Native School Research Articles

Understanding Navajo K–12 Public School Finance in Arizona through Tribal Critical Theory

Background/Context Currently, Native American education policy reports and empirical research papers have largely focused on sociocultural challenges to Native sovereignty and the policy that impedes Native sovereign states. This paper deviates from that theme by implicating policy as preventing improvement of educational outcomes by proxy of the fiscal revenue available to reservation schools, focusing specifically on the Navajo Nation. To date, this is the first empirically driven, Native-specific school finance study that attempts to compare how Anglo and Native schools are funded and how the quality and dispersion of this funding affects Native education and outcomes. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This study reports on a longitudinal descriptive analysis of school fiscal revenue (2006–2012), comparing Navajo K–12 school districts against Arizona public school districts. This empirical research paper attempts to answer the following questions: How did Navajo K–12 public school district demographics compare to those of Arizona public school districts from 2006 to 2012? How did Navajo K–12 public school districts perform academically compared to Arizona public school districts from 2006 to 2012? How did Navajo public school district tax rates and assessed property valuation compare to those of Arizona public school districts from 2006 to 2012? How did Navajo public school district revenues compare to those of Arizona public school districts from 2006 to 2012? Research Design This research study is a univariate statistical analysis (i.e., mean, median, standard deviation, range, and percentile) examining general descriptions of individual fiscal revenue variables for schooling. Data Collection and Analysis The data comprised publicly available Arizona Department of Education Excel files (Excel v14.0) merged into one consolidated dataset imported to SPSSv22.0. Our analysis began by selecting Navajo public school districts from our dataset and then comparing them to Arizona public districts (excluding Navajo and nontraditional LEA districts) from 2006 to 2012. Findings/Results This study has two conclusions: (a) There is a clear and growing achievement gap between Navajo and Arizona districts; and (b) Our results seem to suggest that Arizona's equalization formula is not effectively counterbalancing the impact of local property wealth, as shown by the disparities in combined state and local revenue between Navajo K–12 school districts and Arizona districts. Conclusions/Recommendations The findings in this study indicate that Arizona must address policy and practice in order to remedy the educational disparity between Navajo students and their non-Navajo peers. Navajo Nation schools require agency to designate priorities and state funding to meet these priorities.

‘To teach the natives English’: James Pope’s 1880 native schools code

ABSTRACTFrom their inception in New Zealand in 1816, until the end of the century in some cases, most mission schools in the colony maintained instruction solely in the Māori language. However, from the 1840s, successive colonial governments promoted a secular schooling system in which English would be the language in which students were taught, principally because Māori was seen as an impediment to the governments’ assimilationist ideology. The 1880 Native Schools Code, devised by the first Inspector of New Zealand’s Native Schools, James Pope, was one of the final major steps in this era in advancing this assimilationist ideal through the country’s education system. Pope’s initiative was partly a continuation of state policy that had existed in some form since the 1840s, but it also served as the most explicit statement to that time of how the government intended to use schooling to incorporate Māori into colonial society.

An Innovative Approach to Assessing Depth of Knowledge of Academic Words

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this research is to develop a vocabulary assessment, Evaluation of Academic Vocabulary or “EAV,” that gauges students’ depth of knowledge of academic words and is sensitive to vocabulary growth in the context of literacy interventions. We report results from two studies with native English-speaking middle school students designed to inform the development and pilot test the utility and technical qualities of an innovative vocabulary assessment that is sensitive to students’ level of understanding of general academic words. Across the two studies, we employed a mixed methods research approach. In the first study, we drew on classic psychometric assessment methods, Bayesian network methods, signal detection theory to evaluate the validity and technical qualities of the assessment. In the latter study, we conducted cognitive interviews to further validate the assessment. Results suggest that: 1) the assessment captures growth in knowledge of general academic words, i.e., words that are important for the comprehension of academic texts; and 2) it is sensitive to treatment effects academic vocabulary intervention for adolescents.

