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Perceived Structural Barriers and Academic Performance among American Indian High School Students

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Peter B. Wood at Eastern Michigan University
Peter B. Wood
W. CHARLES CLAY
W. CHARLES CLAY
W. CHARLES CLAY
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Abstract

American Indian students have long registered significantly lower academic performance than their White counterparts. The primary theoretical explanation for this differential that has guided research for many decades is the cultural discontinuity thesis. Drawing on a diverse literature, we propose an alternative to this conventional wisdom in which we emphasize the role of perceived structural barriers to mobility within the stratification system. We test both of these hypotheses on a sample of 352 American Indian and more than 1,000 White high school students who participated in a 1991 survey in selected Oklahoma public schools. Our findings show that perceived structural constraints play a significant role in reducing academic performance among American Indian students. Consequently, we argue that the impact of cultural discontinuities has likely diminished over time, whereas the impact of perceived structural barriers has likely increased—a development which seems to parallel Wilson's (1978) “declining significance of race” thesis regarding Black Americans. Directions for further study are suggested.
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1. doi: 10.1177/0044118X96028001002
Youth Society September 1996 vol. 28
no. 1 40-61
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Perceived Structural Barriers and Academic Performance among American Indian High School Students
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DOI: 10.1177/0044118X96028001002
1996 28: 40Youth Society
PETER B. WOOD and W. CHARLES CLAY
American Indian High School Students
Perceived Structural Barriers and Academic Performance among
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Abstract Items on achievement tests are designed to be equivalent in educational testing situations. That is, the information provided to the student is designed to be the same,regardless of the ethnicity of the examinee. As a result, students of equal ability would be expected to select the same answer regardless of their ethnicity. However, aboriginals and non-aboriginals may use differentcognitive processing skills, and consequently, may find items differentially easy or difficult depending on which cognitive processing style is elicited by the item. The present study used differential bundle functioning (DBF) analyses with cognitive processing theory as the organizing principle to study group differences. Aboriginal and non-aboriginal students were compared on Grade 6 Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies achievement tests. Items on these tests were identified by raters trained in cognitive processing theory as eliciting either simultaneous,or successive cognitive processing skills. Items were then grouped,and tested for DBF using the statistical program SIBTEST. It was hypothesized,that differences favoring aboriginals would occur for those bundles eliciting simultaneousprocesses,while differences favoring non-aboriginals would occur for those bundles eliciting successiveprocesses. When the bundles were tested, performance differences did not favor aboriginals for simultaneous,items or non-aboriginals for successive items. Ability distribution differences between,the aboriginal and non-aboriginal samples,coupled with small sample,sizes for the aboriginal samples,were key limitations of the study. Recommendations,for future research are presented. DBF Analyses 3 Differential Bundle Functioning on Three Achievement Tests: A Comparison of Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Examinees
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  • Jan 2016
Cross-cultural psychology researchers have revealed the psychological impacts of biculturalism, stressing the significance of adopting cultural proficiencies in both ethnic and mainstream cultures. Despite these findings prompting a proliferation of international research in both acculturation and enculturation in the last three decades, much more remains to be done to reveal the multi-faceted and intricate nature of these processes within the Australian context. Extending on the works by Miller (2007, 2010), this thesis adopted a mixed methods design to elucidate a more nuanced bilinear domain-specific model of acculturation and enculturation among ethnocultural adolescents within Australia’s most culturally diverse state, New South Wales. Additionally, the cross-sectional study examined the domain-specific relationships of these processes with a series of psychosocial and educational outcomes to inform current educational practices. To address the research gap for a reliable and valid assessment of these processes, the investigation adapted and developed a new psychometrically sound Domain-Specific Acculturation and Enculturation Measure (DSAEM). Survey data was collected among 200 secondary students attending one of four independent ethnic day schools. Students ranged from the ages of 11 to 16 years (M = 13.48 years, SD = 1.31) and consisted of 110 males and 90 females. Preliminary confirmatory factor analyses, invariance testing, as well as qualitative data, conveyed that the DSAEM holds promise as a valuable assessment tool for use within clinical and educational settings. Moreover, findings revealed significant associations between particular domains of acculturation/enculturation and various psychological and educational outcomes, providing further support for the bilinear domain-specific conceptualisation. Additionally, findings from qualitative interviews also illustrated the context-specific and dynamic rather than static nature of acculturative and enculturative processes. Lastly, theoretical contributions as well as implications to clinical and educational practices are delineated.
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... Additionally, the variation regarding influence of parental and cultural values on formation of cultural orientations and the educational outcomes of immigrant youth Examining acculturation orientations and perceived cultural… is widely reported (e.g., Berry 2005;Kao and Tienda 1995;Kerr 2007;Niemeyer et al. 2009;Plunkett and Bámaca-Gómez 2003;Shin 2004;Vollebergh et al. 2001) and implicated within the "immigrant paradox" (e.g., Feliciano and Lanuza 2017;Fuligni 1997;Greenman 2013;Portes and Rumbaut 2001;Rosenbaum and Rochford 2008). Moreover, the influence of parental values is demonstrated in differing findings for both first-and second-generation immigrant students regarding the link between higher levels of educational achievement and identification with the heritage culture (e.g., Bankston and Zhou 1997;Fuligni et al. 2005;Gibson 1988) or host culture (e.g., López et al. 2002;Trickett and Birman 2005;Wood and Clay 1996). ...
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Full-text available
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