Student Perception of Teacher Supports and Cultural Identity Development of American Indian Students
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Date
2021-09-13
Authors
Tyler, Nate
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
According to the data, American Indian (AI) students have the worst academic outcomes of any racial/ethnic subgroup in the U.S. To better serve AI students one must first understand their perspective. This study seeks to understand that perspective in terms of teacher support. Students who have a teacher of the same race are more likely to identify that teacher as supportive. Given that the teacher workforce in the U.S. is 80% White, it is important to understand how race-mismatched teachers can support their non-White students. This study analyzes extant data from a previous research group. The extant data allows for this study to analyze student perspective in four specific supports; 1) Academic Support, 2) Social Support, 3) Cultural Identity Development Support, and 4) Family/Community Relationship Support. The results of multiple chi-square analyses show that AI and White students report experiencing equivalent levels of teacher support. Furthermore, tests of independence indicate that students are able to clearly delineate between different types of teacher support. This outcome suggests to educators that they not focus solely on academic support in order to be perceived as supportive by their students. In order to build positive relationships with students, which research shows is vital for student outcomes, teachers might provide supports in multiple areas to meet the diverse needs of their student population.
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Keywords
Cultural Identity, Student Perspective, Teacher Support