The Relationship between College Students’ Perceptions of Colleague Education, Major Satisfaction and Employability

Background/Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between college students’ perceptions of colleague education, major satisfaction and employability.Method/Statistical analysis: The survey was conducted from December1 to 20, 2017 in the subjects of the students who were informed of the study goals and contents, and agreed. First for the sociodemographic characteristics, they were set including sex, religion, entrance type, type of admission, a native high school, living environment, family economic status, study level perceived by him or her. And we surveyed the data ofperceptions of colleague education, major satisfaction and employability.Findings: Upon the study results among 121freshman, they showed mean values of perceptions of colleague education, major satisfaction and employability with 50.73 ± 5.82 points, 35.87 ± 5.34 points and 85.10 ± 12.38 points, respectively. When looking at correlations to look at relationships between perceptions of colleague education, major satisfaction, and satisfaction employability, there is a significant amount of correlation between the three variables.Improvements/Applications: It is intended to help develop interventions that can look at the current state of students and increase their degree satisfaction and employment potential.

Tendências das publicações brasileiras sobre a formação de professores indígenas em ciências da natureza

A partir da Constituição Federal de 1988, inicia-se a discussão sobre um novo formato de escola indígena. Para esse novo formato de escola, surge a necessidade da formação de professores indígenas, para atender a carência desse profissional, na educação básica. Esse estudo teve como objetivo realizar um levantamento das publicações nacionais, dos últimos quinze anos, sobre a formação de professores indígenas em Ciências da Natureza. Para selecionar teses, dissertações e artigos nacionais, relacionados com a temática em estudo, foram realizadas buscas nos sítios da Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações (BDTD), do Scientific Eletronic Library Online (Scielo) e do periódico da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Ensino Superior (CAPES). A partir das leituras dos resumos, foram selecionadas as produções que apresentavam relação direta com a temática investigada. Realizamos a leitura das produções, identificando o quantitativo, ano, estados, regiões, instituições vinculadas, nível, contextos investigativos e o que anunciam. Foram encontrados 58 trabalhos, sendo esses, 21 teses, 17 dissertações e 20 artigos. Desse total, apenas 2 trabalhos apresentam relação direta com o tema, suas discussões estão voltadas para as tensões e conflitos decorrentes do encontro entre saberes indígenas e os saberes provenientes da Ciência Moderna, assim como da diversidade cultural presente na formação de professores indígenas. Compreendemos, que a formação de professores indígenas em Ciências da Natureza, exerce papel chave para que a área de Ensino de Ciências colabore com os projetos de autossustentação e autodeterminação dos povos indígenas, daí a importância de se conhecer como está a produção científica sobre o tema. Verificamos que o campo de formação de professores indígenas é novo no Brasil e, mais especificamente, as investigações sobre a formação de professores indígenas em Ciências da Natureza.

“The illiterate people are out of politics„: Elimination of illiteracy and the national minorities of the USSR

Immediately after the October Revolution, in addition to the military front (against the enemies of the Bolshevik power) and the economic front (against famine and economic collapse), a third front was opened: the struggle for general literacy. Even though the attempt of the Soviet power to overcome illiteracy in the country within a short period of time was not successful, the network of literacy centers was being steadily expanded and more and more “instructors„ were being trained. The situation among German and other national minorities was far from ideal, even though the minorities had been traditionally among the most culturally advanced and most literate part of the populations in the former Russian empire. The facts show that while the Authorities focused on culture and education levels of «backward» nationalities rising, the number of illiterates among the “culturally-developed„ nationalities was steadily increasing. Even at the beginning of the 1930s the sovetization of the national minorities` educational institutions was still far from being implemented into practice. That was due to the fact that the Commissariats for Education from the autonomous Republics did no t coordinate their efforts and ignored cultural differentiations. Number of highly qualified and loyal teachers from different national minorities backgrounds was not enough, it was almost impossible to combine native language schools system and the spirit of “Soviet pedagogy„.

