Volume 36 Number 3
Spring 1997

For much of the history of the United States, the cultures of American Indians have been viewed as obstructing the educational process (Dale, 1949; Ebbott, 1985; Hodgkinson, 1990; Josephy, 1989; Sue & Sue, 1990; Weeks, 1992). Culture clash between American Indian students, and their majority culture teachers (usually Anglo-American), has continued into the present era (Ebbott, 1985; Weeks, 1992). For example, Wise and Miller (1983) described a case in which a child, who was exhibiting typical American Indian behaviors such as speaking softly, not attempting to stand out, and avoiding Anglo-American style competitiveness, was described by her non-American Indian teacher as problematic. The child was subsequently referred to a non-American Indian counselor who interpreted the child's behavior as being indicative of social anxiety and excessive shyness.

Sociohistorical theory maintains that a child's cognitive and social development is firmly embedded in the surrounding local culture (Luria, 1971; 1976; Rogoff, 1990; Vygotsky, 1978). This theory regards an individual's cognitive, social and emotional development as occurring within a present day social context that is anchored in past sociocultural activities and methods of interacting (Luria, 1971; 1976; Vygotsky, 1978). According to Rogoff, "Context is not so much a set of stimuli that impinge on a person as it is a web of relations interwoven to form the fabric of meaning" (Rogoff, 1982, p. 149). She further argues that the attraction of sociohistorical theory is that the basic unit of analysis is not the individual but rather the process of the sociocultural interaction in which individuals are active participants in accordance with socially and culturally established practices.

When their cultures differ, however, problems can arise. For example, as mainstream children enter the local public school system they move into a setting which is generally compatible with their family culture, styles of learning and middle-class values. American Indian children, on the other hand, are often entering a system which is culturally alien to them. Typically, a belief by educators in the fundamental sameness of all cultures is coupled with the assumption that when there are differences the Anglo-American way is best. Thus, teachers attempt to cope with cultural differences by devising strategies to work around them (Houser, 1991), for example, ignoring the differences. Along with the expectation to succeed in school, American Indian children must therefore learn to live in a bi-cultural world. The difficulties these children have in succeeding have been documented in studies which showed negative correlations between the number of years in school and achievement levels of American Indian children (Kayser, 1963; Wax, 1967). American Indian children function at average to above average levels in the classroom up to grade four (Hornett, 1991). At about grade four much that happens in public school focuses on identity formation and social functioning within the mainstream culture. This can result in low self-image for Indian youngsters and they are threatened with loss of their culture. By the time the children are in high school and old enough to drop out of school they are often functioning three years behind mainstream students.

This study examined this general relationship of culture to academic performance by studying a specific tribal context: a small rural reservation of Ojibwa families. It assessed the relationship between parental identification with traditional Ojibwa cultural values and the school performance of their elementary school age children. It was a part of a larger project which examined the impact of quantity and quality of Ojibwa father and grandfather involvement in childrearing on their (grand)children's academic and socio-emotional competence in elementary school (Radin, Williams, & Coggins, 1993; Williams, 1995; Williams, Radin, & Coggins, 1996a; 1996b).

American Indian Family Values

In discussing American Indian family values, the first question that must be addressed is one of diversity among the different 500 American Indian groups (Hodgkinson, 1990). For example, in some groups of indigenous Americans a majority of tribal members still speak their tribal language and participate in tribe specific religious and social activities (Mindel & Habenstein, 1976; Red Horse, Lewis, Feit, & Decker, 1978; Weibel-Orlando, 1991). In other Native communities only a few members may speak their tribal languages (Thornton, 1987) or preserve traditions unique to their own people (Red Horse et al., 1978; Sue & Sue, 1990). There is a growing literature which places American Indians on a cultural continuum with living styles ranging from traditional to marginal or middle-class and then pan-Indian (French & Hornbuckle, 1980; Red Horse et al., 1978). Traditionalists live in accordance with culturally prescribed customs; marginal and middle-class Indians are caught between traditional roots and white society; and pan-Indians struggle to re-establish lost traditions in a way that encompasses tribal variation.

This heterogeneity of tradition and individual experience makes an attempt to develop a list of American Indian values difficult. Yet many social scientists feel it is possible to identify certain core values which a majority of indigenous American people have in common (DuBray, 1985; Ebbott, 1985; French & Hornbuckle, 1980; Sue & Sue, 1990; Weibel-Orlando, 1991). Based on these studies the following list was developed as representative of normative values common to most tribes: 1) sharing; 2) other-centered; 3) harmony with nature; 4 non-interference; 5) patience; 6) circular time; 7) non-confrontive; and 8) broad view of the family.

