different methods and institutional actions from the two different agents with
regard to facilitating success for Native Hawaiian students. More importantly, I expected to
ascertain clear roles between the two agents on how support and resources are transmitted to
students. However, while delivery of supportive services for both agents was different in the
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 91
Onipa`a program, both agents aligned their practices from a holistic culturally based learning
perspective. A categorization of the findings across both agents of the Onipa`a program is
shown in Table 3.
Table 3 illustrates the differences and similarities in various institutional roles and
subsequent actions observed and discussed from my analysis of the data. One interesting finding
was that, while Kumu and Makua performed different institutional roles with dissimilar actions,
their transfer of support and resources are characteristic of empowerment agents who transform
the critical consciousness of students they support. Both Kumu and Makua advocate for
students, model appropriate behavior, offer moral and emotional support, and convey guidance,
advice, and feedback. It is these supportive actions that carry the potential to transform student
consciousness towards “changing the world” (p. 154) that perpetuates inequality of access
(Ward, 2008). In addition, from a behavioral viewpoint, although Kumu and Makua approach
Native Hawaiian students from opposing perspectives—Kumu being the caring, loving motivator
or Makua’s grumpy disposition with a heart of gold—both exemplified authentic and supportive
relationships to help students self-motivate and self-determine their destinies.

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 92
Table 3
Inductive Cross-Case Categorization Emerging from Case Studies for Kumu and Makua

Roles Institutional Agents Provide
Actions Institutional
Agents Provide
Case Study 1:
Kumu –
Program
Advisor
Similarities Between Kumu and
Makua in Institutional
Empowerment through
Cultural-Based Learning
Case Study 2:
Makua - Career
Services
Coordinator
Direct Support
Advisor &
Advocate
1. Both are inclined and inspired
to identify themselves on campus
as an advocate and agent for
Native Hawaiian students. Both
use the collective and
experienced-based protocol to
transmit institutional resources.
Knowledge
Agent &
Networking
Coach
Integrative Support
Integrative
Agent &
Cultural
Guide
1. Both are aware of social
structural forces on/off campus
that create challenges for Native
Hawaiian students. 2. Both use
familial connotations to facilitate
student integration into the
'cultural' norms of the institution.

Systems Developer
Program
Developer
Both recognize Native Hawaiian
student success on campus is
contingent on a provision of
support through a delivery system
that is culturally familiar.

Systems Linkage &
Networking Support
1. Both use their positions and
relationships to counteract
institutional forces to improve the
experiences of Native Hawaiian
students on campus.
2. Both have racial and cultural
backgrounds which build student
confidences to expand supportive
relationships on campus.
Coordinator &
Institutional
Broker

