Indigenous Education Commons^™

Acknowledging, Supporting, And Retaining Native American Students In Institutions Of Higher Education, Andrea Johnson

Masters Projects

Research shows that Native American students are coming into four-year institutions of higher education unprepared and leaving without having completed their degrees. The goal of the project presented is to create a Native American student program that can be implemented on any college campus, called "Native Peoples, Native Students". This program spans the length of the academic year and includes events, orientation, resources, mentorship, alumni engagement and information for Native American students. The goal of the program is to address the current issues facing students who identify as Native American on college campuses. Considering the history of oppression of Native …

Predicting Teacher Job Satisfaction And Propensity To Leave In The Bering Strait School District In Rural Alaska Through The Application Of Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory, Matthew Palmer

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study examines the relationship between teacher job satisfaction and teacher indicated propensity to leave their positions in one very unique geographical and cultural educational context - the Bering Strait School District in rural Western Alaska. Data was collected for this quantitative study via a questionnaire survey instrument utilizing Likert scales that was distributed to teachers via email and completed online. The questionnaire items focused on determinants of teacher job satisfaction and teacher indicated propensity to leave as found in a body of research which demonstrates that job satisfaction influences employee propensity to leave, and that employee propensity to leave …

Utilizing K'É To Build A New Mexico Higher Education Collaborative: Supporting Native Student Success, Catherine N. Montoya

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

The purpose of this study is centered around a need’s assessment and creation of a collaborative entity in New Mexico that will support Native students in higher education institutions. There is always a need to support Indigenous students pursuing post-secondary degrees in higher education programs, because often professionals and programs function in silos. Instead, professionals and programs that support Native students would benefit from working to create supportive environments where Native students can succeed; provide encouragement; and make their environments safe and welcoming. This can best be accomplished through collaborative efforts across New Mexico. A state level higher education collaborative …

Decolonial Water Pedagogies: Invitations To Black, Indigenous, And Black-Indigenous World-Making, Fikile Nxumalo

Occasional Paper Series

In this paper, I share everyday stories of young people’s pedagogical encounters with water. I share these stories as illustrations of pedagogies that welcome young people into caring relationships with more-than-human life. I focus on the decolonial potential of these pedagogical encounters in relation to what they activate for Black, Indigenous and Black-Indigenous world making.

Oneida College Lacrosse Players’ Perspectives Of The Sacred Game Of Lacrosse, Thomas Reed

Dissertations

Oneida college lacrosse players have an important perspective on the sacred game of lacrosse that needs to be heard. The Oneida are one of six tribes of the Haudenosaunee, or also known as, the Iroquois. Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports in the world and the style played today is most similar to the Haudenosaunee style. Oneidas are traditionally orators and lacrosse players. There is a lack of literature on the Oneida, lacrosse, and education. Oneida college lacrosse players face a problem in attempting to preserve their traditional Indigenous knowledge at their respective university communities, while also seeking …

The Bluff River Trail: A Community Land Ethic, Kelly F. Davis

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The Bluff River Trail (BRT) is a future 10+ mile trail along the San Juan River corridor in the 4-Corners region of the Southwestern United States. By asking, what is the land ethic of the Bluff Community? this qualitative study identifies behaviors and beliefs, or land ethics, between seven Bluff residents and the San Juan River corridor. A land ethic contributes to the social re/production of space; therefore, third space theory contextualizes intersecting and contradicting spatialities evidenced in data. Data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and focus groups. I used a qualitative content analysis pulling from grounded theory to …

Perceived Critical Success Factors For Native American And Non-Native American Pre-Licensure Nursing Students In Northern New Mexico, Karen E. Nielsen

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Considering the consistent healthcare system load demands, nursing shortages persist, especially in remote areas of the United States. It is vital that students interested in attending nursing school and working in their home communities have expanded nursing program access and supports in order to supply the necessary nursing workforce in remote areas. Lack of diversity in the nursing profession weakens healthcare delivery. Native Americans are underrepresented as nursing students and employed nurses. Measures to provide a more diverse workforce should concentrate on recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of underrepresented minority nursing students. Limited research is available surrounding Native American nursing …

Recognizing Native Americans And Promoting Inclusivity Of Indigenous Peoples, Jasmine Violet Hassan

Diversity Conference

In this presentation, there will be exploration of where we stand in terms of Native American sacred grounds in Nacogdoches, debunking the "Chief Caddo" head, and misconceptions about Native Americans. Furthermore, attendees will learn about modern day slurs towards Native Americans and how to promote inclusivity of these communities.

