Community Resources and School Performance: The Northern Cheyenne Case

Abstract

This research investigates the school performance of Indian students on the Northern Cheyenne reservation using both quantitative and qualitative data. Understanding influences on school performance is important since previous research established its impact on dropout behavior. Statistical analyses assess the relative effects of students' residence in reservation communities, the type of schools students attend (public, Catholic, or tribal), gender, family characteristics, and school experience variables. Findings reveal the importance of students' community residence for explaining performance levels at the two Indian schools, the tribally controlled and Catholic schools, and school experiences for understanding performance of the non-Indian public school students. Qualitative data on contextual factors for communities and schools help to explain how community characteristics such as population size, community access to the school, support for education, and traditional culture interact with the specific schools serving the community. This research suggests that contrary to conventional analyses of American Indian assimilation, the traditional culture, social resources, and interaction patterns of students' communities can have positive effects on students' schooling outcomes.

Academic Persistence Among Native American College Students

“…Benjamin, Chambers, and Reiterman (1993) also concluded that lack of academic persistence was due to colleges' failure to accommodate Native American culture. Other studies (Lamborn et al, 1997;Lin, 1990;Ward, 1998) have suggested that a clearer sense of ethnic identity may lead to better academic performance. Willeto (1999) also found that family influences such as parental education, students' identification with their mothers, and family adherence to traditional cultural practices contributed to commitment to academic commitment and achievement.…”

Educational Leadership on the Social Frontier

“…Ward (1998a) writes that these communities "have different proportions of Cheyenne speakers, levels of unemployment, educational attainment, and sources of jobs as well as other valued social and cultural resources" (p. 90). She notes that broad identities and characteristics of each of these communities ensure that day-to-day life is quite different for their respective residents.…”

“…Specifically, AI/AN students have been found to have lower academic achievement than the overall student population (Deyhle, 1992; Marks & Coll, 2007), high representation in special education programs (Hibel, Faircloth, & Farkas, 2008), and high rates of school dropout (Kratochwill et al, 2004). They are touched by poverty (Szasz, 1999; Ward, 1998a, 1998b), physical and mental health impairments, geographic isolation (Faircloth & Tippeconnic, 2010), and discrimination (Austin, 2005; Ward, 1998a, 1998b). In turn, in a manner that is strikingly similar to advocates of urban community reform, Boyer (2006) suggests that AI/AN student opportunity cannot be adequately addressed without purposeful attention to broader social and community matters.…”

Modeling Educational Success of First Nations Students in Canada: Community Level Perspectives

“…Those outside metropolitan areas have less educational attainment by age and cohort than those in urban centres (Ward 1995). Isolation from economic centres probably makes many parts of the educational system seem somewhat irrelevant to students as a result of the high unemployment and shortage of opportunities.…”

“…Parental high school completion rates have been linked to lower dropout rates and reduced age inappropriateness (Ward 1998). Human capital accumulation on reserve is estimated using adult education levels.…”