HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

319

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the department of education and university of hawaii to address the Underrepresentation of Faculty and administrators of Filipino ancestry within their respective jurisdictions.

 

 


     WHEREAS, education remains one of the most critical determinants of social justice and socio-economic mobility and a fundamental element of any democracy; and

 

     WHEREAS, the faculty and administration of educational institutions play a vital role in the learning process, and the ethnic composition of faculty and administration in lower and higher institutions of learning have a great impact in the behavior, value formation, and success of students; and

 

     WHEREAS, students of Filipino ancestry represent approximately 22 percent of the student population in the Department of Education (DOE), the second-largest within DOE; and

 

     WHEREAS, teachers and administrators of Filipino ancestry in Hawaii's public schools are persistently underrepresented, resulting in a “culture gap” between the school system and students of Filipino ancestry; and

 

     WHEREAS, among the reasons for the underrepresentation of teachers of Filipino ancestry within DOE is the challenge faced by immigrant Filipino teacher candidates in passing the PRAXIS teacher examinations and their lack of preparation to deal with classroom realities, especially those related to student behavior; and


WHEREAS, teaching is not currently a popular career choice among university students, including those who are locally born and of Filipino ancestry; and

 

     WHEREAS, educators of Filipino ancestry are grossly underrepresented at the University of Hawaii (UH), constituting only three percent of UH faculty; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature urges DOE and UH to address the underrepresentation of faculty and administrators of Filipino ancestry within their respective jurisdictions; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that educators of Filipino ancestry in Hawaii are urged to develop and implement a Teacher Education, Advice, and Mentoring (TEAM) Program to help prepare immigrant Filipino educators to satisfactorily meet requirements and expectations in the public school system, such as passing the PRAXIS examinations and learning appropriate classroom management skills, strategies, and techniques; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Federation of Filipino American Associations and the business and professional sectors are urged to fund and provide logistical support for the TEAM Program; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that scholarships and other forms of incentives be provided to students of Filipino ancestry who pursue a career in education; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Filipino community in Hawaii is encouraged to vigorously rally behind affirmative action programs to motivate UH to include more qualified Filipino educators in its faculty; and


                BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chair of the Board of Regents, Chair of the Board of Education, President of UH, and Superintendent of DOE.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Underrepresentation of Faculty and administrators in UH and DOE