Production of Narratives by At-Risk American Indian Children in the Midwest

Abstract

The narratives of two groups of 28 American Indian children attending a Midwestern Bureau of Indian Affairs school (16 with a mean age of 5;10 years, and 12 with a mean age of 7;8 years) were examined in three contexts: retell, fictional with sequence pictures, and fictional with one picture. The narratives were examined in terms of microstructure (e.g., total number of utterances, total number of words, total number of communication units, and mean length of utterance in words and morphemes), macrostructure, and evaluative elements, which are used by speakers to link events, comment on events and characters, and inform the listener on how to interpret the story. Differences among story task contexts also were evaluated. The narratives of American Indian students differed between age groups and across tasks. The older children produced narratives with longer mean length of utterances in morphemes and more evaluative elements. The older children also produced more end-at-high-point stories, whereas the younger children produced more chronological narratives. Both age groups responded with longer and more complex narratives when generating fictional stories with visual support. Clinical implications are provided for adjusting narrative assessment tasks to be more culturally appropriate for children by modifying the task demands, increasing the role of the listener, and adding cultural relevance to stories.