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 93
One difference between Kumu and Makua lies in the institutional mechanisms they
employ to implement resources and supports. Stanton-Salazar (2011) explained,
Adult actions manifest their capacity as institutional agents through enacting a variety of
roles, some focused on the process of directly providing key forms of institutional
support (e.g., transmitting funds of knowledge; teaching youth how to network with key
institutional agents), while other roles focus on key forms of networking (e.g.,
introducing a student to an important school administrator; negotiating agreements
between two or more parties). (p. 1079)
In the case of Kumu, because his belief of agency involves embodying sources of support on
campus, he incorporates skills of various positions, becoming the academic advisor, financial aid
counselor, community liaison, and, at times, professor. Kumu assumed the role of various
positions on campus as a sole purveyor of utility to expand students’ access to institutional
supports from a safe place on campus. In the case of Makua, because his theory of provision
employs identifying and facilitating those resources of institutional supports, his method
involved connecting Native Hawaiians students to faculty and staff sources and influencing
outreach and connectedness with university key agents. Makua operated as a resource broker
who understands the institution community, with intimate relationships with those key agents of
influence, serves as the bridge between students and agents, and models behaviors and actions
which solidify positive relationships for Native Hawaiians students.
Despite their differing delivery mechanisms, both managed to enact the kinds of
characteristics described by Stanton-Salazar (2011) as an empowerment agent. The overriding
theme between these two individuals involves a holistic view of supportive systems which
exemplify increasing academic success for Native Hawaiian students. In the case of Kumu,
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 94
although his position at the university is a program advisor, he conveys multiple roles providing
simultaneous institutional supports to students. Makua, at the position of a career services
coordinator, provides sources of direct support beyond student employment while facilitating his
network of relationships with officials both on and off campus to supplement supports best suited
to student needs. Though each enacted different institutional actions, their intent to become a
spectrum of multiple and simultaneous roles is indicative of empowerment agency expressed by
Stanton-Salazar (2011). Both the Kuma and Makua operated from a position of self-identifying
with the struggles of being new to higher education, conveying a sense of genuine sympathy and
compassion. The realization of empowerment agency goes above and beyond the calling of their
position to impact lives of Native Hawaiian student in ways that transform and mobilize both
themselves and the university community.
The most significant takeaway in examing both individuals is that, when it comes to the
methodology of supportive resource delivery, therein lies a deep motivation to incorporate a
traditional method of instruction specific to the Native Hawaiian culture as a segue way into a
university environment dissonant from the familiar. Their use of collectivist and experience-
based learning through reinforcing familial-like relationships amongst and between Native
Hawaiian students instilled a sense of comfort and connectedness which allows the ease of
supportive services from the university. Furthermore, both individuals worked against the
cultural discourse to align what happens in higher education institutions and surrounding
communities, establishing the university as an integral part of the community rather than an
outside influence wherein students are required to conform to campus culture. Both individuals
determined the university should build on the student’s culture to bridge the greater academic
world.
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 95
Conclusion
The findings across both case studies suggest empowerment agency by institutional
agents at the university illustrate the level of complexity when it comes to supportive services
and student success for Native Hawaiian students. Institutional supports are a portion of the
formula for success in intervention strategies for Native Hawaiian student persistence at UHWO.
Institutional roles and actions of individuals motivated by counter-stratification ideologies to
extend their positional and personal capital alter the lives low-SES students like Native
Hawaiians. Institutional agents have embodied motivational and philosophical behaviors of
empowerment agency to construct critical consciousness and self-determination in students for
the purpose of making change within themselves and their communities. Moreover, the
conveyance of empowerment agency delivery begins from a place of culture. Empowerment
agency encased in a pedagogy stemming from Hawaiian values and ways of knowing and doing
things encourages and motivates students to engage in institutional intervention services offered.
The Onipa`a performs as the conduit between the student and the services and programs offered
by incorporating Hawaiian cultural values and beliefs to transmit a sense of connectedness to
engage on campus. This engagement through empowerment agents, who use their personal and
positional capital to advocate for Native Hawaiian students, allows for the on-going transfer of
multiple points of supports and resources which enable the kinds of transformative processes
needed for student success.
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CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, IMPLICATIONS, AND CONCLUSIONS
The study examined the nature of interventions facilitated by institutional agents that
contribute to Native Hawaiians students’ success. A qualitative study employing a two-case
study analysis of one program sought to answer the following research questions:
1. What are the current intervention strategies at the University of Hawai`i–West Oahu to
increase persistence rates for Native Hawaiian students?
2. How are institutional agents at the University of Hawai`i–West Oahu used differently to
increase persistence rates for Native Hawaiian students?
The data were gathered from two Keala institutional agents who administer the Onipa`a program
to answer the two research questions. The data came from observations and interviews at
UHWO during the initial stage of the Onipa`a program, which occurs during the summer for
incoming freshmen (Merriam, 2009). Pseudonyms for staff participants were created to ensure
identities were protected. Interviews were recorded or transcribed when allowed by the
participants and entered into an instrument or word processing program for inductive analysis
with attention focused on the proposed themes outlined within the conceptual framework. A
cross-case analysis was also conducted to draw upon the similarities and differences between the
two cases.
This final chapter amalgamates the comprehensive practices learned regarding
interventional programs in higher education as a result of this study. The remaining sections of
this chapter summarize the findings, conclusions for the study’s participants as part of the
