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- Title
Contradictions and conflicts: understanding the lived experiences of Native American adult learners in a predominantly white American university.
- Authors
Buckmiller, Tom
- Abstract
The American university has not typically been a site conducive to the needs of Native American students. Among those who do find their way to the university, an alarming 85% will not finish. Further, Native American students, in comparison to all others, are still the most disproportionately affected by poverty, low educational attainment and limited access to educational opportunities.The confluence of being a Native American and being an adult learner brings forth consequences that may not yet be fully understood. Being a Native American student in a mainstream educational institution is difficult. Further, being an adult learner, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, etc., presents an altogether different set of challenges, as they are likely the most time-limited group of the four-year university population. This study illuminates what it is like to be both a Native American student and an adult learner at university.This qualitative study examines the lived experiences of three Native American adult learners who attend a predominantly white university on the Northern Great Plains of the United States. The results focus on some of the conflicts and contradictions these students faced and how they managed to negotiate those challenges. Before universities can appropriately address issues of widening participation at university for Native American students, sustained efforts must be made to understand these important issues, which may ultimately affect recruitment and retention of Native American learners.
- Subjects
UNITED States; NATIVE Americans; EDUCATIONAL attainment; ETHNICITY; GENDER; ADULT students; UNIVERSITIES &; colleges
- Publication
Widening Participation & Lifelong Learning, 2010, Vol 12, Issue 3, p6
- ISSN
1466-6529
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.5456/WPLL.12.3.6