Thesis (EDD)--University of Montana, 2009. / Contents viewed on December 28, 2009. Title from author supplied metadata. Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this study was to describe and compare the post-school adjustment of Native American youth who received special education or regular education services on White Mountain Apache Indian reservation in Arizona. This study reflects what the students have been doing since they left school, whether their school experiences have prepared them for life in general, and how their personal history helps identify their values, outlooks, and current community standing. In an effort to assess the transition status of these former students, a 38 item survey instrument was developed. A total of 132 students were identified from the Alchesay high school records. Of this number, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 106 former (80%) students. Students were compared in five areas which have been identified as important to successful transition from school to adult life. Comparisons were made on the respondents opinions of their secondary school education, employment status, independent living, maladjustment, and culture/traditionality. SES stated that mathematics, resource programs, and English prepared them for the job market whereas mathematics, office skills, science, and business education were selected by the RES. All the respondents wished for computer education. Only 31% of the total sample was employed up to five years after leaving school. Seventy-four percent of the students still live with their parents. Forty-four percent of both groups had arrest records, and 68% of both groups had a history of substance abuse. Sixty-four percent of the respondents use and speak the Apache language most of the time. Parents and the extended family provide the majority of guidance and support as these young adults seek employment, community integration and social adjustment. There is a pressing need for transitional programs, better job programs, and substance abuse preventive programs for both groups of Apache post-high school students.

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Today we are witnessing an increased demand for Aboriginal people to assume teaching roles previously held by white Western people in their communities (L. McAlpine, personal communication; Matthew, 1982). To date, there is little research documenting the teaching strategies of different Aboriginal peoples in Canada. The present study documents Cree and Mohawk teachers' beliefs about and use of play as an educational strategy at the primary and early elementary levels, and contrasts this with three non-Aboriginal teachers working in the same communities. Nine Aboriginal teachers were interviewed regarding their beliefs about play as an educational strategy; seven of these teachers were also videotaped teaching. A coding scheme was used to analyse the teachers' videotaped lessons. Similar data were obtained for the non-Aboriginal teachers. The Cree and Mohawk teachers held similar beliefs about play as an educational strategy; their beliefs differed from those of the non-Aboriginal teachers. In terms of their use of play, some differences between the Cree and Mohawk teachers were found; differences between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal teachers also surfaced. Results support the notion that Aboriginal teacher may differ from non-Aboriginal teacher's in their beliefs about play, and that Cree and Mohawk teachers themselves may use different patterns of play in their lessons.

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe certain socioeconomic and socio-psychological characteristics which differentiate the Indian adult education participant from the non-participant, and which collectively contribute to an understanding of Indian adult education participation. The study was conducted on the Mount Currie Indian Reserve in the Pemberton Valley of British Columbia, The analytical survey method was used and data was collected by means of structured interviews with a random sample of eighty-six adult band members. Two hypotheses were tested to determine whether or not there were any statistically significant differences between adult education participants and non-participants with respect to seventeen socio-economic and thirteen socio-psychological variable characteristics. A third hypothesis was tested to determine whether or not there were any significant differences between the variables studied when they were considered simultaneously or independently as predictors of participation. Of the eighty-six respondents, fourty-two had enrolled in an adult education class during the preceding three years and were classed as participants. Statistically significant differences were found between the participants and non-participants with respect to eight of the socio-economic characteristics studied including sex, wish for further adult education participation, social participation, occupational prestige of desired job, occupational prestige of desired vocational training, receipt of educational assistance, receipt of unemployment insurance assistance, and total annual income. Of the socio-psychological characteristics studied, statistically significant differences were found between the participant's and non-participant's levels of alienation, activism, trust, family integration, and attitudes towards education. The most powerful single predictor of participation was found to be alienation, with the least alienated being those most likely to participate. However, five other variables including total annual income, number of children, social participation, trust and integration with relatives when considered simultaneously were found to be more powerful as joint predictors of participation than any single independent variable. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

