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##  Schooling for Self-Determination: Research on the Effects of                    Including Native Language and Culture in the Schools. ERIC Digest.           

This Digest briefly reviews the educational effects of                          assimilationist schooling and later efforts to create schools                   supportive of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN)                         self-determination. It then describes examples of tribal- or                    community-controlled programs that use students' Native language as             the language of instruction and incorporate traditional culture into            the curriculum. Any such review of the literature must begin with a             reminder: Indigenous communities vary in their cultural, linguistic,            and geographic circumstances as well as in their education goals.               Therefore, it is not possible to prescribe specific programs across             such a diverse array of situations. SOME IMPACTS OF                           ASSIMILATIONIST SCHOOLINGHistorically, federal education policy             beginning in the 1870s and continuing for a century emphasized                  assimilation as the goal of AI/AN education. Lewis Meriam's 1928                report to the Secretary of Interior indicated that AI/AN schools                were understaffed, had irrelevant curricula, and employed under                 qualified teachers. Many observers since that time have described               effects of assimilationist policies, which separated AI/AN students             from their communities and forced them to attend boarding schools,              ultimately weakening AI/AN languages and cultures (recent accounts              include Deyhle & Swisher, 1997; Lipka & Mohatt, 1998; Lomawaima,                1999; Skinner,1999; and Swisher & Tippeconnic, 1999). In fact, more             than 40 books have been written to document the impacts of the                  Indian boarding school era. 
The exclusion of AI/AN languages and              cultures in Western schooling drove many AI/AN students toward a                marginalized identity (LaFromboise, Coleman, & Gerton, 1993). In                these cases the very act of learning required a student to deny his             or her personal, cultural, and linguistic heritage (Garrett,1996).              Some students, faced with pressure to deny their heritage and                   embrace the values and goals of Western schooling, chose instead to             resist. Ogbu's (1987) work across cultures reported resistance to               schooling among AI/AN and other marginalized ethnic minorities,                 which in turn led to poor educational achievement and low graduation            rates. 
While the costs of assimilationist schooling were high,                resulting in the weakening of Native cultures and languages,                    marginalizing Native identities, alienating students from the goals             of schooling, and producing high rates of school leaving, the                   benefits to students who persisted were often low. Leaving local                knowledge and language at the schoolhouse door was resulting                    in "subtractive bilingualism"; that is, many students were failing              to attain academic competence in English while at the same time                 losing knowledge of their Indigenous languages and                              cultures (Deyhle & Swisher, 1997). FINDING A NEW WAY--SCHOOLING               FOR SELF-DETERMINATIONIn the decades following World War II,                AI/AN leaders fought for legislation to protect their rights to                 self-determination (Reyhner, 1989). With the successful passage of              the "Indian Education Act of 1972" (P.L. 92-318 as amended) and                 the "Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act" of                 1975 (P.L. 93-638), a new era began in Indian education. The past               three decades have seen a variety of efforts to restore and                     revitalize Native languages and cultures through the                            schools (Demmert, 2001). Through such efforts, a growing number of              Indigenous students have the opportunity to use Indigenous knowledge            and language to meet "both" local "and" Western education                       goals (Deyhle & Swisher, 1997; Swisher & Tippeconnic, 1999; Yazzie,             1999). This "both/and" paradigm (Lipka & McCarty, 1994) supports an             educational approach that values both Native and Western knowledge,             as illustrated in the following examples. ACADEMIC AND EVERYDAY               KNOWLEDGEConcurrent with this movement to connect Native and                Western culture has been a reevaluation of what is considered                   appropriate academic knowledge. In conducting research of tacit                 knowledge of children in rural Western Kenya, for example, Sternberg            and colleagues (2001) concluded that the knowledge learned in                   everyday life may be distinct from that which leads to success in               school. Similar research conducted in Alaska with Yup'ik Eskimo                 students (Grigorenko et al., 2001) found that rural Yup'ik students             outperformed students from an Alaskan regional center on a test of              practical knowledge. Yup'ik elders, researchers, and teachers have              demonstrated how to connect practical and cultural knowledge to a               school's math curriculum (Lipka, Wildfeuer, Wahlberg, George, &                 Ezran, 2001). For example, the elders used the everyday practice of             building a fish rack, a rectangular structure used to dry salmon,               and connected this to the mathematical topics of perimeter, area,               and physical proofs (Lipka & Mohatt, 1998). The connection of local             knowledge to schooling is not an easy process, however. The                     challenge is to adapt local culture and knowledge to Western                    schooling without trivializing and stereotyping. EXEMPLARY                    PROGRAMSToday, many AI/AN communities are employing a both/and              approach in their school systems. The sample of programs described              below have met at least two of three criteria derived from research             syntheses by Deyhle & Swisher (1997), Swisher & Tippeconnic (1999),             and Yazzie (1999): (1) the program must involve community/tribally              controlled schools, (2) the program must use the Indigenous culture             and language, (3) academic achievement must show a significant and              measurable gain. 