School trajectories of the second generation of Turkish immigrants in Sweden, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, and Germany: The role of school systems

In this article, we aim to explain the school careers of the second generation of Turkish immigrants in nine cities in five Western European countries and show the influence of the national school systems ranging from comprehensive to hierarchical tracking structures. We apply sequence analyses, optimal matching, and cluster analyses to define school trajectories complemented with propensity score matching to study the differences between young adults of different origin. Participants were 4516 young adults of Turkish second generation and native origin aged between 18 and 35. Findings show that the school system makes a difference for school careers: (1) in rigid systems with higher differentiation and early tracking, the gap between the second-generation and native school trajectories begins to unfold early in the school career; (2) in the rigid systems, the track in which students enter secondary education determine the routes they take as well as their final outcomes; and (3) more open systems allow for “second-chance” opportunities for immigrant students to improve their track placement. However, across school systems, second-generation youth follow more often non-academic or short school careers, while native youth follow academic careers. When individual and family background are controlled via propensity score matching, the ethnic gap is explained better in more stratified systems highlighting the important role of family background in more stratified school systems.

「旧土人学校」の教育とその背景I : アイヌ民族児童教育の展開をめぐって

「旧土人学校」の教育とその背景I : アイヌ民族児童教育の展開をめぐって

Examination of American Indian/Alaska Native School Discipline Disproportionality Using the Vulnerable Decision Points Approach

The present study examined the extent to which racial disproportionality in office discipline referrals (ODRs) exists between American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) and White students in elementary ( n = 140), middle ( n = 67), and high ( n = 48) schools. A multilevel logistic regression model was applied to examine overall levels of ODR disproportionality. For school levels with significant disproportionality, patterns of ODRs were analyzed to examine disproportionality of subjectively defined ODRs within the contexts of (a) student ethnicity, (b) time of day, (c) location, (d) severity of problem behavior, and (e) student gender. Results showed a sizable difference in subjective ODRs between AIAN and White students at the high school level.

Walk Beside Me, Learn Together: A Service-Learning Immersion to a Remote Aboriginal School and Community

The aim of this study was to explore the potential of a service-learning immersion program to promote pre-service teachers' development of cultural competency in the area of Aboriginal education. That is, the research focused on ways the immersion program helped pre-service teachers (a) develop awareness of cultural implications in teaching in a remote school and (b) understand and respect Aboriginal people with a view to reconciliation. The program has operated since 2013 and occurs in a remote Aboriginal school and community in Western Australia. The duration of the immersion is eight days and is open to early childhood, primary and secondary pre-service teachers. The underlying epistemology of the research is constructivist, specifically interpretivist in nature, with a symbolic interactionist lens. That is, the research attempts to ‘give voice’ to the participants through their own language. Content analysis was the methodology used to explore the pre-service teachers’ experiences and perceptions while undertaking their service-learning immersion. Data collection methods included focus group interviews, participant journals and a questionnaire.These data were collected over a four-year span from 2014 to 2017. The findings indicate that the service-learning immersion has enabled pre-service teachers to explore their interests and passion to teach Aboriginal students in both rural and remote locations.

Maintaining connection to family, culture and community: implications for remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pathways into higher education

ABSTRACTMaintaining connections to family, culture and community is essential for strengthening an Aboriginal child’s educational achievements. The Australian Bureau of Statistics collects self-reported information on a range of factors that can assist in understanding what influences Aboriginal children to complete school. The 2014–2015 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) provides a national snapshot about how various characteristics influence the educational experience of Aboriginal children in remote Australia. In this article, findings from NATSISS have been used to interrogate qualitative data from the Whole of Community Engagement initiative led by Charles Darwin University. This is a multi-site participatory action research project working across six remote communities in the Northern Territory, Australia. We use Indigenous community perspectives to describe why maintaining connection to family, culture and community is important for both Aboriginal high school completions in remote Australia, and the subsequent impact this has on pathways into higher education.

УКРАЇНСЬКЕ ОБРАЗОТВОРЧЕ МИСТЕЦТВО В КАНАДІ (ДРУГА ПОЛОВИНА ХХ СТ.)

