Journal of American Indian Education
Abstracts — 2005

Vol. 44, #1

THE POLITICAL CAPITAL OF TRUSTEES AND STAKEHOLDER SATISFACTION AT FOUR TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
John L. Phillips Vol. 44, #1, pp. 1-28, 2005

Why are some tribal organizations more effective than others? Does political capital - connections, influence and power - enable or constrain the ability of a tribal organization to work successfully within its Native community? This paper explores these questions within the context of American Indian higher education by using political capital theory to examine trustee relationships at more and less effective tribal colleges and universities (TCUs). Interviews (n=87) were conducted with college administrators, staff, trustees, and influential community members at four TCU sites in 2002. A mixed-method research design used in-depth interviews, direct observation, and secondary data sources. Trustees who expressed greater political capital corresponded to less effective TCUs from a social constructionist perspective that measured community satisfaction. Findings suggest that de-politicizing boards of trustees at TCUs may increase organizational effectiveness in terms of community satisfaction. Leadership models that incorporate traditional tribal characteristics of collective action should be explored in future research.

LEAVING NO AMERICAN INDIAN/ALASKA NATIVE BEHIND: IDENTIFYING READING STRENGTHS AND NEEDS
Marsha Riddle Buly Vol. 44, #1, pp. 29-52, 2005

American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students are often labeled as struggling readers based on the results of large-scare standardized tests yet little empirical data about specific strengths and needs exists. In the present study we looked beyond high-stakes assessment to highlight reading strengths and needs for a group of fourth grade American Indian students in order to provide specific information to guide instruction. A description of skills considered basic to proficient reading is followed by an explanation of the assessment methods used. The majority of the students demonstrated fairly strong skills in phonemic awareness, vocabulary when assessed orally, and basic word identification (phonics). Reading with a rate appropriate to purpose and comprehension strategies were identified as instructional needs. Explicit instruction in the identified areas is suggested as vital to the future success of these students and may provide a starting point for the identification and instruction of other American Indian/Alaska Native students with similar needs.

BOOK REVIEW, by Joseph Thompson, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Alaska Native Political Leadership and Higher Education: One University, Two Universes. By Michael Jennings, Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 2004. 185/ix pages. Paper $29.99, 0-7591-0069-1, Cloth $75.00, 0-7591-0068-03

The author has done justice to the cause of Alaska Native higher education. This is a critical study that administrators, state and community leadership, no less than faculty, would do well to consult. Obviously relevant for Alaskan higher education faculty and administration statewide, there is much here for teachers in multicultural education of any kind, and wherever Native students are a priority. The book gives essential information for anthropologists, historians, and scholars in Northern studies, and it should help the discussion of Native American higher education to avoid what has been called "the Alaskan oversight."

Vol. 44, #2

"THE HOPI FOLLOWERS": CHIEF TAWAQUAPTEWA AND HOPI STUDENT ADVANCEMENT AT SHERMAN INSTITUTE, 1906-1909
Matthew T. Sakiestewa Gilbert Vol. 44, #2, pp. 1-23, 2005

In November 1906, just weeks after a major Hopi division in the village of Oraibi, Arizona, 71 Hopi pupils left their families and homes to attend Sherman Institute, an off-reservation Indian boarding school in Riverside, California. Accompanied by their Kikmongwi (Village Chief), Tawaquaptewa and other Hopi leaders, the Hopis embarked on an adventure that forever changed their lives. For the majority of Hopi students, the adventure to the "land of oranges" lasted no more than three years. Between 1906 and 1909, Hopis excelled at the school in academics, vocational training, music, art and various other programs the federal government used to assimilate Hopis into mainstream "white" society. This paper tells the story of Hopis at Sherman who, in spite of cultural tensions, made remarkable advancements by using and practicing their culture at a school that government officials initially created to destroy Hopi and other Indian cultures.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE PERFORMANCE GAP BETWEEN AMERICAN INDIAN AND ANGLO STUDENTS IN THE NEW YORK STATE FOURTH AND EIGHTH GRADE MATHEMATICS ASSESSMENT
Richard Marchand; Jamar Pickreign; Keary Howard Vol. 44, #2, pp. 24-35, 2005

