Enhancing Success in American Indian Students: Participatory Research at Akwesasne as Part of the Development of a Culturally Relevant Curriculum.

Abstract

Efforts to improve schooling under the banner of raising standards are taking hold throughout New York State. The emphasis on standards means that all students must meet a range of expectations held by the standards designers. But is there a chance that the rhetoric about standards can improve the education of American Indian children? Given the enormous disparities in the cultural conditions of Aboriginal students, the attainment of standards suggests necessary structural changes in the curriculum, instructional methods and materials, and the standards used to judge performance. This paper looks more closely at the utilization of participatory research in a curriculum development and teaching project that addresses the intercultural or interethnic needs of American Indian students. The paper addresses itself to examining the crisis of the education of Aboriginal children and to developing a new school orientation that sees Aboriginal educational endeavors in a new light. The contexts and arguments suggest that whereas Aboriginal perspective to learning is useful in redefining old problems and proposing fresh alternatives, there are some grounds for careful optimism about what might be possible.

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