This article argues that federally-funded Indigenous teacher preparation programs housed at mainstream, predominantly White universities can be colonial and thus require significant focused work in order to ensure that they are not. The article has three interrelated objectives: first, to discuss efforts to prepare Indigenous teachers for…

This article presents the keynote address given by Dr. Monty Roessel, Superintendent of the Rough Rock (Navajo) Community School, at the Center for Indian Education Relaunch Celebration held on the ASU Tempe campus May 6, 2011. Here, the author reflects on the legacy of the Center, co-founded by his father, Dr. Robert A. (Bob) Roessel, Jr., who…

In this interpretive analysis elucidating fundamental tensions of the implementation of the 2001 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act within Native-serving schools, we point to ways in which NCLB further limits the already contested sovereignty tribes exercise over how, and in what language their children are instructed. We discuss issues related to…

Three Navajo teachers' conceptions of culturally appropriate curriculum and pedagogy highlight the benefits of reflective practice within different educational and school contexts. Each teacher provides a way of thinking about culturally appropriate curriculum, and its implementation in classroom practice for different Navajo students. The ways in…

Warrior Elementary is a pubic school within the Navajo Nation. District and school reforms fought against school closure or private restructuring due to pressures associated with repeated failure on standardized tests under the 2001 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Warrior Elementary saw tremendous academic gains on these tests one year after a…

Consideration of the subtleties in a group of Navajo children's science learning activities provides us with some useful ways of viewing those activities. It also more clearly establishes the elements to consider in valuing or not valuing the use of these kinds of activities that I am calling "games" and other possible kinds of student inquiry…

A project developed Navajo norms for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III). Urban Navajo students and those who were proficient in English had higher WISC-III verbal scores than rural Navajo students and those who were functional in English. English-language proficiency did not affect scores on nonverbal…

Over 500 Navajo high school students completed the Inventory of School Motivation, based on the personal investment model of motivation. Results suggest that the model's most salient elements for this group were sense-of-self components and one task component, striving for excellence. Combinations of variables were useful in predicting student…

An Anglo faculty member remembers the early years of Navajo Community College, now Dine College, on the Navajo Reservation. Student-led inquiry circles differentiated the curriculum from those of other colleges and explored areas that the faculty, especially Anglo teachers, would not have. The board of regents was more involved than is customary,…

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) was administered to 175 Navajo children at 2 reservation elementary schools. Local normative information was developed to reduce test bias associated with the English-laden content in the test. A procedure was developed for converting WISC-III scores, enabling comparison of…

A study examining postsecondary transition experiences interviewed 22 Navajos who were recent high school graduates. Prominent themes included family influence and pressures, discrepancy between high school and college learning environments, student-faculty relationships, vague educational and career plans, misconceptions about postsecondary…

A study of Navajo children's attitude towards scientists asked 94 southern Utah Navajo students in grades 4-6 to draw a scientist. Although many students appeared to have no conception of what a scientist is, the drawings provided unique insights into Navajo students' perceptions, racial and gender sterotypes, and world views. Implications for…

Navajo children's silence in the classroom may be related to unwillingness to put themselves above peers and to the culturally defined role of pupil as silent observer. Interviews with 16 Navajo and non-Navajo teachers of Navajo children examined their attitudes toward student silence, classroom strategies used to accommodate silence, and teacher…

A veteran Navajo educator reflects on the War on Poverty's contributions to American Indian education and quality of life and offers his vision of the future: Navajo funding of educational programs that preserve their culture; a single system of schools replacing the Navajo reservation's overlapping systems; the Navajo Nation as 51st state; and…

A study of 451 Navajo youths attending 11 high schools in the Navajo Nation found no relationship between their academic achievement and their cultural attachments and practices. Families modestly influenced educational outcomes, but being female was a stronger predictor of academic success. An appendix describes study variables. (Contains 42…