Effects of a Culturally Relevant Educational Intervention on Retention among American Indian Tribal College Students

American Indian and Alaska Native students experience the lowest rates of college retention and graduation at four-year institutions in the United States. They often face a variety of barriers to completing their education that may be similar to other ethnic groups while also overcoming obstacles th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTribal college Vol. 29; no. 1
Main Authors Keith, Jill F, Stastny, Sherri, Agnew, Wanda, Brunt, Adrith
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education 2017
Subjects
Academic Persistence
Alaska Natives
American Indian Education
At Risk Students
Barriers
College Students
Cultural Influences
Culturally Relevant Education
Daily Living Skills
Dropouts
Intervention
Pretests Posttests
Program Effectiveness
Questionnaires
Self Efficacy
Student Characteristics
Tribally Controlled Education
North Dakota
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Summary:American Indian and Alaska Native students experience the lowest rates of college retention and graduation at four-year institutions in the United States. They often face a variety of barriers to completing their education that may be similar to other ethnic groups while also overcoming obstacles that are culturally specific. However, AIAN students bring diverse personal and culturally rich skills and attributes that provide strength and motivation to persevere in the face of those challenges. The Life Skills at a Tribal College (LSTC) class, an educational intervention utilizing a culturally relevant curriculum aiming to improve participants' general self-efficacy and college retention rates, had a positive impact on AIAN tribal college student retention on a semester-to-semester basis. Participants in the LSTC class, despite enrollment in a targeted educational intervention, did not improve general self-efficacy or within-semester retention rates. Although short-term retention improvements were lacking, long-term retention improvements were shown as semester-to-semester retention rates were significantly higher for those who completed the course compared to overall rates at the tribal college, and compared to those who did not complete the Life Skills at a Tribal College (LSTC) class. Strategies to assist AIAN students with identifying personal strengths and achieving successful academic experiences should be the focus of current program planning and future research in institutions of higher education.
ISSN:1052-5505