Abstract
This literature review investigates the aspect of higher education retention among Native Americans. Areas covered include persistence rates among students, higher education funding, change in careers goals and aspirations, Indian race/ethnicity, changed perceptions, regarding college life, and the challenges associated with integrating into higher education. Other aspects that will be addressed in this literature review include retention and student success, equitability of the US education system, and Native American values.
Keywords: Retention, Higher Education, Education funding, Diversity and culture, Education System, Factors influencing higher education, Native American
A Literature Review on Key Issues
The issue of higher education retention is a major subject in academic debates and academic literature. According to Chang, Lerer, & Talley (2010), retention in higher education refers to enrolling a specified number of students compared to the official number during the previous census. Failure to retain students is influenced by a plethora of factors that makes it difficult to retain students to the next class level. Failure to retain students in higher education can be caused by factors such as changed perceptions regarding higher education, evolved career aspirations, and increasedworkload in higher education, financial difficulties, among other factors. On the other hand, the structure, objectives, and functions of higher education have changed over time. These changes have been followed by changed patterns in persistence and admission.
Retention In Higher education
Higher education plays a fundamental role in enhancing a nation’s economic prosperity. According to Barnacle (2005), learned individuals become important economic instruments because their success impacts are measurable. As such, student discontinuation from their higher education learning programs is subject to be viewed as problem in terms of utilizing and distributing economic resources. Barnacle (2005) further argues that specific factors exist in shaping institutional activities and priorities. Thomas,Heagney, and Crosling(2009) states that retention and success of students is a major issue among higher education institutions across the world. This issue is of major concern given the context of widening participation among underrepresented groups. In the event, it increases educational quality assurance, accountability, and student diversity. Lack of retention has implications to students, the society, and the economy. Brown (2012) cites the growing concerns over diminishing resources and accountability in higher education as being an influential factor in affecting student retention rates. The national movement in America aims to increase the proportion of Americans with high quality degrees and credentials to 60% by 2025 (Brown 2012). An analysis of cohort data for freshmen from 2003-2009, the finding showed that many college fail below the targeted 60% due to attrition levels.Waggoner (2005) conducted a study to find out the institutional policies adopted to strengthen student retention policies. His study were intended to provide the concepts and frameworks to be used in managing student retention. Using a qualitative methodology, over 2,800 retention-oriented statements were used to analyze the data. Findings from the case study suggested that institutions develop unique programs to promote a caring and student-friendly approach to promote retention. Such strategies play an important role in developing student-retention policy.
The History Of Indian Education
Profile of American Indians
The American Indian natives are people with tremendously diverse nature. According to the statistics native India America consists of more than 500 federal sovereign tribes; each tribe has its unique beliefs, customs, and way of life (Johnson, Blewett, Call & Davern, 2010). The American Indian natives comprise about 1% of the total American population. Despite their geographical distribution and cultural diversity, the American Indians face more of similar challenges.
Factors that influence student Persistence
Many researchers have proposed theories to explain factors that cause student persistence. The interactionalist theory proposed to Tinto argues that social integration and the ability of students to navigate their studies plays a critical role in determining the appropriate measure to estimate a students’ level of persistence. The student involvement theory according to Astin argues that the behavior of students determines their retention level (Black 2008). Other important factors that affect the level of student retention include the background and academic ability of student, characteristics of the family, studying habits, and their college expectations. Theorists such as Kuh’s model cites other additional factors such as faculty-student retention, peer cooperation, and exposure to diverse perspectives are other factors that influence the retention capabilities.
Challenges Associated With Integrating Into Higher Education
Educational achievement and access are among the most imperative issues faced by the Native Americans (Indians). The challenges that are of huge concern are those experienced in higher education. According to the thirteenth quantitative data report, the rates at which Indian students graduate and retain from colleges are far below their fellow non-Native students (Carter & Wilson, 1995). Making adjustments in colleges to suit the system is an alarming challenge for many colleges; this is a challenge that is particularly faced by the American Indians students.