Onipa`a program, the field of higher education, and the research community as well as offer a
discussion emerging from the findings. Implications for further study and practice for higher
education professionals are also offered to conclude this chapter.
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 97
Summary of Findings
The findings from the two-case study of institutional agents of the Keala Program at
UHWO suggest that interventional supportive services like the Onipa`a initiative alone are not
enough to embed transformative change in Native Hawaiian’s for the purposes of promoting
persistence in higher education. The findings extrapolate the multifaceted role of institutional
agents and the convergence of empowerment agency. Participants understand the importance and
relevance of active interaction and relationship-building between Native Hawaiians students and
faculty and staff to achieve academic success and aspires both to explain the world and empower
students with a greater understanding of their world to change it.
Furthermore, the findings also suggest Onipa`a empowerment agents, who are well
versed in indigenous culture, implement Hawaiian pedagogy to encourage cultural discourse to
engage in institutional resources and supports. In the case of Kumu and Makua, the data
revealed that, while both individuals embodied differing institutional roles and actions, they
incorporated a familiar value and belief system as the basis for conveying supports and services
to Native Hawaiian students. Although their behavioral perspectives differed—the caring
teacher who assumes various roles of support versus the ornery uncle with a considerable
understanding of relationships connected to those supports—both personified empowerment
agents motivated to counter the status quo and alter the students’ perceptions of their impact on
the campus, on the community, and in the world.
Implications for Empowerment Agents
The findings for Kumu and Makua offer two implications for empowerment agents and
the professional practice towards persistence for Native Hawaiian students. First, empowerment
agents facilitate supportive relationships based on interpersonal trust, solidarity, and a shared
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 98
understanding of the realities of the institution (Stanton-Salazar, 2011). The success of
empowerment agents is predicated on a deep sociological understanding of the institutional
structures, policies, practices, and conditions that obstruct student success, particularly for
disadvantaged students like Native Hawaiians. These empowerment agents have lived the
experiences they observe in Native Hawaiian students and strive to deconstruct the social
stratification systems that hinder achievement. This sociological mindset and personal initiative
imply a cultural commonality between the agent and the student that accelerates authentic bonds
consistent with increased motivation towards engagement and academic accomplishment.
Second, empowerment agents that have both knowledge capacity and a diverse and
expansive network of relationships to key resources and opportunities accelerate low-SES
students’ access to high-quality services and support systems. For example, both Kumu and
Makua are well versed in programs such as financial aid, tutoring, campus employment, and the
government grants available to provide sustainable funding. Both agents are well respected by
faculty and staff as they have the knowledge and past performance in direct services to students
at various higher education institutions in Hawai`i. More importantly, Kumu and Makua are
valued resources on a relatively new campus with faculty and staff newly transferred from other
institutions. Research by Bourdieu (1986), Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992), Lin (2001), Stanton-
Salazar (2001, 2011), Gutierrez and Lewis (1999), Lee (2003), and Ward (2008) discussed a
need for interventions facilitated by institutional agents with human, cultural, and social capital
in the mobilization of disadvantaged students toward resources and supports beneficial to their
empowerment.
Bourdieu (1986), Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992), and Lin (2001) discussed the
framework of social capital and the institutional construct which creates barriers to low-SES and
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 99
disadvantaged youth that prohibit ascension to educational attainment. These authors asserted
individuals like institutional agents possess the kinds of capital disadvantaged youth rarely
access as a result of social stratification which makes supportive systems problematic
(Bourdieu,1986; Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992; Lin, 2001). However, identifying, defining and
contributing to increasing access to resources and supports from “high-status” institutional
agents responsible for elevating disadvantaged youth in academia have received little attention.
Stanton-Salazar (2001, 2011), Gutierrez and Lewis (1999), Lee (2003), and Ward (2008)
suggested empowerment agents are institutional agents who unembed themselves from the
oppressive practices that inhibit low-SES youth by exercising their positional and professional
capital to encourage these students’ success. As discussed in Chapter Two, empowerment agents
act in a manner that redistributes institutional supports and key resources to counter the social
reproductions entrenched in academia. Success for empowerment agents in academia entails
genuine, intimate and meaningful relationships which emphasize socialization and integration
with pro-academic individuals who facilitate adherence to educational systems which promote
future educational aspirations (Gutierrez & Lewis, 1999; Lee, 2003; Stanton-Salazar, 2001,
2011; Ward, 2008).
In the cases of Kumu and Makua, both program staffers demonstrated a willingness and
enthusiasm to create an environment that allows for engagement and interaction between Native
Hawaiian students and faculty, staff, and programs that positively affect academic persistence
(Stanton-Salazar, 2011). Both share the ideological and motivational characteristics of
empowerment agents to encourage students to adopt academic and social development goals by
seeking collaborative relationships that provide supportive systems. Stanton-Salazar (2011)
described the transformation of students into those who “exercise interpersonal influence, to act
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 100
politically, to confront and contest oppressive institutional practices, to make tough decisions and
work to solve community problems, to organize and perform complex organizational tasks, and
to assume democratic leadership” (p. 1093). In this study, both Makua and Kumu, as
empowerment agents, incorporate institutional roles and actions necessary for increased effort
and academic achievement on campus.
Implications for Intervention Programs and Culturally Based Learning
Within the larger field of clinical practice in higher education, the study’s findings offer
two implications. First, culturally based intervention programs are a critical component of
persistence as it relates to disadvantaged students (Attinasi, 1989; Hurtado & Navia, 1997;
LeVine, 1974). Second, the implementation of such cultural intervention programs works well
when incorporating authentic and institution-wide empowerment agency through high-status