Rock Point, Arizona. Schools in Rock Point teach             all classes in the local language--Navajo. Deyhle and Swisher (1997)            report on ethnographic research conducted by McLaughlin: 
School               administrators, teachers, and community members designed K-12                   instruction in Navajo to reinforce the cultural and linguistic                  resources of the students who, at that point, had the lowest test               scores in the Navajo Nation.... These Navajo students now                       consistently score higher than other comparable reservation children            on tests of reading, language, and math in English. (p. 171) 
Holm             and Holm (1995), also studying Rock Point Community School,                     report "students have considerably more confidence and pride [than              comparable students at nearby schools]" (pp. 147-148). 
Fort                   Defiance, Arizona. Schools in Fort Defiance also offer the option of            being taught with Navajo as the language of instruction. Before the             program was instituted, only one tenth of Navajo five-year-olds were            competent in Navajo; additionally, many monolingual English students            were not academically competent in English. After the school                    established a voluntary Navajo Immersion (NI) program, "NI students             did considerably better on tests of Navajo language ability [than               those in the English-only program]" (Holm & Holm, 1995, p. 150).                Meanwhile, NI students tested as well in English proficiency as the             English-only students, while the majority of the fourth-grade                   English-only students tested lower in Navajo than they had in                   kindergarten. In sum, the Navajo immersion students were gaining                control of their own language at no loss to their knowledge of                  English while the English-only students were barely maintaining                 competence in English with great loss to their Native tongue.                   Further, the NI students greatly outscored the English-only students            in math. 
Honolulu, Hawaii. Brenner (1998) reports on an                       experimentally designed study based in Hawaii, the Kamehameha Early             Education Project. Using ethnographic methodology, she and other                educators studied how Native Hawaiian children developed                        mathematical knowledge in everyday life (e.g., shopping and                     interacting with their families), then used this information as a               foundation for an experimental math curriculum. Brenner also                    supported the use of pidgin in the classroom. Brenner found                     that "the children in the experimental class scored much higher on              the standardized math test. The control class averaged at the 54th              percentile, while the experimental class averaged at the 82nd                   percentile" (p. 233). Brenner's research design was able to isolate             the change in instructional strategy as the variable most strongly              associated with the increased scores. 
Nunavik (Northern Quebec),              Canada. Some results of a long-term research and development project            of the Kativik School Board, an Inuit-controlled school district in             the Canadian Arctic, found that Inuit students involved in an                   Inuktitut language program did better on tests of Inuktitut than                those enrolled in the English classes or French classes (Wright,                Taylor, Ruggeiro, MacArthur, & Elijassiapik, 1996). They also showed            steady improvement in English. While students in all three language             programs tested at the same level for conversational Inuktitut, the             students in the Inuktitut program did considerably better than the              others on the more difficult academic language proficiency                      tests. 
What this indicates is that Inuit children in the Inuktitut            program are developing a level of language skill that will allow                them to use the Inuktitut language to solve complex mental                      problems. . . . [Further,] Inuit children in all three programs                 began kindergarten with positive self-esteem (most children see                 themselves as smart, nice, happy, etc.).... However, ...students in             the Inuktitut program showed an increase in self-esteem. (pp. 12,               15) 
The research efforts of the Kativik School Board show how                 long-term systematic research can help locally controlled schools               make decisions and develop programs that result in positive,                    community-defined student outcomes. LOOKING AHEADThe last few             decades have shown a steady increase in the number of efforts by                tribal- or community-controlled schools to use their language and               culture as an integral part of the fabric of schooling. These                   efforts need to be systematically studied. As Tippeconnic                       stressed, "research must not only determine how well students are               doing academically but also explore how Native languages, cultures,             and ways of knowing influence the teaching-learning process in local            and tribally controlled educational settings" (1999, pp. 46-47). And            as Yazzie explained, "We can assume there is a direct relationship              among culture, curriculum, and learning in American Indian schooling            experience. But to what degree? We do not know" (1999, p. 97). 
At             this juncture, evidence exists to support pursuing the inclusion of             Native language and culture in educational programs serving AI/AN               students as a strategy for improving academic and other educational             outcomes. However, much more needs to be known. Further, research               must be context specific, taking into consideration the                         circumstances of the local community and--as illustrated in the                 Kativik School Board example--it must focus on the education goals              set by particular AI/AN communities. REFERENCESBrenner,                   M. (1998). Adding cognition to the formula for culturally relevant              instruction in mathematics. Anthropology & Education Quarterly,                 29(2), 214-244. 
Demmert, W. G., Jr. (2001). Improving academic                performance among Native American students: A review of the research            literature [Electronic version]. Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearinghouse             on Rural Education and Small Schools. 
Deyhle, D., & Swisher,                  K. (1997). Research in American Indian and Alaska Native education:             From assimilation to self-determination. In M. W. Apple (Ed.),                  Review of Research in Education (Vol. 22, pp. 113-194). Washington,             DC: American Educational Research Association. 
Garrett, M. (1996).            Two people: An American Indian narrative of bicultural identity.                Journal of American Indian Education, 36(1), 1-21. 
Grigorenko, E.             L., Meier, E., Lipka, J., Mohatt, G., Yanez, E., & Sternberg, R.                J. (2001). The relationship between academic and practical                      intelligence: A case study of the tacit knowledge of Native American            Yup'ik people in Alaska. Unpublished manuscript. 
