Understanding Cultural Dissonance to Enhance Higher Education Academic Success

Authors: G. Bickel, D. Jensen

Abstract:

This research documents a qualitative study of selected Native Americans who have successfully graduated from mainstream higher education institutions. The research framework explored the Bicultural Identity Formation Model as a means of understanding the expressions of the students' adaptations to mainstream education. This approach lead to an awareness of how the participants in the study used specific cultural and social strategies to enhance their educational success and also to an awareness of how they coped with cultural dissonance to achieve a new academic identity. Research implications impact a larger audience of bicultural, foreign, or international students experiencing cultural dissonance.

Keywords: Bicultural Identity Formation Model, Cultural Dissonance, Higher Education, Student Success

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1073185

References:

[1] S. Aragon. "An investigation of factors influencing classroom motivation for postsecondary American Indian/Alaska Native students,"Journal of American Indian Education, vol.41, no. 1, pp. 1-18, 2002.
[2] P.Boyer, Tribal Colleges: Shaping the Future of Native America. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, Inc.1989.
[3] C.Brookman,"The Native American peoples of the United States,"American Studies Today Online.Retrieved from http://www.americansc.org.uk/Online/brookman.htm(1998).
[4] K.Cushner, A.McClelland, andP.Safford, HumanDiversity in Education.New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc.1992.
[5] Education resources and Indian Education future, Indian Country Today,January 14, 2002.
[6] P.Freire, Pedagogy of Freedom. USA: Rowman& Littlefield Pub.Inc.1998.
[7] H. A. Giroux, Pedagogy and the Politics of Hope: Theory, Culture, and Schooling,USA: Westview/Harper Collins, 1997.
[8] E.G. GubaandY.S. Lincoln, Fourth Generation Evaluation, Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1989.
[9] E.G. Guba andY.S. Lincoln, Competing paradigms in qualitative research. In N.K. Denzin and Y.S. Lincoln (eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1994,pp. 105-117.
[10] S.Houser, "Building Institutions Across Cultural Boundaries,"Tribal College,vol. 2,pp. 11-17, 1991.
[11] T. E. Huffman, "Resistance Theory and the TransculturationHypothesis as Explanations of College Attrition and Persistence Among Culturally Traditional American Indian Students,Journal of American Indian Education, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 1-23,2001.
[12] V.Kirkness andR.Barnhardt, "Native American and Higher Education: The Four R-s - Respect, Relevance, Reciprocity, and Responsibility,"Journal of American Indian Education, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 9-16, 1991.
[13] P.Locke, Unpublished Papers, 1990.
[14] National Center for Education Statistics, "Dropout Rates in the United States: 1990," Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education,Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 1991.
[15] National Center for Education Statistics,"Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). 1999-2000,"U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.nces.ed
[16] National Center for Education Statistics,"The Pocket Condition of Educations," (Report no. Laces 94 498) Washington, D.C., 2010.
[17] J.Ogbu, "Understanding Cultural Diversity and Learning,"Educational Researcher, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 290-307, 1992.
[18] F.Pommersheim, "Natural Resources, Economics, and the Environment: Global Issues Facing Native Communities," Great Plains Natural Resources Journal,vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 23-25, 2002.
[19] D. B. Suagee, "The Supreme Court-s "Whack-a-mole" Theory That Has No Place in the Realm of Environmental Law,"GreatPlainsNaturalResourcesJournal,vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 19-22, 2002.
[20] R.Toosie, "Natural Resources, Economics and the Environment: Global Issues Facing Native Communities,"Great Plains Natural Resources Journal, vol. 7, no. 1,pp. 26-30, 2002.
[21] N.Wilson, The Nature of Native American Poetry, Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 2001.