Sharing originated when group survival was more important than individual prosperity (Brant, 1990). Today, the lines of proprietorship are present, but easily transcended. The individual is judged by his contribution to the group. Other centeredness refers to the ability to put first the needs of other individuals of the group (Plas & Bellet, 1983). Individual identity emerges from membership and participation in group life. Harmony with nature pertains to the values of cooperation and harmony with the environment (Lazarus, 1982). Non-interference promotes positive interpersonal relations by discouraging coercion of any kind (Kelso & Attneave, 1981). Group goals are arrived at by consensus, and an attempt to advise is seen as interference and considered to be bad manners. Patience is often expressed as a desire to live in an unhurried manner (Lazarus, 1982). Circular time is a concept of time rooted in an age when activities were regulated by the repeating seasons (Plas & Bellet, 1983). Today's notion is that things are done when the "time is right," that is when all environmental and interpersonal factors converge to ensure success (Brant, 1990). Non-confrontation averts intergroup rivalry and prevents any embarrassment that a less able member of the group might feel in an interpersonal relationship (Kelso & Attneave, 198 1). Non-confrontation is often misinterpreted by non-Indians as lack of initiative and ambition (Brant, 1990). Broad view of the family refers to a structurally open family which may include several households with significant relatives along both horizontal and vertical lines (Red Horse et al., 1978).

Traditional Values and School Success

A few studies have agreed that culture plays an important role in the educational process. Maintaining and acting on American Indian values, such as living in a traditional community, participating in traditional ceremonies, and being a member of a strong family, are all associated with higher grades in school and lower drop-out rates (Crawford, 1987; Deyhle, 1986; Huffman, Sill, & Brokenleg, 1986; Ward, 1994). For example, a study of white (N=48) and Sioux (N=38) college students from the University of South Dakota and Black Hills State College investigated factors relating to college achievement among the two groups (Huffman et al., 1986). College achievement was defined in terms of college GPA. Independent variables included family income, parent's educational level, high school GPA, participation in the college environment, parent's and student's educational aspirations. A final independent variable used with the American Indian sample only included a three-item index designed to evaluate traditionalism. The index consisted of: 1) self-reported knowledge of an American Indian language; 2) participation in American Indian ceremonies while in college; and 3) identification of a reservation as the place of permanent home residence. If the American Indian student answered positively to two or three of the items he or she was considered to have a traditional orientation. It was found that for Whites educational success was related to such factors as high school GPA and parental encouragement to attend school. However, the only predictor of academic success for the Sioux students was their retention of Native cultural traditions. Another study of Northern Cheyenne reservation high school drop-out rates (N=320) discovered that, for girls, residence in a traditional community and attending Indian schools had a positive effect on school performance which in turn contributed to high school completion (Ward, 1994).

Because of the paucity of studies in this domain, little is known about the generalizability of these findings to other Native communities with different cultural traditions or to other age groups. It would be advantageous to rural Ojibwa families to understand the importance of American Indian parental values for their young children's school performance. It may be that parental holding and teaching traditional values to their children act as a cultural anchor allowing these youngsters to function better both academically and socially as they venture forth into the bi-cultural world of mainstream public education. Therefore, the hypothesis was generated in two parts: (1) that there would be a positive relationship between the mothers' levels of holding traditional values and their children's academic and socio-emotional functioning on a rural Ojibwa reservation; (2) that there would be a positive relationship between the fathers' levels of holding traditional values and their children's academic and socio-emotional functioning on a rural Ojibwa reservation.

Method

The Tribal Chairman of the Ojibwa Bay Mills Community in Brimley, Michigan expressed an interest in having a research study conducted on the reservation that would help the membership. This interest was communicated to the second author through a family member who was employed by the reservation as Director of Social Work. The authors met with the Bay Mills community in Brimley, Michigan to discuss the proposed study with the Tribal Chairman, and other members of the Tribal Council. During this meeting the methods for measuring American Indian and Ojibwa traditional values were discussed. The initial plans included completion of a questionnaire through separate interviews with the mothers and fathers of each family. The Tribal Council approved the study provided the principal of the Brimley Elementary School was also in agreement. A draft of the questionnaire to be used was reviewed by three University of Michigan American Indian graduate students, who were working on the project to eliminate or modify any questions which might be considered culturally insensitive. In May of 1991 the final draft of the questionnaire was submitted to and approved by the entire Tribal Council and by the principal of the Brimley Elementary School.

Pilot testing of this early version of the questionnaire was conducted to determine which questions were unclear, the amount of time it took to administer the instrument, and any reactions which the American Indian subjects might have had to the questions. Pilot subjects, who were American Indians living in the Lansing, Michigan area were recruited through word of mouth. The pilot sample consisted of nine adults and three children.

Sample

The sample was obtained from families of the Bay Mills Ojibwa Community, a small reservation located on Lake Superior's Whitefish Bay near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. To be eligible for this study, a family had to include a child in Headstart through grade five (i.e. age 3-11). The family also had to sign a card giving the Brimley Elementary school permission to provide the project with the children's school reports and academic grades. The study's focal child was the oldest child in the family attending elementary school. The family unit consisted of a mother, stepmother, or live-in female significant other, a father, stepfather, or livein male significant other; and focal child. The sample was obtained through the cooperation of the Tribal chairman and council.

The Bay Mills Community was informed of the research project by a luncheon which was free and open to the entire community. In addition, a letter to the community written by an American Indian member of the research project was published in the Bay Mills News. Potentially eligible families were recruited by means of a series of three letters describing the study and inviting them to participate. Participants were paid $20.00 for participating in the study.

Of the 19 families who volunteered to participate in the study 17 were composed of a mother or stepmother, father or stepfather, and child. From the potential adult pool of 34 parents, data were collected from 29 who agreed to participate; 15 mothers and 14 fathers comprised the sample. In 10 families both parents were interviewed, in five, the mother only, and in four, the father only. Thus, the response rate for the families who agreed to participate was 85%. In Table 1 are presented the means for the sample's demographic variables.

For the group as a whole, the mean ages of the mothers and fathers respectively were 34.1 and 33.7. Mothers and fathers in this sample on the average had one year of college. In the Bay Mills Indian Community as a whole, 84% of the adults had at least a high school education and 56% had some college (Sobeck, 1990). According to the Hollingshead Four-Factor Index of Social Status (1975) the mothers' average occupational rating was at the level of clerical and sales worker while the fathers' average occupational rating was at the level of skilled manual worker and craftsman. Mothers worked an average of 40 hours per week. Fathers worked an average of 38 hours per week and this increased to about 55 hours per week during the fishing season.

The mean age for the 19 children was 8.6. For boys the mean age was 8.8 and for girls the mean age was 8. 1. A two-tailed student t-test indicated no significant differences in age between the males and females. Fourteen of the children were the oldest child in their sibship, three children were the second born and two were fifth. The mean grade in school was third for boys and girls.

Procedure

The data collection involved completion of a questionnaire through separate interviews with the mothers and fathers of each family. The interviewers were three Ojibwa undergraduate students enrolled in the Bay Mills Community College located on the reservation, an Ojibwa employee of the Tribal Council, and an Odawa University of Michigan doctoral student from northern Michigan who is also first author of this paper. All measures were discussed and approved by the Bay Mills Tribal Council. The Brimley Elementary School teachers completed Achenbach's (Achenbach & Edlebrock, 1986) Child Behavior Check List (CBCL), an American Indian Child Behavior Check List, and Index of Future Community Leadership about the children. These measurements are described in more detail below. In addition the children's end of year report cards were obtained.

Independent variables. American Indian levels of holding traditional values were assessed by an index developed by Arthur Le Blanc Jr., a former Bay Mills tribal judge, along with the first author of this paper. The eight items tap attitudes toward sharing, other centered, harmony with nature, circular time, noninterference, patience, non-confrontation, and broad view of family. These items have been described in the literature as characteristics of American Indian values (Brant, 1990; Lazarus, 1982), and were discussed earlier in this paper. The Index consisted of values posed to the respondent who was asked to express agreement or disagreement using a 5-point scale. As described earlier, the measurement was pilot tested for cultural sensitivity of the questions. In addition, the three University of Michigan American Indian graduate students involved in the project attested to the construct validity of the instrument. Efforts to maintain the good will of the community precluded our establishing the Index's reliability by administering it twice to any of the residents of the community. The Bay Mills Tribal Council reviewed the Index and agreed that the values were important to this Ojibwa community. The complete Index and scoring can be found in Table 2 along with the means and standard deviations of mothers' and fathers' responses. Means indicated that in general the parents were moderately traditional in their value orientation.

