Historically, Native American students have not
achieved academic success; ethnic and racial stereotypes
are common explanations for the problem. Many perceive
the Native American student to be lacking either
academic preparation or socio-cultural support for
success.
A review of the literature showed emerging research
which indicates that significant differences can be shown
between the learning styles of Native American students
and their non-Native counterparts. It has been claimed
that these differences may account for some of the
differences in academic achievement.
The purpose of this study was an attempt to document
more thoroughly the differences between the learning
styles of Native American and non-Native university
students, employing the Group Embedded Figures Test
(GEFT). The GEFT measures degree of field sensitivity, a
measure of the degree to which an individual is affected
by the surrounding environment or situation within which
learning is to take place. It has been postulated that
Native American children tend to be reared in a culture
which promotes field dependent learning styles.
Conversely, children reared in families promoting strong
individual identity tend to be more field independent.
The results of administering the GEFT to a group of
Native American university students and to a comparison
group of non-Native students supported the theory. A
numerical difference of 2.1, on a scale of 1 to 18, was
found between the mean scores of the two study groups
with the Native American students scoring in the more
field dependent domain. The mean score for the Native
American student study group was 9.7, while that for the
comparison group was 11.8.
In addition to ethnic differences, the data from
this study showed differences from previously established
norms both by age and gender.
Based on the results of this study, educators may be
urged to consider the style in which a student learns
before categorizing him or her as academically deficient.
Further study of learning styles of Native American
students and concommitantly of teaching styles which are
best suited to Native American students is recommended. / Graduation date: 1991
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/37426 |
| Date | 08 February 1991 |
| Creators | Pelto, Joan McAlmond |
| Contributors | Ovando, Carlos J. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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