Presentation Session I

This presentation shares a developing doctoral research project that began with a personal question: Why did my schooling never teach me about my own history as a Filipino in Hawaiʻi? As a fourth-generation Filipino educator, I examine how Hawaiʻi’s educational system shaped identity, culture, and belonging across generations. Using critical historical inquiry and genealogical research, I trace the schooling experiences of Filipino women in my family from plantation-era migration to the present. By connecting family histories with archival records and broader histories of colonial schooling, labor migration, and U.S. imperial influence in Hawaiʻi, the project examines how schools historically centered dominant narratives while overlooking Filipino histories and perspectives. These absences contribute to cultural disconnection and colonial mentality within Filipino communities. By weaving together personal narrative and historical analysis, this work highlights how education reflects shifting power structures while exploring possibilities for more inclusive understandings of history and identity.