This article is about bridge building: building cultural bridges of authentic collaboration between the university and the Navajo and Hopi nations; building curricular bridges between the White, European culture and the cultural worlds these nations seek to preserve; and building bridges between languages, the language of the…

Describes a site-based, rural teacher education program for Navajo students (the Pinon Partnership Program) which infused foundations throughout the program and used the Council of Learned Societies in Education's (CLSE) Social Foundations standards as its framework. Specific examples of how the six CLSE principles played out in the author's…

This paper describes two exemplary school-based Native teacher education programs offered by Northern Arizona University (NAU) to serve Navajo students and by Lakehead University (Ontario) to serve members of the Nishnabe Nation of northern Ontario. The Reaching American Indian Special/Elementary Educators (RAISE) program is located in Kayenta,…

Twelve Navajo preservice teachers in the Navajo Nation shared their perceptions of factors that enabled and constrained their completion of a special education teacher preparation program: cultural teachings, family support, language, finances, cultural responsibilities, and lack of educational opportunities on the reservation. Recommendations for…

Examined the development of two teacher education programs designed to increase the number of quality minority teachers in Latino neighborhood schools and on the Navajo reservation. Review of teacher education literature and analysis of interviews with program staff, archival records, and program documentation indicated that these two…

In partnership with the Kayenta Unified School District (KUSD) on the Navajo Reservation in northeastern Arizona, Northern Arizona University developed the Rural Special Education Project (RSEP) as a field-based training program for special education teachers. In the past 3 years, 22 Anglo American and 26 Navajo students have graduated from RSEP.…

This paper discusses the impact that participating in a teacher preparation program has had on Navajo mothers. Mothers play a very central role in Navajo culture, and such impacts, both positive and negative, are important not only to program participants, but also to those working in Indian communities. Informal surveys were conducted with 20…

Student teachers from Indiana University's Cultural Immersion Projects, who had been placed in K-12 schools on the Navajo reservation and in seven foreign countries, critically reflected on their home cultures, identifying key elements that defined who they were and shifts in their perceptions about home based on their experiences in culturally…

A mentoring program matched 15 Navajo teacher education students with Native American faculty and staff at Northern Arizona University through preassessments that determined mentors' and students' preferred style of mentoring. Mid- and postproject evaluations revealed that specified career and psychosocial needs of students were met and that all…

Four key factors contributed to program success or failure of five context-specific, school-based teacher preparation programs in Arizona: university personnel, administrative support, flexibility and risk taking, and a focus on quality. Among individual program goals were preparation of special education teachers for elementary and rural Navajo…

A speech communications course at Navajo Community College (Arizona) combines traditional course content with Navajo philosophy by teaching college students how to organize formal speeches through a culture-based process involving thinking, planning, taking action, and developing confidence and competence. Includes student perceptions of this…

The Rural Special Education Project (RSEP) is a school-based, special education teacher preparation program located on the Navajo Reservation. The program, which is a partnership between Northern Arizona University and Kayenta Unified School District, immerses Anglo participants in Navajo culture and heightens their awareness of cross-cultural and…

This monograph features four papers that highlight school-based teacher training programs through Northern Arizona University's (NAU) Center for Excellence in Education (CEE). The first paper, "Reflection, Research, and Practice in a School-based Teacher Education Program (Peggy Ver Velde, Sherry L. Markel, Jeanne Dustman, Barbara Campbell,…

Addresses the need for culturally relevant education on the Navajo Nation and explains why educational standards proposed in 1984 by the Navajo Tribal Council have failed to preserve Navajo language and culture. Outlines models based on the Dine Philosophy of Education and describes related educational practices for both preservice teacher…

Indiana University's American Indian Reservation Project places student teachers in 16-week teaching assignments in schools across the Navajo Nation, emphasizing cultural and community involvement. Prior to student teaching, participants undergo extensive preparation to enhance their cultural values, beliefs, lifestyles, and education practices. A…