We surveyed five schools to understand how students would define the principles of Aloha Leadership. We interviewed Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students, but also were interested in the view of all students of all races and ethnicities.
What is Aloha Leadership to you? Do you see it as being different from other styles of leadership? What cultural experiences have you had that drew you to this style of leadership?
Aloha Leadership is the unity of all students encouraging and expressing different cultural backgrounds. Many students said they were drawn towards the Aloha style of Leadership because it showed how well students were understood and heard.
How do you lead? Who influenced/influences you as a leader? In what way?
Students wanted to lead by example and with compassion and sympathy. They wanted to show the people they lead that they cared and were involved with them. Many of the students were influenced by parents, teachers, advisors, and club leaders because they saw the care and effort they provided for the students, or it was because these students didn’t receive this type of attention and sought to give it to others.
If you are leading a school, how would you use Aloha Leadership? As the Principal? As a Student Body President or Leader? Among your friends at school?
Students said they would use Aloha leadership to lead schools by using the principles it stands for, showing inclusivity, attentiveness to each problem, and showing compassion towards others when it is needed most. As School Principals, these students want to rehearse Aloha Leadership’s principles because it would just bring more awareness to the way we should act as well as create unity in classrooms, while building better communities. As student body leaders, they wanted to reach satisfaction across all student groups, and gain more cultural awareness through the efforts of student’s clubs and in the classrooms. Whereas the students want their friends and their peers to be able to express themselves, be happy, and be present for one another.
Interviews in Fiji: Obstacles to Aloha Leadership?
Individuals on the island of Fiji were interviewed to obtain their perspective on the concepts of Aloha Leadership. An adult sales associate, two adult farmers, a university student, and two high school students, one who is also a farmer, participated in the interviews. The interviewees found life in Fiji to be relatively calm compared to other areas of the world. Nearly every interviewee mentioned the quiet or solitude of island life, and the importance of farming. Because of this emphasis placed on work in farming versus other professions that might require more education, schools seem to receive little funding for more teachers and programs and extracurricular programs such as Aloha Leadership might cost money for students and are only available to the wealthy, and not the general population of Fiji. One of the students said leadership groups exist, but not all are interested in them. One of the adults felt that an opportunity like Aloha Leadership “would be extremely helpful for students in gaining access to different worldviews.” All interviewed believed that schools deserve more funding and more recognition.
Questions to ponder and discuss: Do you believe Aloha Leadership is also needed in schools in the Pacific? How can students in the mainland benefit from these perspectives in implementing the concepts of compassion, empathy, sympathy and understanding?