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Exploring barriers to education for Native American Indians

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Date Issued:
2008
Summary:
This qualitative storytelling and exploratory research design investigated the barriers, enhancers, and coping strategies to education experienced by adult Native American Indians from various Native American Indian Nations. In addition, differences between the sexes, Native American Nations, and/or languages spoken, and/or participation in cultural activities regarding barriers, enhancers, and coping strategies of Native American Indians were examined. The study with 23 adult Native American participants revealed a main theme of identity both passive and aggressive that permeated all of the thematic areas: barriers, enhancers, and coping strategies. The barriers ranged from reinventing the Native American Indian to language barriers caused by forcing Native American Indians to speak Eurowestern languages in order to survive. The educational enhancers themes described by the participants revolved around themes of people, culture, community, and the environment. Elements of Garrison' s Model (1997) on self-directed learning emerged in this study under the thematic area of coping strategies. Self-directedness was evident in the coping strategies; which included self-management (control by acknowledging the social environment in which the participants were interacting), cognitive responsibility (self-examination), and motivation (assuming personal responsibility). The role of a Native American Indian as a researcher was noted in enhancing the depth and breadth of the research.
Title: Exploring barriers to education for Native American Indians: a native perspective.
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Name(s): Conley, Enid.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
College of Education
Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Issued: 2008
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Physical Form: electronic
Extent: xi, 178 p. : ill.
Language(s): English
Summary: This qualitative storytelling and exploratory research design investigated the barriers, enhancers, and coping strategies to education experienced by adult Native American Indians from various Native American Indian Nations. In addition, differences between the sexes, Native American Nations, and/or languages spoken, and/or participation in cultural activities regarding barriers, enhancers, and coping strategies of Native American Indians were examined. The study with 23 adult Native American participants revealed a main theme of identity both passive and aggressive that permeated all of the thematic areas: barriers, enhancers, and coping strategies. The barriers ranged from reinventing the Native American Indian to language barriers caused by forcing Native American Indians to speak Eurowestern languages in order to survive. The educational enhancers themes described by the participants revolved around themes of people, culture, community, and the environment. Elements of Garrison' s Model (1997) on self-directed learning emerged in this study under the thematic area of coping strategies. Self-directedness was evident in the coping strategies; which included self-management (control by acknowledging the social environment in which the participants were interacting), cognitive responsibility (self-examination), and motivation (assuming personal responsibility). The role of a Native American Indian as a researcher was noted in enhancing the depth and breadth of the research.
Summary: The examination of the differences between the sexes, Native American Nations, and/or languages spoken, and/or participation in cultural activities revealed: (a) one male and five females participants described sexism as a barrier; (b) no participant expressed particular barriers with regards to the Native American Nation in which they belonged to; (c) a majority of participants expressed that language was a barrier in one form or another; (d) participants described barriers to Native American Indian cultural participation as thoughts and feelings of being "lost" and "not belonging," which is evident in identity crisis or identity diffusion.
Identifier: 276769412 (oclc), 108066 (digitool), FADT108066 (IID), fau:2811 (fedora)
Note(s): by Enid Conley.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008.
Includes bibliography.
Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, FL : 2008 Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Subject(s): Discrimination in education -- United States
Educational equalization -- United States
Indians of North America -- Education
Indian philosophy -- North America
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/108066
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU