The standard definition of unemployment results in a severe underestimation of Native Americans. Availability of local employment opportunities determines whether they actively look for work. Also, significant numbers choose to work intermittently. It is, therefore, difficult to measure Native American labor force participation. (JOW)

The study explores the interpersonal tensions that develop in an exceptionally intimate and ambiguous cross-cultural relationship--that of Alaska's urban boarding home parents and the Athabascan Indian and Eskimo adolescents placed in their homes while attending urban secondary schools. Many of the students are from remote Alaskan villages which…

In a survey of 304 teachers selected randomly from Alaska's rural schools, significantly fewer teachers in Native communities thought students would attend or graduate from college or could achieve at or above national norms. Many Native leaders view these attitudes as evidence that prejudiced attitudes create school failure among Native children.…

The study was conducted among secondary schools in Alaskan communities where large numbers of rural native students are enrolled through the Boarding Home Program. It was assumed that village teachers often did not send student records which would have provided a basis for placing students in appropriate academic programs. It was believed that,…

An exploratory examination of the professional, technical, and clerical manpower needs of Alaskan regional and village corporations established under the Native Land Claims Settlement Act, this report recognized that critical staffing needs can only be met by carefully designed educational and training programs. The staffing demand analyses were,…

Author described the problems of Alaskan natives who confront the "equal and alike" classroom teacher and who fail to learn. As well, she considered four different types of teachers in the classrooms of Alaska and how only one successfully taught her native students. (Editor/RK)

While cultural relativism has been an important corrective to the ethnocentrism of the past, teachers have often vulgarized this viewpoint to mean that no standards they hold can be applied to American Indian students. (Author/JC)

The study suggested (1) that Eskimos possess unusual cognitive strengths which are rarely recognized and (2) that these talents may reflect high intellectual abilities in such areas as perceptual analysis and image memory. It was noted that the performances of Eskimos on measures of these cognitive abilities approximate and in some instances…

The focus of this study is upon analyzing effective and ineffective teachers in terms of their behavior in the classroom, not in terms of their personalities or attitudes. It is suggested that 2 fundamental characteristics distinguish effective from ineffective teachers of American Indian and Eskimo students: (1) a high level of personal warmth,…

The paper describes a course to prepare teachers for the cross cultural classroom. This course differs from traditional anthropology and education courses, focusing on fundamental learning principles and how the application of these in a cross cultural classroom requires taking into account cultural differences relevant to the background and…

Three 1970-71 studies concerning the styles of instruction that lead to higher intellectual performance among village American Indian and Eskimo high school students are presented in this final report of observations of teachers and students in several Native boarding schools and/or integrated urban high schools in Alaska. The first study, an…

This paper discusses issues involved in teaching culturally diverse students and questions current practices in multicultural teacher education. The central portion of the paper describes and discusses an alternative approach to multicultural teacher education through the Teachers for Alaska program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Teachers…

Factors contributing to Native students' college success were examined in a study of 50 Native freshmen and 42 non-Native freshmen at the University of Alaska in the 1973-74 academic year. The study compared students in relation to three common explanations of college success: level of academic preparation, goal orientation, ease in the campus…

This study examined the costs and benefits of alternative high school programs for Alaskan village children. It attempted to determine what actually happens to village adolescents in different high school programs, why it happens, and what, if anything, can be done about it. Research methods studied the effects of 3 types of high school programs…