This study explores differences in mathematics assessment results between American Indian students in Western New York and their Anglo peers. The sample consisted of 2,256 fourth grade students (Native=323 Anglo=1933) and 2,475 eighth grade students (Native=353 Anglo=2122). Scores from New York State's Fourth and Eighth Grade Math Assessments were examined to identify areas of mathematics that contribute to the gap in performance. Analysis of scores indicated that 58% of Native students and 75% of Anglo students were mathematically proficient on the Grade Four assessment. By eighth grade, 20% of Native students and 45% of Anglo students were mathematically proficient. In particular, 34% of Native students and 14% of Anglo students scored at the lowest level on the Grade Eight assessment and have little chance of passing the high school exam required for graduation. The greatest disparities between the two groups were in mathematical reasoning and uncertainty. Professional development for area math teachers and after school enrichment activities is recommended.

"IF I COULD DO IT, THEY COULD DO IT": A COLLECTIVE CASE STUDY OF PLATEAU TRIBES NURSES
Janet R. Katz Vol. 44, #2, pp. 36-51, 2005

The purpose of this collective case study was to explore the experiences of three American Indian nurses of the Plateau Tribes in their nursing education. Specifically, the study sought to gain an understanding that could be used to evaluate and promote culturally congruent strategies for recruitment and retention. Findings indicated that influences for choosing nursing included family expectations to become educated; wanting to break a cycle that included early pregnancy, dropping out of high school and abuse of alcohol and drugs; and a desire to serve their communities. Nursing school was stressful due to leaving home, culture shock, and feeling a need to prove oneself. Returning to their communities as a nurse required integrating new learning with traditions and becoming a role model. Returning to school for advanced nursing education was deemed necessary in order to meet the challenges of their work. Nursing needs to support American Indian/Alaska Native students by providing pre-college preparation and guidance, by reducing college stress, and by providing appropriate career support and assistance for going to graduate school.

Vol. 44, #3 - Special Issue

INTRODUCTION - FACTORS THAT AFFECT ALASKA NATIVE STUDENTS' MATHEMATICAL PERFORMANCE
Jerry Lipka; Joan Parker Webster; Evelyn Yanez Vol. 44, #3, pp. 1-8, 2005

In 1994, we edited a special issue for the Journal of American Indian Education (JAIE) which emphasized the struggle to bring "local community based knowledge into the life of the school" (Lipka, p. 2). We stated then that "radical transformation in social context of schooling must also occur… In short, bringing local knowledge into American Indian/Alaska Native education requires reversing historic power relations that continue to separate school knowledge from community knowledge" (Lipka, p. 2). Twelve years later and in collaborating with many Yup'ik elders, teachers, mathematicians, and educators we have developed Math in a Cultural Context (MCC), a supplemental elementary school math curriculum. MCC brings local knowledge into a core academic curriculum and to some extent this process and products are a small step in reversing historic power relations and what constitutes legitimate school knowledge.

The purpose of this special issue is to provide four case studies of teachers effectively implementing MCC in diverse Alaskan contexts. Each case provides plausible explanations for the documented success (Lipka & Adams, 2004; Lipka et al., 2005; Lipka, Adams, Sharp & Sharp, 2005 in press; Grigorenko et al., 2004) of MCC. These cases build directly on the 1994 special issue of JAIE as each case shows how elders' knowledge was effectively used in the elementary math classroom. We believe that the power of these cases resides in the long-term collaborative work between insiders and outsiders resulting in effective culturally based curriculum.