The challenge faced by the American Indian students in their higher education do not begin with their enrollment to college, remarkably, American Indian students normally leave school without even a high school diploma (Benjamin, Chambers, & Reiterman, 2010). For the few that normally graduate, the probability that they will enroll to colleges is less than a third. This is too low when compared to their fellow non-native students where nearly a third normally graduates.
Several reasons can be attributed to the low enrollment of Indian students to colleges: a small number of high school graduates, inadequate programs in colleges, poor administrative skills, and lack of support to students in colleges, stereotyping and misconceptions to students, and poor relationship between the students and higher education institutions.
Arguably, a rational explanation to the low turnout of students to colleges in India according to Astin & Oseguera, (2004) is the small number of high school graduates. It has been reported that the small number of high school graduates among the Native American Indian students is primarily due to the lack of access to resources and educational funding to the minorities. Given that, fewer students meet college admission requirements, there will always be a reduced number of American Indian students graduating from higher education institutions.
Several challenges have been established by researchers to be affecting American Indian students in their higher learning. In joining colleges, a number of challenges that affect Indian students are more likely to cost their persistence. Social norming, cultural distinctiveness, techniques and ways of knowing, explicit leaning, and educational support mechanisms are the factors that have been established to be the major impacts of academic success to American Indian students according to Ladson (2006).
Despite the many theories surrounding challenges faced by American Indian students, studies by Tierney (2004) have proved poor supportive staff, family support, personal and institutional commitment, connections to cultural practices, and lack of patience to be the major challenges experienced (Lannin, Mathews, Mitchell, Swanson, Swanson, & Edwards, 1998). Conversely, according to Ladson (2006) obstacles like inadequate academic preparation, inadequate financial aid, social isolation, and prejudice are other challenges faced by these students.
The Native American Indian students, who draw their strength from cultural identity while in college, are more likely to succeed in their higher education pursuits unlike those students that are ethnically assimilated and those that cannot establish comfort within college environments Tierney (2004). Remarkably, there are factors that affect the effort of American Indian students to assimilate with the college environments, these factors can be attributed majorly to the highly demanding culture.
Changed Perceptions Regarding College Life
The American Indian students perceive colleges to demean their cultural background, this is according to (Beard & Woolfolk, 2010). Their attitude towards higher leaning have change, the high level of poverty and lack of aid from sponsors has made the poor American Indian students to see education as something that belong to the rich. The perception of the American Indian students regarding college life has changed towards the negative.
Measures that will help increase American Indian student’s enrollment to higher education
Minor enrollment of the American Indian students to higher education has been reported to be increasing rapidly. According to Carter & Wilson (1995), for over the past thirty years, the rates at which the American Indian students graduate from colleges have remained poor as compared to other American natives. From the challenges these students face, it is clear that there are barriers to both their higher education completion and persistence. It is therefore logical and of great importance to find ways of combating these challenges faced by students.
Arguably, for any student to succeed in his or her education, he or she requires joint contributions from teachers, peers, teachers, and parents. The American Indian students should be encouraged as early as elementary school, they should be encouraged progressively to prepare and anticipate for good things in things in their higher education curriculum. Elementary and secondary schools should provide adequate and helpful teaching programs to these students; they should implement their training in an ethnically sensitive pedagogy to address the cultural diversity of the American Indian student. Secondary school guidance and counseling sessions should be aimed at making students get the urge of seeking academic fortification opportunities, so that they can be exposed to college academic severity.
As stated by Ladson (2006), colleges should work closely with local ethnic organizations and community programs to empower and advocate outreach endeavors to the American Indian students. They should initiate unions that will facilitate the transfer of students, exchange programs, and opportunities for students to study.
The higher education institutions should promote a culture that is conducive to all students despite their ethnic backgrounds. They should foster a culture that upholds the identity of the American Indian students. The higher educational institutions can achieve this by educating their staff and faculty on native student learning and culture. Understanding the culture of the natives will help the staff and the faculty to establish cooperative relationships with the American Indian native students.
Arguably, best practices in retention programs for the American Indian students should hold significance to the sphere of influence and the role of the community by offering supple policies that will allow these students to maintain the tribal and communal obligations because it will balance the challenges of college curricula.
References
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