Dependent variables. There were 25 dependent variables. Seven of them assessed academic functioning such as teacher assigned report card grades for five subjects, and two Adaptive Functioning items, overall school performance and learning, from Achenbach's Teacher's Report Form of the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL) (Achenbach & Edlebrock, 1986). The remaining 18 dependent variables assessed socio-emotional functioning. These were: 1) Three Adaptive Functioning items from the CBCL (working hard, behaving appropriately, and happy); 2) Eight Problem Behavior Check List items from the CBCL (unpopular, self-destructive, obsessive-compulsive, inattentive, nervous-overactive, anxious, social withdrawal, and aggressive); 3) an American Indian Child Behavior Check List consisting of six items (shows sense of responsibility to class, liked by students, dependable, shows respect, can take a joke, and initiates new activities or ideas); and 4) an Index of Future Community Leadership. The latter two scales were developed by the project staff, which included three University of Michigan American Indian graduate students, in order to assess personality traits which were more important to American Indians. As with the Index of American Indian Traditional Values, the measurements were pilot tested only for cultural sensitivity of questions and the three American Indian graduate students attested to the items' construct validity. The Bay Mills Tribal Council reviewed the items and agreed that the behaviors tapped by the American Indian Behavior Check List and the Index of Future Community Leadership were esteemed by this Ojibwa community. As with the case of the Index of Level of Holding Traditional Values these two scales were not administered twice.

Report card grades were issued in the school year of 1990 - 1991 across six marking periods for the academic subjects of reading, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. An average was taken for the grades given in each subject. Scoring ranged from 1 (conference requested) to 6 (excellent). As can be seen in Table 3, report card grade means ranged from 5.3 to 5.7, indicating that the children were doing well with academic grades averaging between good and excellent.

The Teacher's Report Form of the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL) is a valid, reliable, standardized teacher rating form about socio-emotional performance for students aged 6 to 11 years (Achenbach & Edlebrock, 1986). The scales presented are from the 1986 edition of the Teacher's Report Form profile as this was the version mailed to us when the instrument was ordered. The teacher's portion yields scores in the categories of Adaptive Functioning and Problem Behavior. To determine overall school performance teachers were asked to evaluate pupils' current performance in each academic subject using a 5-point scale where 1 was far below grade and 5 was far above grade. A mean rating for all academic subjects was computed. The mean obtained is in the Adaptive Functioning category. To determine other aspects of adaptive functioning (i.e., learning, working hard, behaving appropriately, and happy) the teachers were asked to compare the student to other pupils of the same age and then rate them on a 7-point scale where 1 was much less and 7 was much more. Children were also rated on 113 behavioral problem items on a 3-point scale: 0 (not true); 1 (somewhat true); and 2 (very true). The 113 items were factor analyzed by Achenbach and his colleagues and the items were placed into eight categories that emerged from the factor analyses (i.e., unpopular, self-destructive, obsessive-compulsive, inattentive, nervous-overactive, anxious, social withdrawal, and aggressive). These raw scores were then assigned a percentile which was provided by the manual for the CBCL (Achenbach & Edlebrock, 1986). As can be seen in Table 3, the means indicated that the children were at average levels of adaptation and socio-emotional functioning.

The items included in the American Indian Child Behavior Check List were: (1) shows a sense of responsibility to class and school; (2) liked by others; (3) is dependable; (4) shows respect for others; (5) can take a joke; (6) and initiates new activities or ideas. The children's teachers were asked to score the children on a 3-point scale: 1 (not true); 2 (somewhat true); and 3 (very true). A mean was taken of the responses of the teachers. The item means ranged from 1.7 to 2.5, indicating that the children were at moderate levels of adaptation.

To assess teacher expectations for the student's future community involvement, important in an American Indian population (Brant, 1990), an Index of Future Community Leadership was created. The teachers were asked what they thought the child's chances were of becoming: (a) a good member of the community, (b) a political leader in the community, and (c) a cultural leader in the community. The responses were scored on a 5-point scale with: 1 (less than most); 2 (less than some); 3 (about the same as others); 4 (better than some); and 5 (better than most). To form the index a mean was taken of the teachers' responses to these three items. Chronbach's alpha was computed to assess whether or not the three items were measuring the same concept. The value was .95, indicating high internal consistency. A mean of 3.0 indicated that the children were viewed by the teachers as being in the middle of the range.

Findings

Pearson product moment correlations were performed between the independent and dependent variables. The significant correlations pertaining to mothers' and fathers' levels of holding traditional values and their children's academic functioning and socio-emotional functioning are presented in Table 4.