FINDING A GOOD FIT: USING MCC IN A "THIRD SPACE"
Joan Parker Webster; Peter Wiles; Marta Civil; Stacy Clark Vol. 44, #3, pp. 9-30, 2005

Math in a Cultural Context (MCC) is based in traditional Yup'ik cultural values and ways of knowing and representing the world, which provide access to math concepts through hands-on exploration and active problem solving. This case illustrates how a novice and outsider teacher successfully implemented MCC in a classroom with predominantly Yup'ik students, who are from a school district that has been a lower scoring district on state and national tests. The success was evidenced in students' high gain scores on pre- and post-tests for the Building a Fish Rack module, and their out-scoring of all other student groups involved in the implementation of this module. The case explores the factors that contributed to these students' academic success and focuses on the key elements underpinning these factors: (a) the relationships that developed between teacher and student and (b) the co-creation of a "third space" for learning by students and teacher.

THE RELEVANCE OF CULTURALLY BASED CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION: THE CASE OF NANCY SHARP
Jerry Lipka; Nancy Sharp; Betsy Brenner; Vol. 44, #3, pp. 31-54, 2005
Evelyn Yanez; Ferdinand Sharp

Ms. Sharp's case is particularly instructive as it shows how this experienced Yup'ik teacher steeped in the traditions of her culture effectively implemented a culturally based math module. Ms. Sharp's pedagogical creatively allowed her to authentically bring together a core academic content area, math, with Yup'ik traditions, knowledge, and ways of relating. This case shows through systematic micro-ethnography, interview data, and "insider" analysis that when Ms. Sharp used expert-apprentice modeling, joint productive activity, and cognitive apprenticeship. Her students were attentive, highly focused on the math task, and learned about symmetry, congruence, and patterns. Expert-apprentice modeling usually associated with "crafts" and usually dismissed as an ineffective classroom pedagogical tool was a key ingredient for Ms. Sharp's success. On project outcome measures her students performed well when compared to other treatment classes that used this module and to the control classes. The case shows how curriculum based on aspects of indigenous culture, combined with effective pedagogical practices derived from the community and accommodated to the culture of schooling results in appreciable student learning.

REVERSING THE ACADEMIC TREND FOR RURAL STUDENTS: THE CASE OF MICHELLE OPBROEK
Barbara L. Adams; Shehenaz Adam; Michelle Opbroek Vol. 44, #3, pp. 55-79, 2005

This case study explores the interactions between a teacher, her students, and a culturally based math curriculum in a fifth and sixth grade classroom in rural Alaska. The case attempts to identify and illuminate factors that created a rich learning environment while implementing Star Navigation: Explorations into Angles and Measurement, a module from the series, Math in a Cultural Context (MCC). This case describes how the teacher facilitated the embedded Yup'ik cultural knowledge into lively, mathematical communication and learning made relevant to a non-Yup'ik group of students. Students' pre- and post-test results showed strong gain scores as well as high absolute post-test scores, placing this class in the small category where a rural treatment group outperformed all urban treatment and control groups. Thus, this compelling case provides an example of a classroom and curricular learning environment that reverses national trends for rural students in general and shows potential for Alaska Native students in particular. Further, it provides examples of factors that other teachers, administrators, and teacher educators can employ in their own teaching and classes to create more effective math classrooms.

CONSTANT PERIMETER, VARYING AREA: A CASE STUDY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING MATHEMATICS TO DESIGN A FISH RACK
Anthony Rickard Vol. 44, #3, pp. 80-100, 2005

This case study examines a sixth-grade teacher and her students in an urban school district in Alaska, engaging in an activity from a module that is part of the Math in a Cultural Context (MCC) series. By analyzing the module, the teacher's practice, classroom discourse, and students' work, the case shows that the teacher and the MCC module supported students in developing substantive reasoning and understanding about the mathematical relationship between constant perimeter and varying area in rectangles. Comparison of students' scores on pre- and post-tests show that the class as a whole outperformed the control group. Moreover, Alaska Native students, comprising slightly over one-fourth of the class, outperformed the control group, had gains in achievement commensurate with the entire class, and outperformed their Alaska Native peers in the control group by a wide margin. The case shows that the MCC module and the teacher's practice support improved mathematics achievement through interwoven connections between content, pedagogy, and culture.