Aloha Kakou: A Socially-Responsible Student Travel Program Based in Hawaii

Degree Name

MA in International Education

First Advisor

Lynee Connelly

Abstract

Student Cultural Exchange (SCE) is a small third-party provider of student travel programs aimed primarily at international students studying at private high schools and boarding schools within the United States. SCE's primary business model involves developing and marketing domestic travel programs for shorter vacations such as Thanksgiving and spring breaks, providing international students with an enjoyable way to spend their vacations while also avoiding the often prohibitive cost of returning to their home countries. Thus far, SCE has offered a Boston Exploration Program and a Washington D.C. Exploration Program. While these programs have enjoyed favorable enrollment and financial return, there have been numerous requests from partnering boarding schools and participants for a program in a warm-weather location. The co-directors of SCE thus made the decision to begin offering new programs based in Hawaii.

Aloha Kakou, which means "love for all" in the Hawaiian language, has been developed to meet SCE's need for a Hawaii-based program while simultaneously providing participants with a socially-responsible program that offers deeper cultural and historical learning than SCE's standard exploration programs. Aloha Kakou introduces students to the history and culture of Hawaii through a variety of activities that reinforce various traditional cultural values passed down among generations of native Hawaiians. Students will enjoy the diverse interactions and activity settings while learning much more about Hawaii than in comparable travel programs. At the same time, SCE can feel confident in providing a program that complements the company's standard program models while also making a genuine effort to provide enhanced access and deeper cross-cultural understanding than its past tourism-focused programs.

Disciplines

Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | Curriculum and Instruction | Educational Methods | International and Comparative Education | Other Educational Administration and Supervision

This document is currently not available here.

Share

Image Location

 
COinS