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CERI > Affiliates > Elizabeth “Brook” Chapman de Sousa

Elizabeth “Brook” Chapman de Sousa

She/Her

Associate Professor

School of Teacher Education

ebsousa@hawaii.edu
View CV

Areas of Expertise

  • Multicultural/Multilingual Education

Keywords

Equity and Social Justice, Learning and Development, Multicultural/Multilingual Education

Research Methodologies

  • Qualitative Methods

Research Levels

  • Adult Learning
  • Community
  • Early Childhood
  • Elementary

Research Overview

Elizabeth “Brook” Chapman de Sousa’s scholarship focuses on multilingual children and families’ participation in elementary classrooms, educator professional development, and equity in education. She came to this work as a former elementary school teacher who taught in Colorado, Brazil (where she learned Portuguese), and Hawaiʻi. These experiences were foundational to her research, along with her master’s degree in Educational Foundations, her PhD in Educational Psychology, and her years working for the Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence (CREDE). In 2022 she received the Dr. Amefil “Amy” Agbayani Faculty Diversity Enhancement Award and was named the Hubert V. Everly Endowed Scholar in Education. She strives to give back to teachers and the community through her scholarship. For example, with the support of an Everly endowment grant, she created the video Pilialoha: Building Relationships Through Understanding (linked under Educational Videos) for teachers, providing strategies to support students and families from Micronesia as part of the CREDE Hawaiʻi project.

Currently, Dr. Chapman de Sousa is writing a research brief for the Hawaiʻi Scholars for Education, Social Justice, and Diversity on K-12 public education in the State. She is also working with CREDE colleagues studying their professional development on Instructional Conversations, or inclusive small-group discussions between a teacher and small groups of students. She and colleagues from the Hawaiʻi Implicit Bias Initiative are launching a study on implicit bias in education. 

  • Chapman de Sousa, E.B. & Okamura, ʻA.H.N (2024). Addressing educational inequities for Pacific Islander students through action research and community partnerships. Kalfou, 11(2), 182-208.
  • Chapman de Sousa, E.B. & Lennon, M.C (2024). Inclusion of home languages during early childhood instructional conversations. Linguistics and Education, 83. Article 101341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2024.101341
  • Yamauchi, L. A., Chapman de Sousa, E. B., Ka‘anehe, R. I., & Jensen, B. (2024). Instructional conversations for equitable participation to challenge deficit views of pidgin in Hawai‘i. Journal of Language, Identity & Education,1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2024.2366382
  • Chapman de Sousa, E.B. (2019). Five tips to engage multilingual children in conversation. YC Young Children, 74(2), 24-31.
  • Chapman de Sousa, E.B., Okamura, ʻA.H.N, & Halagao, P. (May, 2026). Discussions on education policies and practices for multilingual learners and families in the Pacific that honor languages, stories, and ways of knowing. Presented at the 50th Annual Pacific Circle Consortium Conference, Honolulu, HI. 
  • Yamauchi, L.A., Chapman de Sousa, E.B., Ka‘anehe, R.I., & Simpson Steele, J. C. (April, 2026). Coaching as assisting teacher agency within school-based teams to enact equitable classroom discussions. Presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, CA.
  • Yamauchi, L.A., Chapman de Sousa, E.B., Jensen, B., & Kaʻanehe, R.I. (April, 2022). Collaborating with teachers to develop instructional conversations for equitable participation among Hawaiian and other students. Presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, and online.
  • Chapman de Sousa, E.B., & Okamura, K. (2022). Pilialoha Building Relationships Through Understanding: Knowing Your Students and Families from Chuuk and the Marshall Islands. Funding from the Hubert Everly Endowment, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
    • With this grant, we interviewed community members from Chuuk and the Marshall Islands, as well as teachers and administrators, to better understand what background information would benefit teachers working with students from Chuuk and the Marshall Islands. 
  • Chapman de Sousa, E.B., & Okamura, K. (2021). I Ka ʻŌlelo Nō Ke Ola: Multilingual Literacy for Multilingual Learners Education. Funding from the Office of Student Equity and Excellence Diversity at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
    • With this SEED grant, we purchased bilingual readers in Chuukese and Marshallese and hosted workshops for teachers, during which we provided the readers and discussed ways to use them in classrooms. 
  • Yamauchi, L., Chapman de Sousa, E.B., & Im, S. Kuhikuhina Kaulike: Promoting Instructional Conversations for Equitable Participation Among Native Hawaiian Students. Funding from the U.S. Department of Education. (Key Personnel).
    • I was “key personnel” on this grant, meaning that I provided coaching to the teachers, helped develop rubrics, conducted research, presented, and wrote articles with my colleagues.
  • Hawaiʻi Scholars for Education, Social Justice, and Diversity
  • Hawaiʻi Implicit Bias Initiative
  • American Educational Research Association
  • International Society of Cultural-historical Activity Research
  • Professional Development for Hawaiʻi Department of Education Bilingual School Home Assistants on Social-Emotional Learning (2025)
  • Professional Development for Kihei School on Creative Literacy Strategies for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners (2024)
  • Professional Development for Malama Honua Public Charter School on Instructional Conversations for Equitable Participation (2024)
  • Professional Development for Kanuikapono Public Charter School on Instructional Conversations for Equitable Participation (2023)
  • Panel Presentation for Hawaiʻi Medical Service Association on Implicit Bias with the Hawaiʻi Implicit Bias Initiative (2023)
  • Dr. Amefil “Amy” Agbayani Faculty Diversity Enhancement Award, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (2022).
  • Chapman de Sousa, E. B., Okamura, J., Ratliffe, K., & Martin, M. (2022). Racism and discrimination against Micronesians in Hawaiʻi: Issues of educational inequity. Hawaiʻi Scholars for Education and Social Justice Research Brief #4.
  • Chapman de Sousa, E.B., Fakuda, K, Kim, J., Okamura, J., Rost-Banik, C., Yamauchi, L., & Yu, W. (2024). The chronic underfunding of Hawaiʻi’s public schools and related policy recommendations. Hawaiʻi Scholars for Education and Social Justice Research Brief #5.

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