Education Commons^™

Native American College Student Transition Theory, Suzanne D. Schooler

College Student Affairs Leadership

This article explores the issues Native American college students face during their transition into higher education. Current student development theories do not fully capture the unique challenges and needs of the Native American population. A new perspective is offered by way of modifying aspects of existing theories, such as Chickering’s (1969) Identity Theory, Horse’s (2001) Perspective on American Indian Identity Development, and Schlossberg’s (1995) Transition Theory. The Native American College Student Transition Theory is a new model, which allows the student affairs professional to envision growth as would Native American culture—in a circular fashion. Six developmental stages were created to …