Holm, A., & Holm,            W. (1995). Navajo language education: Retrospect and prospects.                 Bilingual Research Journal, 19(1), 141-167. 
LaFromboise, T.,                  Coleman, H. L. K.., & Gerton, J. (1997). Psychological impact of                biculturalism: Evidence and theory. In L. A. Peplau & S. E.                     Taylor (Eds.) Sociocultural perspectives in social psychology:                  Current readings (pp. 241-276). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice                Hall. 
Lipka, J., Wildfeuer, S., Wahlberg, N., George, M., & Ezran,            D. (2001). Elastic Geometry and Storyknifing: A Yup'ik Eskimo                   Example. Teaching Children Mathematics, 7(6), 337-343. 
Lipka,                 J., & Mohatt, G. V. (1998). Transforming the culture of schools:                Yup'ik Eskimo examples. Sociocultural, political, and historical                studies in education. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum &                            Associates. 
Lipka, J., & McCarty, T. (1994). Changing the culture             of schooling: Navajo and Yup'ik cases. Anthropology & Education                 Quarterly, 25(3), 266-284. 
Lomawaima, K. T. (1999). The unnatural             history of American Indian education. In K. G. Swisher & J. W.                  Tippeconnic III (Eds.), Next steps: Research and practice to advance            Indian education (pp. 3-31). Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearinghouse on              Rural Education and Small Schools (ERIC/CRESS). (ED 427                         903) 
Meriam, L., Brown, R. A., Cloud, H. R., Dale, E. E., Duke,               E., Edwards, H. R., et al. (1928). The problem of Indian                        administration. Report of a survey made at the request of the                   Honorable Hubert Work, Secretary of the Interior, and submitted to              him, February 21st. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. (ED 087                     573) 
Ogbu, J. (1987). Variability in minority school performance:             A problem in search of an explanation. Anthropology & Education                 Quarterly, 18(4), 312-334. 
Reyhner, J. (1989). Changes in American            Indian education: A historical retrospective for educators in the               United States (ERIC Digest). Charleston, WV: ERIC/CRESS. (ED 314                228) 
Skinner, L. (1999). Teaching through traditions:                         Incorporating languages and culture into curricula. In K. G.                    Swisher & J. W. Tippeconnic III (Eds.), Next steps: Research and                practice to advance Indian education (pp. 107-134). Charleston, WV:             ERIC/CRESS. (ED 427 907) 
Sternberg, R., Nokes, P., Geissler, W.,              Prince, R. Okatcha, D., Bundy, D., et al. (2001). The relationship              between academic and practical intelligence: A case study in Kenya.             Intelligence, 29(5), 401-418. 
Swisher, K. G., & Tippeconnic III,              J. W. (1999). Next steps: Research and practice to advance Indian               education. Charleston, WV: ERIC/CRESS. (ED 427 902) 
Tippeconnic               III, J. W. (1999). Tribal control of American Indian education:                 Observations since the 1960s with implications for the future. In K.            G. Swisher & J. W. Tippeconnic III (Eds.), Next steps: Research and             practice to advance Indian education (pp. 33-52). Charleston, WV:               ERIC/CRESS. (ED 427 904) 
Wright, S. C., Taylor, D. M., Ruggeiro,              K. M., MacArthur, J., & Elijassiapik, M. (1996). The Jaanimmarik                School Language Testing Project. Montreal, Quebec: Kativik School               Board. Retrieved January 24, 2002, from                                         http://www.kativik.qc.ca/downloads/KSBIR_e.pdf 
Yazzie, T. (1999).             Culturally appropriate curriculum: A research-based rationale. In K.            Swisher & J. Tippeconnic (Eds.), Next steps: Research and practice              to advance Indian education (pp. 83-106). Charleston, WV:                       ERIC/CRESS. (ED 427 906) 
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Jerry Lipka, a professor of                  education at the School of Education, University of Alaska                      Fairbanks, has worked with Yup'ik teachers since 1981 and with                  Yup'ik elders since 1987 in teacher education and in developing                 culturally relevant curriculum. 
This publication was prepared with            funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement,                U.S. Department of Education, under contract no. ED-99-CO-0027. The             opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the positions              or policies of OERI, the Department, or AEL.                                 **Title:** Schooling for Self-Determination: Research on the Effects of                    Including Native Language and Culture in the Schools. ERIC Digest.           **Note:** Online version contains an annotated reference list with links to               full-text documents.                                                         **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC/CRESS, P.O. Box 1348, Charleston, WV 25325-1348. Tel:                      800-624-9120 (Toll Free). For full text:                                        http://www.indianeduresearch.net/edorc01-12.htm.                             **Descriptors:**  Academic Achievement, Achievement Gains,  American Indian                      Education, Biculturalism, Bilingual Education, Cultural Education,               Culturally Relevant Education, Elementary Secondary Education,                 Language of Instruction,  Native Language Instruction, School                   Effectiveness, Tribally Controlled Education                                 **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests                                                                 
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