ABSTRACT
The 'Kauhale Theory' is a pedagogical model derived from a Kanaka Maoli, an indigenous Hawaiian cultural metaphor. The content and perspective of visual art education in Hawai'i schools have historically followed the point of view of European and American art, art history, aesthetics. Juxtaposed against a history of American imperialism in Hawai'i, the affirmative and beneficial intent of visual arts education takes on a less than benevolent character. Beyond the art curriculum, Kanaka Maoli knowledge, ways of knowing, and aesthetics, a knowledge base that extends from a culture nearly two thousand years old, have been edited and apportioned for teaching practice in Hawai'i. The modern concept of art as taught, envisioned, practiced coalesced as an independent category for aesthetic objects in Western European society during the eighteenth century. Although the concept and place of 'art' as understood in the Western cultural context was absent from traditional Kanaka Maoli culture and society, the role of visual culture was of vital importance.