Exploring The Lived Experience Of Kumeyaay College Graduates, Ricardo Rafael Ramos

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience during participation in higher education of Kumeyaay Indian Nation college graduates. Specifically, the study investigated the factors graduates perceived to contribute to their persistence and attainment of a baccalaureate degree within six years of enrollment at a four-year institution of higher education. Participants included twelve participants who self-identified as members of the Kumeyaay Indian Nation who had earned at least a baccalaureate degree from a four-year institution of higher education within six years of enrollment. MaxQDA was used to organize, code, and synthesize interview transcripts to develop themes pertaining …

Ethnobotany Interpretive Signs At The Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden, Magalloway E. Gammons

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This is a series of 11 ethnobotany interpretive signs for the Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden. The signs contain the name, identification information, Salish ethnobotanical uses, and an illustration of each plant. Names are listed in Latin, Salish, and common English. Featured plants: Ribes aureum, Prunus virginiana, Sambucus cerulea, Lewisia rediviva, Pinus ponderosa, Populus trichocarpa, Cornus sericea, Juniperus scopulorum, Mahonia repens, and Amelanchier alnifolia.

Deadly Sista Girlz Final Evaluation Report, Elizabeth Jackson-Barrett, Anne Price, Jen Featch

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: The Deadly Sista Girlz (DSG) program is one of several school-based mentoring programs currently operating in Australia to improve educational outcomes of Indigenous girls. Deadly Sista Girlz runs programs on 12 DET WA school sites, 1 Catholic Education school site in Broome and 1 in Victoria. Each school site has a dedicated DSG room where DSG coordinators and mentors support the girls individually and communally whilst also running regular program workshops. There are currently over 732 high school aged girls enrolled in the program. DSG is part of the large and well established Wirrpanda Foundation.

Overall aims: This …

Connecting Youth To Nature: Environmental Education’S Role In The Future Of Wellbeing And Stewardship, Claire Generous

Pomona Senior Theses

In 2005, the term Nature-deficit disorder was coined by Richard Louv to describe the childhood costs of alienation from nature including diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses. The increasing use of technology, stricter parenting, local ordinances, biophobia, socioeconomic status, and coronavirus all contribute to Nature-deficit disorder. To mitigate and reverse Nature-deficit disorder and its consequences, children must connect with nature. Nature connection improves children’s health and wellbeing and increases environmentally responsible behavior. Nature connection can improve physical, spiritual, psychological, and social wellbeing. Children who spend more time in nature report lower …

The Imagen Story: A Framework For Restoring Indigenous Girl Societies, Kelly Hallman, Lisa Polen, Katey Peck

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Indigenous Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Network (IMAGEN) builds upon long-standing Native cultural traditions, providing platforms for intergenerational transmission of matrilineal knowledge. Girl Societies recognize the unique responsibilities held by and challenges facing Native girls, thus offering culturally grounded, Indigenous-led systems of support.

Aboriginal Community-Led Preservice Teacher Education: Learning From Country In The City, Katrina Thorpe, Cathie Burgess, Suzanne Egan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In Australia it is well documented that teachers continue to struggle with implementing Aboriginal content, pedagogies and engaging with Aboriginal communities. This paper describes a research project analysing place-based learning for preservice teachers at an urban university led by Aboriginal community members. We argue that place-based learning is critical in developing preservice teacher’s knowledge and confidence in Aboriginal education. Surveys, individual and group yarns provided in-depth data from 64 participants completing elective courses including place-based ‘Learning from Country’ (LFC) experiences. Three key findings emerge from the data. Firstly, the utility of an experiential ‘learning by doing’ approach, secondly, the profound …

