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Loriann A. Leota, Ed.D., is a 2024 graduate of the Ed.D. program in Educational and Professional Practice at Antioch University.

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Dr. Loriann A. Leota, Graduation Day 2024

Dissertation Committee:

  • Richard Kahn, PhD, Chairperson
  • Lesley Jackson, PhD, Committee Member
  • Victor Thompson, EdD, Committee Member

Keywords

culture, colonizer, colonialism, higher education, Pacific Islander, Pasifika, Melanesian, Micronesian, Polynesian, student, underrepresentation

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2024

Abstract

This dissertation is an examination of the limited number of Pacific Islander students that advance from high school to higher education. It also examines the percentage of Pacific Islander students that attend higher education, but do not acquire their degree. Pacific Islander students informally recognize the dominant United States culture and curriculum as not culturally relevant and colonizing in nature. Thus, they struggle to adhere to colonizer culture and rely heavily on their culture (true culture), which has a set of norms that do not align with American cultural values. Pacific Islander culture is collectivist, which is in opposition to individualistic American culture and includes up to four or five generations who share responsibilities and resources and where all of the elders within are treated with the same respect given to their parents. When a major event happens within a family (death, wedding, graduation, etc.), the family (including “extended family”) is responsible for contributing both financially and with their time. This is an expectation that pulls an enrolled student away from their school responsibilities. The limited number of Pacific Islanders graduating from higher education has strong economic implications. Unfortunately, there has not been much work done by those in the colonizer culture to get to the bottom of this issue and implement a plan to improve access. Despite these issues being constant for Pacific Islanders, there are several gaps within the research and areas that have been studied that do not always reference current data. These gaps make it clear that there is a strong need to explore Pacific Islander students’ challenges, needs, and ways to best support their progress. For the purpose of this study, Pacific Islanders are defined as Melanesians, Micronesians, and Polynesians. The study participants are all residents of the United States. This study sought to understand whether or not Pacific Islander culture lacks alignment with the American educational system and asked participants perspectives on challenges, barriers, and cultural impacts to advancing to higher education. The results (Chapter IV) section of this dissertation contains the most valuable information: pieces of the stories of the survey participants. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https:// etd.ohiolink.edu).

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Dr. Loriann Leotta

ORCID: 0009-0002-8843-4964

Bio:

Dr. Loriann A. Leota is an experienced and highly effective administrator and holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from William Paterson University, Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Southern California, Master of Arts in Educational Administration from Concordia University Irvine and Doctor of Education in Educational and Professional Practice; Multicultural and Anti-racist Education from Antioch University. Her dissertation is titled: True Culture at War With Colonizer Culture: The Underrepresentation of Pacific Islander Students in Higher Education.

Dr. Leota has worked as both a teacher and educational leader in several settings, ranging from urban to suburban and has served diverse populations. She truly believes that all children can grow intellectually, emotionally and socially, when they are provided with a caring and engaging educator. Under her leadership, her school was able to transform their SBAC scores by more than 15% in both ELA and Mathematics, decrease the chronic absenteeism rate by almost 2% and decrease the suspension rate by 1%. A strong equity advocate, she firmly believes in meeting the needs of the whole child by building relationships, empowering students to be agents of social change and inspiring leaders.

The number of Pacific Islanders in education is less than 10%, with an even smaller percentage in administration. Further, they earn 0.1% of doctoral degrees. As a Palauan educational leader, Dr. Leota intends to break the glass ceiling for not only herself, but all Island people.

Presentations:

2/3/2021: ACSA Every Child Counts Symposium

Conscious Data: Building Strong Equity and Access Centered Data Teams

Leota, L. A., & Ortega, L. (2021, February). Conscious Data: Building Strong Equity and Access Centered Data Teams. ACSA Every Child Counts Symposium. Virtual.

5/28/2001: CAAASA Achieving an Equity-Driven Education Conference

Conscious Data: Building Strong Equity/Access Centered Data Teams

Leota, L. A., & Ortega, L. (2021, May). Conscious Data: Building Strong Equity/Access Centered Data Teams. CAAASA Achieving an Equity-Driven Education Conference. Virtual.

1/12/2022: ACSA Every Child Counts Symposium

IEP Best Practices

Leota, L. A., & Ortega, L. (2022, January). IEP Best Practices. ACSA Every Child Counts Symposium. Palm Desert; California.

9/22/2022: ACSA Women in School Leadership Forum

Leadership: An Identity & A Purpose

Leota, L. A., & Ortega, L. (2022b, September). Leadership: An Identity & A Purpose. ACSA Women in School Leadership Forum. San Diego; California.

11/3/2022: ACSA Leadership Summit

Elevating Student Engagement by Enhancing Personalized Opportunities to Support Positive Student Growth

Leota, L. A., Ortega, L., & Briseño Simonovski, E. (2022, November). Elevating Student Engagement by Enhancing Personalized Opportunities to Support Positive Student Growth. ACSA Leadership Summit. San Diego; California.

12/5/2022: Q10 Sustaining Equity in Education Conference

Building Bridges to Access: Restorative Reengagement

Leota, L., & Ortega, L. (2022, December). Building Bridges to Access: Restorative Reengagement. Q10 Sustaining Equity in Education Conference. Virtual.

10/28/2023: NPIEN Keynote Panel

Pacific Islander Leaders in Education

Leota, L. (2023, October). Pacific Islander Leaders in Education . NPIEN Annual Conference. Long Beach; California.

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