institutional agents with resource-full networks in positions of power at the university and the
surrounding community to provide social and institutional support to youth, which will transform
disadvantaged students, academia, and the community (Stanton-Salazar, 2011). The institution’s
greater institutional context and its historical investment in dominant discourse and cultural
assimilation that adheres to the status quo can adversely affect empowerment agency in low-SES
youth in higher education (Boykin, 1986; Fine, 1991; Valenzuela, 1999).
As discussed in earlier chapters, when educational institutions are at odds with the
cultural norms, behaviors, and practices of low-SES students, the institutional constructs a
problematic learning environment (Bennet, 2001; Bensimon, 2005). This learning environment
can be perceived as uninviting for disadvantaged youth unfamiliar with the prevailing culture in
academia, which promotes student departure (Chavez & Guido-DiBrito, 1999). Ogbu and
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 101
Simons (1998) described reducing feelings of ambivalence and distrust through culturally
responsive instruction that
is a response designed to close the gap between the students’ cultural patterns and the
school’s institutional requirements and prevent the type of miscommunication that is
caused by the conflict between teachers’ and students’ culturally determined interactional
styles. Culturally responsive instruction will also show the students that the teacher
recognizes and honors their cultural and personal experiences and will help make school
a less alien place. (p.180)
Attinasi (1989), Hurtado, (1997) and LeVine 1974), asserted education processes flourish when
culture provides a positive context to self-identify and further integrate minority students into
school systems, which leads to improved academic performance. However, this is only part of
increasing future life opportunities and upward social mobility for disadvantaged students.
The comprehensive and emerging role empowerment agents must play in creating the
conditions for improving student outcomes, like persistence, has been overlooked when
considering disadvantaged students (Stanton-Salazar, 2011). America’s changing demographic
compels academia to construct educational processes conducive to an increasingly diverse
population. Stanton-Salazar (2011) suggested intervention programs include empowerment
agents abundant with human capital and resource-generating relationships invested in combating
social inequality and institutional reform as the catalyst for transformative change in low-SES
students, their communities, and society. More importantly, “latent socialization structures that
reproduce inequity” is reduced as empowerment agency is amplified along institutional hierarchy
and solidarity presides over counter-stratification agendas toward low-SES youth (Stanton-
Salazar, 2001, p. 1088).
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 102
Onipa`a demonstrates adherence to Native Hawaiian cultural values, beliefs, and
behaviors while implementing a pedagogy that first builds self-esteem, identity, and
interpersonal trust, and then builds motivation and engagement. The Onipa`a program
encompasses Native Hawaiian protocol, familial-like relationships, and collective learning in the
agenda to reduce distrust and reinforce the message of alignment between the institution and the
community. Experiential learning, the long-held preferred method in Native Hawaiian culture, is
interwoven by staff and upperclassmen’s conveyance of knowledge to incoming first-year
students through group discussion.
The University of Hawai`i at West Oahu (UHWO) incorporated narrative into its
organizational mission and vision that values, respects, and supports Native Hawaiian culture
and traditions. This acknowledgment is reinforced by its federal designation as a Native
Hawaiian-serving institution and the recent hiring of Dr. Ah Nee-Benham as chancellor, an
advocate and expert for alternative frames of educational leadership with a specialty in
indigenous peoples. The university sought to integrate the Native Hawaiian culture as its
foundation to build a campus community of excellence in teaching and learning, thereby limiting
the forces that orient institutional systems towards historical stratification observed by Boykin
(1986), Fine (1991), and Valenzuela (1999) and fostering diverse cultural perspectives which
include disadvantaged students like Native Hawaiians.
Conclusion: Implications for Research
Finally, the study’s findings point to several implications for the research community that
implicate an opportunity to discover a new area of inquiry. First, while the field of
disadvantaged student persistence has focused on various components of academic success in
higher education, the research community has yet to study, on a large scale, the impact of
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 103
cultural intervention programs facilitated by high-status empowerment agents and how
interactions among administration, faculty, and the community lead to student persistence.
Second, future research should focus on the correlation among cultural interventions,
empowerment agency, life-long success for disadvantaged youth, and organizational change at
the institution concerning diversity. Third, research conducted on the Onipa`a program
highlights the importance of empowerment agents with resource-full networks and relationships
that create change in low-SES students. The research recognizes Onipa`a falls short of
empowerment agency for low-SES students by agents who have a wealth of social capital in the
various professional communities off campus that could prove impactful for positive
mobilization of the community.
Research that utilizes larger sample sizes from institutional agents of various culturally
based intervention programs would determine if these findings can be generalized. Research
could include expanding institutional analysis based on size, funding source, and status as a 2- or
4-year college. These analyses could generate insight and perspective on participation in fields
of study (e.g., medicine, engineering, finance, or law) currently lacking disadvantaged student
populations.
Persistence interventions that include empowerment agency is now an area of study, as
evidenced by the case studies presented in this dissertation, in which the research community can
engage in closer analysis. The results of this study provide the impetus to assess culturally based
programs facilitated by empowerment agents. Such evaluations can assist college officials better
comprehend environments and programs on campus and how they promote or inhibit motivation
and effort that lead to persistence. Program and staff assessments can also help higher education
officials influence positive student experiences and successful outcomes. By advancing
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 104
understanding of how programs advance culturally based learning and empowerment agency to
impact student success, education officials are better equipped to initiate organizational change
that improves student performance.
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 105
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Appendix A
USC Center for Urban Education – Institutional Agent Self-Assessment Inventory

