Juxtaposition: The Coexistence of Traditional Navajo and Standards Based Curricula

Labels in education are words or phrases assigned to students and schools in order to reflect academic achievement. For centuries students have been assigned labels in the form of letter grades. The labels "A" or "F" carry with them certain meanings, which translate to student achievement and imply accountability for one's own learning. Sociologists have challenged the use of labels in society (Becker, 1963; Goffman, 1963; Lemert, 1951). Society uses labels in the form of stigmas to describe individuals considered abnormal or exhibiting undesirable behaviors (Goffman, 1963). Thus, labels are not necessarily a characteristic of the individual being labeled, but rather the label is a characteristic of a society concerned with normalcy (Becker, 1963). Labels can have unintended consequences. They can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, where individuals repeat undesirable behaviors because the label to describe these behaviors becomes part of their identity (Lemert, 1951). Yet, despite these understandings, labeling learning remains a key component of education and educational systems. Throughout the standards movement, public schools have been assigned labels based on student achievement. The aim of this study is to try to understand what qualities are revealed and what qualities concealed though achievement labels, as well as how those labels affect the ecology of school improvement (Eisner, 1988). Literature Review While labels attempt to appraise learning environments, they do not fully appreciate the characteristics and nuances within learning environments. Labels can be used to draw attention to educational deficiencies, but they can also take away resources from underprivileged schools. Furthermore, labels can have colonizing effects on indigenous perspectives, such as American Indians and Native Alaskans. Accuracy of Labels The specificity of high stakes assessments and non-school factors affecting teaching and learning make it difficult to imagine how a label could accurately describe what is happening in a school or classroom. There are not always big differences in "high-performing" and "low-performing-schools" (Mintrop & Trujillo, 2007). Douglas, Paul, and Hughes (2008) questioned the legitimacy of the label "failing school" and concluded if non-school factors were intentionally accounted for less than half of "failing" schools would be considered "passing." Studies have shown non-school factors contribute to or limit student achievement (Downey, von Hippel, & Broh, 2004; Lee & Burkam, 2002; McDermott, 2007; Walker & Mohammed, 2008). Labels are an external form of accountability, but they do not capture the unique characteristics of each school or student. External Forces of Accountability As a central tenet of the accountability movement, external accountability is used in an attempt to close educational achievement gaps and expand opportunities to all children. While there is a range of research both supporting (Lauen & Gaddis, 2012) and refuting (Thompson & Allen, 2012) the effectiveness of accountability in addressing educational inequalities, it is clear accountability forces can take away resources from underprivileged schools (McDermott, 2007). Clotfelter, Ladd, Vigdor, and Diaz (2004) found negative labels make it more difficult to attract quality teachers. They also found negative labels are a reason for teachers to leave a school (Clotfelter et al., 2004). According to a study from Finnigan and Gross (2007), teachers are sensitive to public shame, such as labels. Teachers experience more confidence and willingness to improve instructional practices with less external pressure (Clotfelter et al., 2004). While labels may very well be used with the best intentions, they can make it difficult to improve the conditions of the school. Colonizing Effects of Labels After decades of boarding schools and other assimilation policies (Tiller, 1979), the U. …