No description available.

A classic contradiction confronts the American Indian in United States society, and it surrounds the subject of public education for American Indian students. To some undefined extent, Indian individuals, families, and tribes value the idea of assimilation into the broader society. Simultaneously, however, they also value the autonomy and special, separate identity derived from their "Indian-ness." The price of assimilation, it appears, is a partial loss of identity, Indian philosophy and values. The price of preserving Indian-ness, similarly, presumably is a loss of the various material gains and Americanization attributed to assimilation. Individuals, families, and tribes respond differently to this dilemma. Naturally, therefore, a policy decision by the federal government or a state government affecting the dilemma is subject immediately to mixed reactions among the diverse groups of American Indians… It is held that the present unsatisfactory condition of the American Indian population in the United States, accordingly, is a consequence of this combination: Indian powerlessness, inconstant and inconsistent public policy, and actions by government not consistent with policy. / Ed. D.

The main purposes of this study were to determine if there were (a) correlational relationships between academic self—concept (ASC), general self—concept (GSC), attendance, (ATT), socioeconomic status (SES), and academic achievement (AA) among grades 7 to 11 students in a band—controlled school in Northwestern Ontario; and, (b) if academic self—concept, global self—concept, attendance, and socioeconomic status were predictors of academic achievement. The population sample was 70 Native students; 20 in grade 7, 27 in grade 8, 13 in grade 9, 4 in grade 10, and 6 in grade 11. The results showed: (1) significant correlational relationships between (a) ASC and GSC and SC and ATT for the grades 7—9 students; (b) ASC and ATT for the grades 10-11 students; and, (2) academic achievement was not predicted by any of the variables. Future research concerning Native education is suggested.

Six First Nations women artists tell their stories about learning their art and culture. Previous research has paid little attention to the learning experiences of First Nation women artists. Ethnographic research methods were used in this qualitative study. Field research included video and audio recorded intensive open-ended interviews with three Coastal Salish women from Sechelt, British Columbia, and three Cree women from Pukatawagan, Manitoba, as they tel l how essential learning and teaching, art and culture are to them, their children and their communities. This study shows that there is a need for curricular reform and teacher education reform so that the school experiences for First Nations students will reflect and be sensitive to their histories, traditions and overall cultural identities. From testimonies presented in this thesis, it is evident that effective teaching of relevant cultural art content that results in meaningful learning leads to increased self knowledge, confidence and pride.

Six First Nations women artists tell their stories about learning their art and culture. Previous research has paid little attention to the learning experiences of First Nation women artists. Ethnographic research methods were used in this qualitative study. Field research included video and audio recorded intensive open-ended interviews with three Coastal Salish women from Sechelt, British Columbia, and three Cree women from Pukatawagan, Manitoba, as they tel l how essential learning and teaching, art and culture are to them, their children and their communities. This study shows that there is a need for curricular reform and teacher education reform so that the school experiences for First Nations students will reflect and be sensitive to their histories, traditions and overall cultural identities. From testimonies presented in this thesis, it is evident that effective teaching of relevant cultural art content that results in meaningful learning leads to increased self knowledge, confidence and pride. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

This paper examined the apparent effects of residential schools on the child-rearing patterns of Natives who attended these schools. Evidence came from the literature and from three interviews with persons who attended residential schools -- one male elder and two females, who answered four open-ended questions. The findings suggest that this type of educational experience caused psychological and cultural losses in self-esteem, child-rearing patterns, and Native Indian language. New and different behaviours had.to be learned by the children in middle childhood to cope and exist in a parentless environment where no feelings of love or care were demonstrated by the caretakers and the speaking of Cree and other Native languages was forbidden. Values and skills taught by Native parents/elders, and essential for survival in Native society, lost their importance in residential schools; the Native language was not taught to subsequent generations; and the separation of siblings by sex and age created strangers in families. These experiences will presumably be transmitted in some form to the next generation, thereby affecting the way Natives view themselves. To restore confidence in themselves and respect for essential patterns of child-rearing the process of healing is vital and recommended. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