Thirty-nine correlations or 20% out of a total possible 200 correlations were significant, considerably above the number that could be expected by chance. As can be seen in Table 4, of the 39 significant correlations only in four, or 10% of the instances, were traditional maternal values associated with negative outcomes. These 4 correlations were between: 1) circular time and social studies grade, r(12) = -.77, p < .01; 2) non-interference and CBCL anxious, r(14) = -.54, p < .05; 3) patience and initiates activities, r(14) = .64, p < .05; and 4) patience and future leader, r(14) = .65, p < .05. The remaining 35, or 90% of the significant correlations, showed a relationship with positive child outcomes. There were only four significant correlations (2% of the total possible correlations) which associated fathers' level of holding traditional values with his children's academic and socio-emotional outcomes. It is possible that these correlations occurred by chance. The five cultural values of mothers found to contribute to their children's school success were sharing, other centeredness, harmony with nature, non-interference, and focus on extended family.

Discussion

Because of the small sample size and the exploratory nature of this study the conclusions drawn must be treated as tentative. However, the findings appear to provide insights into the importance of maintaining Ojibwa cultural identity and warrant reporting.

The first part of the hypothesis, that there would be a positive relationship between mothers' levels of holding traditional values and their children's academic and socio-emotional competence in school, was supported. Twenty percent of the associations between values and child outcomes were significant and of these 90% were with desirable school behaviors. The second part of the hypothesis, that there would be a positive relationship between fathers' levels of holding traditional values and their children's academic and socio-emotional competence in school, was not supported.

Across mothers' responses for both academic and socio-emotional school functioning only patience and circular time were associated with negative outcomes. Non-confrontation was not associated with any outcomes. It is possible that the concept of circular time as it was presented in the questionnaire was too abstract and did not adequately convey the concept. Perhaps patience and non-confrontation suggest a relatively passive stance toward academic work, an approach not conducive to mastery of the content in a primarily Anglo school.

Each of the remaining values, sharing, other-centered, harmony with nature, non-interference, and broad view of family, were associated with beneficial outcomes. Maternal holding of the values of sharing and other-centeredness, each with four beneficial outcomes, had the strongest impact on children's academic performance. Maternal holding of the values of harmony with nature and broad view of family, each with seven beneficial outcomes, had the strongest impact on children's socio-emotional outcomes. Overall, it was the value of a broad view of family which had the strongest relationship to beneficial outcomes for both academic (three beneficial outcomes) and socio-emotional (seven beneficial outcomes) for the children. Perhaps this value fosters a wide spread family support system for the child, which in turn reinforces the child's sense of belonging to a cultural community.

The overall picture presented is encouraging for those who have argued the importance of maintaining cultural identity among American Indians (Huffman et al., 1986; Sack, Beiser, Clarke, & Redshirt, 1987; Ward, 1994). What might account for the emergence of such a pattern? To begin with, children who come from families with a clear sense of cultural identity may be reaping the benefits of reduced anxiety over the issue of their own identities and their parents' identities. In other words, adults who are secure in their identities as American Indians with traditional tribal values may be helping to provide a solid cultural identity core for their children. In turn this strong cultural sense of self allows for exploration of other cultures without threatening a basic American Indian identity.

Secondly, the indications that maternal but not paternal holding of traditional values significantly promote their children's academic and socio-emotional competence in school will not seem unusual to most Ojibwa, Odawa, or Potawatomi people of the Upper Great Lakes region. For these American Indian groups, strong female leadership in both family and community has long been a part of the culture (Bay Mills Tribal Chairman, personal communication, May 4, 1990). Therefore, the fact that the role of women should be identified as particularly important in this study only follows logically from what many Native peoples would view as common sense. However, further research is needed on the issue because the study also found that fathers' participation in childrearing has a positive association with children's academic and socio-emotional competence in school (Radin, Williams, & Coggins, 1993; Williams, 1995; Williams, Radin, & Coggins, 1996a; 1996b).

The findings of this study suggest that American Indian cultural revitalization programs are important and should be integrated into education and family support systems. Furthermore, additional research in the area of American Indian values and school performance is essential. If the results of the Bay Mills study are replicated in larger samples of Ojibwa families and in many other American Indian communities perhaps culture will come to be viewed as a tool, not an obstacle, in enhancing the school performance of American Indian children.

Author Note

This study was funded by the Office of the Vice President for Research, of the University of Michigan. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Cheryl Samuels and Ted Batt, Native American graduate students at the University of Michigan, in developing the Research Project. We also wish to express our deep appreciation to families participating in the study and other members of the Bay Mills Indian Community and the Brimley Elementary School staff whose cooperation enabled us to conduct this study.

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