American Indian Access to Higher Education: Where are All the NDNs?

Abstract

The rate of Native Americans attending institutions of higher education is much lower (24 percent) in comparison to their White peers (48 percent) (Ross et al., 2012). This chapter explores factors that contribute to the accessibility of higher education for Native American students (e.g., family, institutions, communities, and academic influences.) The extreme differences in the rate of Native Americans attending institutions of higher education are not attributed to one single problem. However, this chapter argues that it is imperative to see that an accumulation of experiences influence higher education accessibility and in order to increase the attendance of Native Americans in colleges and universities, a multifaceted approach informed by Tribal Critical Theory must be used.

Citation

Lopez, J.D. (2017), "American Indian Access to Higher Education: Where are All the NDNs?", Culturally Sustaining and Revitalizing Pedagogies (Advances in Research on Teaching, Vol. 29), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 41-60. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-368720150000029006