The article highlights the process of incipience of Ukrainian fine art in Canada. During the second half of the 20th century the Ukrainian diaspora created its own art and multiplied traditional Ukrainian art. Unfortunately, the achievements of the Ukrainian diaspora as a rule aren’t well-known to Ukrainian scientific community. The names of these people have filled up the treasury of spiritual values not only in Ukraine or Canada, but worldwide. Ukrainian artists from Canada have created artistic values reflecting the progress of the world’s fine art and have retained the best traditions of native schools. The article contains information about such organizations as the Ukrainian Association of visual artists of Canada, the Ukrainian-Canadian Art Foundation, the Alberta Council for Ukrainian Art. The article also highlights life and artistic journey of V. Kurilyk, M. Dmitrenko, Leo Mol, G. Novakivska, O. Lesyuk, M. Antoniv.

Glimpses of keraleeya ayurveda samajam history

Glimpses of keraleeya ayurveda samajam history

A role of Alexander Milovzorov is in development of modern blacksmith’s art

The present research covers the creative work of one of the most interesting contemporary artists, Alexander Petrovich Milovzorov. A. Milovzorov was born in Kiev in 1938. He studied at the Department of textile art of the Kiev school of applied arts. In 1968 he graduated from V. Muhina Leningrad commercial art college. His teachers were S. Nechiporenko, K. Mitrofanov, V. Markov. Since 1971 he has been the member of the union of artists of the USSR and then, consequently, of the Artists’ Union of Ukraine. This research aims to study the role of Kiev artist Alexander Petrovich Milovzorov in the process of revival of blacksmith art in Kiev artistic environment after fifty years of forced break, as well as the role of the artist in formation of the native school of professional decorative art, such as ceramic art, textile, and metal art. The contribution made by Alexander Milovzorov to the modern decorative art could be in the best characterized by the artworks created by the artists during the 1970s and 1980-s. Alexander Petrovich Milovzorov was the first Kiev professional artist, who managed to break free from the stereotypes of external and internal space organization, involving the lost traditional blacksmith art in line with other artistic devices. His example was a kickstart for the development of new direction of fine arts, such as metal art.

Educational Outcomes For Aboriginal School Students In Tasmania: Is The Achievement Gap Closing?

A quality education is a basic societal right. Yet for many Aboriginal students that right is not yet a reality. This paper focuses on the situation of Aboriginal/palawa school students in Tasmania and employs a quantitative methodology to examine the comparative educational achievements of Aboriginal school students. State level Grade 3, 5, 7 and 9 numeracy and reading test results from the National Assessment Program of Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 2008 - 2016 support the analysis. Results indicate that Aboriginal students remain more likely to be at or below minimum literacy and numeracy standards than their non-Aboriginal counterparts. It is also found that Aboriginal students’ academic achievement declines as they move through the schooling system. Further, Aboriginal students are less likely to partake in NAPLAN due to higher absenteeism on test days. These results are discussed in the context of education policy and the broader national and international literature on factors influencing academic achievement for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school students. Despite an increasing awareness and the development of strategic policies to address Aboriginal educational inequality, it is evident that little has changed between 2008 and 2016. It is strongly argued that Aboriginal students’ underachievement is more likely tied to schooling and policy environments that do not adequately meet their needs, rather than the students themselves. As such, policies and interventions that create long term, embedded improvement of Aboriginal students’ schooling experiences and the engagement of their families and communities are a prerequisite for improving Aboriginal student outcomes.Â

Educating Men-and-Women-for-Others: Jesuit and International Educational Identity Formation in Conversation

In a globalising world that often appears overrun by corporate and consumerist values, international education can be tempted to follow suit and support elitist transnational learning. Such an outcome may emerge intentionally or through an unreflective embrace of an unjust status quo. It follows that students and alumni of international education institutions may have little concern for more broadly communitarian values such as social justice, solidarity, and active care for those on the margins of local and global societies. However, for those craving alternatives that counteract segmented interests, this article demonstrates one such alternative. It maps how ‘men-and-women-for-others,’ a concept with worldwide traction in Jesuit education, can both inform and learn from international education concepts and practices. Further, this article employs the case of two remarkable Jesuit nativity schools to ground that dialogical process of meaning making, as men-and-women-for-others interacts with the International Education Studies literature in a mutually enhancing manner. The results will be of interest to those committed to fostering social justice, solidarity-based action, and a glocal ethic of care amongst the students and alumni of both Jesuit and international educational institutions.