The main purposes of this study were to determine if there were (a) correlational relationships between academic self—concept (ASC), general self—concept (GSC), attendance, (ATT), socioeconomic status (SES), and academic achievement (AA) among grades 7 to 11 students in a band—controlled school in Northwestern Ontario; and, (b) if academic self—concept, global self—concept, attendance, and socioeconomic status were predictors of academic achievement. The population sample was 70 Native students; 20 in grade 7, 27 in grade 8, 13 in grade 9, 4 in grade 10, and 6 in grade 11. The results showed: (1) significant correlational relationships between (a) ASC and GSC and SC and ATT for the grades 7—9 students; (b) ASC and ATT for the grades 10-11 students; and, (2) academic achievement was not predicted by any of the variables. Future research concerning Native education is suggested. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This investigation focused on selected members of the Lumbee Indian tribe and sought to ascertain the recollected perceptions of their teacher-student relationships. A theoretical framework was chosen which emphasized the personal process, including the following categories: (1) aware, (2) accept, (3) share, and (4) choose. A search of related literature in each category was then conducted. An interview schedule was designed around the theoretical framework, which consisted of 14 questions from the four categories of aware, accept, share, and choose. It was administered to 44 members of the Lumbee Indian tribe. The participants were divided into two groups of 22 each, those who had attended an integrated school system and those who had attended a predominantly Indian school system. They were then qestioned regarding their recollections of the teacher-student relationships that they experienced in school. The data derived from the questions were then analyzed based on a theory of personal processes. A case study was presented in which a brother and sister who are members of the Lumbee Indian tribe shared their recollections of teacher-student relationships as they perceived them in an Indian school at the elementary level and an integrated school at the secondary level. From the data of the 44 interviews, a summary was presented, followed by recommendations for implementing a theory of personal processes in schools that serve Native American Indians. Based on the findings, Lumbees who attended the Indian schools felt that their teachers were aware of them and provided them the opportunity to experience freedom in their schools. Lumbees who attended the integrated schools were in less agreement that they experienced the personal process in school.

This study explores various aspects of the spelling and punctuation development of six Tohono O'odham (Papago) children during their third and fourth grade years. The data used, which was collected in a prior study, consisted of 215 texts (13,793 words) written in natural classroom settings as part of the teacher's ongoing writing curriculum. Field notes decribing what the subjects did as they wrote, as well as written interviews, supplemented the texts themselves. A number of specific features were examined to explore the subjects' use of various level of linguistic information about spelling. Those features included: initial letters, vowel phonemes, consonant digraphs, the letters C and G, consonant gemination, bound morphemes, and homophones. Spellings involving permutation (changes in letter order) and the letters E and Y as final markers, as well as those spellings which were real words, were also examined. Finally, differences between spellers, the subjects' use of punctuation and capitalization, and orthography in the classroom context were analyzed. A number of conclusions were drawn from the analysis. The subjects spelled most words conventionally. The more frequently a word appeared in the subjects' writing, the more likely it was to be spelled conventionally. Selected orthographic features varied widely in how conventionally they were spelled, with those which were less predictable or more abstract tending to be more difficult. Almost every spelling feature examined showed growth from third to fourth grade. The invented spellings of particular features tended to reflect understandable, logical processes. Invented spellings which were either real words or permutations of the intended word were common. There were differences between children not only in how conventionally they spelled but in the types of invented spellings they produced. Punctuation was more difficult than spelling for the subjects, and its use varied greatly between subjects. Capitalization was comparable to spelling in how conventionally it was used. Children used a variety of linguistic information and spelling strategies as they wrote. There was evidence that punctuation usage was driven (at least in some cases) by conscious hypotheses about how it works. Children's metalinguistic knowledge about orthography may or may not parallel their use of it.

Research into the comprehension of pronominal anaphora in reading has lead to contradictory conclusions about the role of pronouns in text and about how and when they are processed by the reader. This study investigated pronoun assignment from the point of view of the writer. Pronouns and other referring expressions were examined in the writing of six native American (Tohono O'odom) children over two years while in third and fourth grade. The young writers appropriately used and controlled the full range of pronouns in regard to person, number, case and gender. In the two hundred ten text analyzed, pronoun frequency was actually greater than the pronoun frequency in professionally authored text. This finding is attributed to an overgeneralization of the language principle of economy identified by Kenneth Goodman which states that pronouns are used whenever possible except where ambiguity would result. Unnecessary repetition of the noun phrase is, thus, avoided. That the young writers conform to the rule provides evidence that they understand and control the pronoun system. Reference establishment, reference miscues, and genre influences were investigated in relation to pronoun choice, strategies for choosing, and patterns of ambiguity. Strategies for avoiding ambiguity included the use of naming and length to disambiguate. Reference ambiguities were rare and occurred primarily in situations where the text merged with the context as when the definite article or demonstrative is used to point to something in the general context of the writing situation such as a picture or reference material. Although related indirectly to genre, the specific conditions of the assignment were found to affect the amount and kind of ambiguity most directly. Developmental effects were examined in relation to sense of audience. Implications are that the direct teaching of pronominal anaphora is not only a necessary but may be counterproductive because of the unnatural focus on something that is already controlled. This study confirms and supports the strength of a whole language classroom where a writing process approach is used.