The purpose of the study was to investigate the reasons underlying the lack of facility in spoken English which occurs in a large proportion of the native Indian population. This lack of facility is considered to be an important factor in preventing them from functioning effectively in the larger society of which they are a part. More specifically, the study is concerned with difficulties in oral communication of Indian adolescents and youth. Opinions of authorities in the field of oral communication were investigated and the findings of educationists who have conducted studies among Indian students were reviewed. Personal interviews were conducted with Indian students and with adult authorities involved with Indian education. The study concluded that personal and cultural factors, in addition to language problems, play an important part in reducing the effectiveness in spoken English of Indian people. It is recommended that a program designed to give training and experience in interactive communication and the fundamental speech skills be made available to Indian high school students in order to reduce those factors which inhibit ease of performance in speech. The rationale for this is developed and an outline of the program is presented. Recommendations for further study are discussed and a questionnaire to assess attitudes toward oral communication is presented. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

This thesis examines the cultural education programs that have been developed over the past two decades by Canada's First Peoples. These programs are designed to strengthen and maintain indigenous cultures by promoting cultural identity and by developing cultural curriculum materials for a broad range of education programs. This thesis gives particular emphasis to cultural education centres and their unique integration of a characteristic set of programs which have been designed to systematically collect, preserve and communicate indigenous cultural knowledge. Despite the effects of more than a century of colonization, and against all expectation. Native cultures have persisted. Native people are now actively communicating a renewed confidence in their own cultures, their values and their ways of doing things. Community-based self-government and the maintenance of a land base are ideologically inseparable from the retention of culture and language, and Native people today view these as integral to their survival and self-determination as distinct peoples within the fabric of the majority society. Cultural education programs and centres perform a significant communication function in the agenda of self-determination by both ensuring and affirming the continuing viability of Native cultures. This thesis explores the ideology of cultural survival and examines its current expression as a program of action directed at the damaging effects of cultural disruption. The background to the emergence of cultural goals is discussed, with reference to their central place in the socio-economic development strategies and education policies developed by Native organizations in the 1970's. A variety of cultural education programs are described with a specific focus on two cultural education centres in British Columbia. Cultural education programs, as they are defined and carried out by various Native agencies, are presented as significant innovations in the definition and management, overall, of cultural heritage. The organizational integration of these programs also represents a significant innovation in the area of community development. In this context, museological themes are explored. Native concepts of culture are contrasted to non-Native concepts of heritage, with particular attention given to some of the problems in the way non-Native museums have traditionally represented Native cultures. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

The purposes of this study were to identify selected characteristics of American Indian entering freshman students and to identify selected factors related to the increasing number entering two- or four-year colleges or universities. In addition, the identified characteristics and factors were compared with a sample of Mexican American/Chicanos and in selected areas with other white/Caucasians to determine similarities and differences between the three groups. Six research questions were formulated and examined to achieve the purposes of this study. The data were extracted from the annual freshmen surveys for fall 1966, 1972, and 1978 of the Cooperative Institutional Research Project (CIRP), and the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS). The variables selected and analyzed from the annual freshmen surveys were sex, age, high-school rank, concern about finances, enrollment status, need for academic help, probable major field of study, probable careers, highest degree planned, type of institutions attended, control of institutions attended, regions of institutions attended, and reasons for selecting a particular institution. NLS variables used were community orientation, family orientation, work orientation, self-concept, locus of control, socioeconomic status, sources of planned and used financial aid, and information on continuing college students. The statistical procedures used to analyze the data were frequency counts, percentages, and the t-test of significance. The data indicated that changes had occurred between 1966 and 1978 on selected characteristics of American Indian entering freshman students. The comparisons of American Indian with Mexican American/Chicano and/or white/Caucasian entering freshman students showed more similarities than differences on selected characteristics, particularly in 1978. The findings showed community orientation, family orientation, and work orientation were not associated with entrance into college for the three groups studied. Whereas, self-concept, locus of control, and socioeconomic status were associated with entrance into college for the three groups. Sources of financial aid varied for each group, and at least 70 percent of all students from each group continued in college. Further study is recommended on American Indians at all levels of higher education because data is not plentiful.

No description available.