Design of a Developmental Communication Skills Program for Southeast Alaska Native College Students.

• Main Author: Wauters, Joan Katherine
• Other Authors: Ann Arbor
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 1982
• Subjects: Education; Indian; haida; tlingit; Alaska
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/159123

Native Americans have long had the highest college attrition rate of any minority group in higher education. This study describes efforts to design an effective developmental program at the University of Alaska, Juneau, to help Native college students, primarily Tlingit and Haida Indians, succeed in college. Inadequate academic preparation is one cause of Native American failure at the college level, but this circumstance alone does not explain the dropout rate. Cultural conflict between traditional Indian values and the values of the dominant society also plays an important role in the alienation of Indian students from higher education, as does institutional bias against minorities. Current types of special services designed to resolve these difficulties are examined, including Indian-run colleges, Native Study programs, and developmental programs. Awareness of student audience is a primary factor to consider when planning a special services program for minorities. Research on cognitive styles indicates that Native American students favor more holistic and less formal learning approaches than those of white students. Native American styles of learning and communicating, together with personality characteristics of specific groups of Native Americans, should determine both instructional activities and pedagogical approach in developmental programs. The final chapters describe the steps taken to determine Native student needs at the University of Alaska, Juneau, and a program model to serve these students is proposed. Results of a pilot course in college English skills using Alaska Native topics and materials are discussed in relation to further program recommendations. The student-centered developmental model proposed is a semester-long comprehensive program in communication and study skills, which stresses the cognitive strengths of Southeast Alaska Native students. The program would offer a special orientation course covering topics such as intercultural communication and university procedures and would also ...