Perceptions of Pacific Islander Students in Higher Education

A comprehensive inquiry about the experiences of Pacific-Islander students in higher education is sorely wanting. This study uncovered cultural predilections of Pacific-Islander students from the American-affiliated Pacific region related to their experiences in a Western setting. The University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH Hilo) serves as the backdrop to this exploration. As with any other institutes of higher education, UH Hilo is concerned about attracting, retaining, and graduating their students. With a considerably high Pacific-Islander student population attending UH Hilo, we are in a prime position to explore and examine factors that contribute to or hinder retention and graduation. More importantly, we have an opportunity to give voice to a population that is rarely identified in the higher education literature and continually obscured in the discourse of attainment. More than 90 Pacific-Islander students were recruited to participate in a series of focus groups and interviews. Seven overlapping themes emerged related to culture, identity, language, and barriers to retention and graduation. Findings confirmed some of the previous literature on the dichotomy of American versus traditional culture in general settings and identified other cultural variables that pose challenges to postsecondary education completion. Our findings provide the groundwork for further examination of postsecondary institutions' capacity to respond to and include Pacific-Islander ways of being as a foundation for participation and support.