Settler Colonialism, Ecojustice, Schooling, And The Historical Displacement Of Indigenous Cultures In Centra Asia, Nigora Erkaeva

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This research provides critical discourse analysis (CDA) of primary archival materials that captured the experiences of Central Asian people in the early 1900s first by the Tsarist and later the Bolshevik governments in Central Asia (CA). Using two postcolonial theories, an EcoJustice theoretical approach and settler colonialism, I parse out colonial discourses that created a new social, economic, and ecological order which drastically altered the ecosystem and lifestyles of both pastoral nomads and sedentary populations like the merchants, farmers, craftsmen, and intellectuals. Using archival materials, I tell the story of how these settler colonizers first degraded Central Asian people and …

Indigenous Assessment Developers On Elements Of The Disjuncture-Response Dialectic: A Critical Comparative Case Study, David A. Sul

Doctoral Dissertations

The disjuncture-response dialectic proposes that the assessment development practices of Indigenous assessment developers exist within a broader environment where attention to broader themes such as settler colonialism (Wolfe, 2006) and Indigenous sovereignty is incorporated. To understand this dialectic, this study sought insight from Indigenous assessment developers about the issues they face when developing culturally specific assessments for use within their environments and settings.This study used a critical (Giroux, 1979; Horkheimer, 2018; McKenzie, 2012) comparative case study approach (Bartlett & Vavrus, 2017) with a convenience sample of three Indigenous assessment developers representing a cross-section of culturally specific assessment development projects across …

Equity In Language Programs: Revitalizing Indigenous Languages In Secondary School In Anchorage, Alaska, Betsy Watson (Paskvan)

Doctoral Dissertations

"Wherever there is a situation of domination and subordination between any two groups, whatever their color or religion, this will be reflected in the language relationship: one language dominating the other." —wa Thiong’o (2011, p. 244) Indigenous language and culture education efforts in Anchorage, Alaska are limited by omissions in the public school curriculum. One of the many reasons for this is that policy makers believe there is not sufficient demand for Alaska Native languages in public schools. Further there is a perceived lack of language teacher-leaders and experts to build programs for Alaska Native language instruction. This study used …

A Book Review On Learner Identity And Beliefs In Efl Writing, Hilal Peker Phd, Metin Torlak M.A.

Journal of English Learner Education

This review focuses on the book Learner Identity and Learner Beliefs in EFL Writing by Olga Majchrzak. The book is one of the edited books in the series of Second Language Learning and Teaching by Miroslav Pawlak from Springer International Publishing. The review addresses the issues that the book explores such as learner identity in foreign language writing, EFL student beliefs, and students’ attitudes about EFL writing as explored by the author. The book could be used by students and researchers focusing on writing and also by writing instructors who would like to have class discussions on how students’ identities …

The Power Of A Name: Nontraditional Names, Teacher Efficacy, And Expected Learning Outcomes, Lasonya L. Moore, Martha S Lue Stewart Dr., Dena D. Slanda, Anais Placencia, Meznari M. Moore

Journal of English Learner Education

Names serve as important identifiers and carry with them hopes for a generation as well as pride in one’s culture. A name is often an extension of one’s culture or language and represents their identity. With the increasing student diversity across our nation, many students in our K-12 public schools may have uncommon or nontraditional names. Public school teachers, who are predominantly White, may find these names unfamiliar, difficult to pronounce or difficult to spell. Despite a name’s unfamiliarity, classroom teachers must have the knowledge and disposition to create a space that signals to a student that their name is …

From Esl To Eal: Moving From A Deficit Framework To An Asset Framework, Karen Bordonaro

Journal of English Learner Education

This article describes a self-directed autoethnographic research study of how the author moved from a deficit to an asset perspective in working with non-native speakers of English. Reframing this perspective took place by investigating how the author’s lived experiences as an ESL instructor intersected with the learning theories of language learner autonomy, plurilingualism, and internationalization at home to create positive flashpoints. These flashpoints included offering choices, marking learner success, and embedding cultural information into domestic settings. By engaging in these reflections, a widened perspective of moving from English as a second language to English as an additional language was reached. …