Using Culturally Appropriate Approaches to the Development of KidsMatter Resources to Support the Social and Emotional Wellbeing of Aboriginal Children

ObjectiveKidsMatter identified a need for resources to support the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal children. This case study describes the intercultural processes underpinning the development of the KidsMatter Aboriginal Project.MethodThe project was guided by the principles of participatory action, narrative therapy, and critically reflective practice and aimed to define Aboriginal social and emotional wellbeing from the perspective of Aboriginal peoples. Workshops were held with Aboriginal cultural consultants across two phases. The consultants worked collaboratively with the project team to develop a series of animations and supporting resources for Aboriginal families, and early childhood and primary school educators. Workshop outcomes and themes were provided to Indigenous psychologists for comment and comparison with the available literature. Separate consultations were held with school, early childhood, and health and community professionals, and Aboriginal family group members to consider use of the resources in professional settings.ResultsThe project resulted in the development of a suite of culturally relevant and professional learning tools to support the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal children. The tools are designed for use by Aboriginal families, schools, early childhood, and health and community services and are reflective of key themes raised by relevant literature and community representatives.ConclusionThe principles of participatory action, narrative therapy, and critically reflective practice can guide culturally safe practice and project outcomes when working with Aboriginal social and emotional wellbeing. The combination of first‐hand community knowledge and evidence‐based literature assists align projects with National Practice Standards in Mental Health.

The instructive power of the fable in New Zealand’s Native School Reader (1886)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the cultural implications of James Henry Pope’s selection of fables for his 1886 Native School Reader designed to teach English to Māori students in Native Schools.Design/methodology/approachThe essay takes a historical approach. It surveys attitudes towards the fable as a pedagogical tool prior to 1880 and reviews Pope’s choice of 50 from the 300 available fables in the Aesopic canon.FindingsThe study finds that Pope was well informed and well intentioned, but nonetheless appeared to be unaware of potentially unsettling interpretations of his selected fables.Originality/valueWhile it may be relatively easy for twenty-first-century readers to perceive the cultural tensions of Pope’s work, exploring the historical context helps us to understand both why Pope compiled the text he did, and why he and his books were well regarded by both Pākehā and Māori, despite almost certainly not conveying the values the settlers wished to inculcate in Māori.

From You and Me to Us and We

Drawing on a wide body of theory, including work on trauma and art therapy, this paper calls for art therapy to be considered a seminal player in the healing of childhood trauma across a range of service providers. The paper reflects on a therapeutic relationship between a recently graduated art therapist and a 7-year-old Aboriginal primary school boy living in rural Australia. Written from the therapist's point of view, this paper considers the responses of both the client and the therapist, and the transformative nature of this particular therapeutic relationship. The paper focuses on ‘Jannali’ (pseudonym) who was referred to the art therapy programme in the school, as he was distracted, difficult and disruptive in class. Struggling with his identity, his place in the community, his family and his skin, the relationship between the art therapist and Jannali developed through art and play. Reconciliation, not in terms of black and white, but in terms of relationship was a main theme: therapist and client moved from a state of ‘you and me’ to one of ‘us and we’. The paper shows how, through art making and play in a specific therapeutic context, cross-cultural relationships were forged, opening up liminal spaces in which the client's presenting issues and difficulties were both explored and supported and he was able to begin his journey as a learner where previously he was not. These changes also indicate that breaking the transmission of transgenerational trauma and its effects may be possible through art therapy.

Resistance in Māori education: A critique of kura kaupapa Māori

Within the past decade, Maori education has undergone an immense transformation. For the first time since the establishment of the Native Schools in 1867, Te Reo me ana tikanga now pervades the halls of state supported institutions using alternate methods of pedagogy. These places now prepare children for the same positions in the work-force that other children in mainstream will be competing for. With the emergence of Te Kohanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa Maori, a paradigm was established that challenged, not only the ideological impediments that were embedded within both the curriculum and its delivery, but also the hegemonic influences which penetrated the habits, customs and beliefs that socialised Maori into an acceptance of the status quo