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Appendix B
Institutional Agent Assessment (Interviewer Only)

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PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 136
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 137

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Appendix C
Document Analysis Worksheet
1

The researcher will use ___________ documents from the academic year’s ______ and _______
for data collection.
Directions: Each document will be reviewed for the following criteria.

1. Select the type of document that will be reviewed (check one):
_____ Strategic Plan
_____ Mission Statement
_____ Vision Statement
_____ Program policies promoting Empowerment
_____ Annual professional development plans (Year ______)
_____ Program professional development agendas
_____ Staff evaluations
_____ Program communication to stakeholders

2. Date of document:

3. Document author (title and position only):

4. For whom was the document created:

5. Connection to Stanton-Salazar’s (2010) Institutional Agent Theory toward
Empowerment:
_____ Resource Agent _____ Program Developer _____ Critical Conscious
_____ Knowledge Agent _____ Lobbyist _____ Systems Change
Agent
_____ Advisor _____ Political Advocate _____ Emotional/Social
Provider
_____ Advocate _____ Recruiter _____ Role Model
_____ Networking Coach _____ Bridging Agent
_____ Integrative Agent _____ Institutional Broker
_____ Cultural Guide _____ Coordinator

6. Connection to research questions:
a. What are the current intervention strategies at the University of Hawai`i–West
Oahu to increase persistence rates for Native Hawaiian students?

1
Adapted from Education Staff, National Archives and Records Administration
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/document.html
PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 139
b. How are institutional agents at the University of Hawai`i–West Oahu used
differently to increase persistence rates for Native Hawaiian students?

7. Document Information—list three main ideas connected to Empowerment Agent Theory:
a.
b.
c.

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 140
Appendix D
Meeting Observation Guide
1. What are the current intervention strategies at the University of Hawai`i West Oahu to
increase persistence rates for Native Hawaiian students?
2. How are institutional agents at the University of Hawai`i at West Oahu used differently to
implement increased persistence rates for Native Hawaiian students?

Term Definition Examples
Intervention
Strategy
The action that A is taking to
influence the behavior of B
Direct Support (Resource, Knowledge,
Advisor, Advocate, Networking Coach)
Integrative Support (Integrative, Cultural
Guide)
System Developer (Program Development,
Lobbyist, Political Advocate)
System Linkage & Networking Support
(Recruiter, Bridging Agent, Institutional
Broker, Coordinator)
Persistence The action that A influences on
B to continue enrollment at
UHWO
Application of effective effort
Student reflection
Planning
Follow up
Transfer
Mechanism
The way that resources and
support are being transferred
from A to B
Direct
Negotiated
Referred
Multiple and various
Simultaneous
Relational
Process
The overall nature of the
interaction between A and B
Collaborative, relationship, transactional,

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 141
Meeting Type:

Time and Location:

Agenda:

Participants Names/Titles (note absences):

Other Participants:

Room Layout:

Time Activity/Response
Notes on
Resources/Support/
Strategies/Actions/
Behaviors

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 142
Final Questions:

What was the objective of the meeting?

During this interaction, who is involved?

What are the stated objectives of each actor?

During this interaction, what types of issues are being discussed?

How did each get access?

What resources does each actor have at the start of the interaction?

What roles does each institutional agent use during the interaction?

What is the outcome of the interaction?

Whose objectives are most reflected in the outcome?

What resources does each actor have at the end of the interaction?

What is the exchange mechanism each used to leverage their resources?

What is the relational process for leveraging power?

What dimension of power does that process represent?

What is the effect of environmental context?

PERSISTENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENTS' 143
Appendix E
Interview Guide and Consent

Aloha, I want to thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. My name is Dana
Hauanio-Lore and I would like to speak with you about your experiences as a leader/staffer
(circle one) in the Kealaikahi Program (Keala) at the University of Hawai`i at West Oahu.
Specifically, I am interested in finding out more about your experiences as an institutional agent
for Native Hawaiians students participating in Keala. I do not know exactly what my focus will
be for my dissertation, but I hope to learn more by talking with you.

The interview should take less than an hour. I will be taping the session because I do not want to
miss any of your comments. Although I will be taking some notes during the session, I may not
write fast enough to get it all down. Because we are on tape, please be sure to speak up and
clearly so that we do not miss your comments.

All responses will be kept confidential. This means that your interview responses will only be
shared with my dissertation chair. I will ensure that any information we include in our report
does not identify you as the respondent. Remember, you do not have to say anything you do not
want to and you may end the interview at any time.

Are there any questions about what I have just explained?

Are you willing to participate in this interview? __________ (Yes or No)

______________________________
Print Full Name

______________________________ __________________
Signature Date

Abstract (if available)

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Asset Metadata

Creator Hauanio Lore, Dana Opu'ulani (author)

Core Title Persistence interventions for Native Hawaiian students

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 02/02/2018

Defense Date 12/12/2017

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag empowerment agency,Native Hawaiian,OAI-PMH Harvest,persistence

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Picus, Lawrence O. (committee chair), Datta, Monique C. (committee member), Tambascia, Tracy (committee member)

Creator Email dana.hauanio@gmail.com,hauaniol@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c40-469778

Unique identifier UC11266678

Identifier etd-HauanioLor-5994.pdf (filename),usctheses-c40-469778 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-HauanioLor-5994.pdf

Dmrecord 469778

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Hauanio Lore, Dana Opu'ulani

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA