Setting the Agenda: American Indian and Alaska Native Education Research Priorities. ERIC Digest.

Overview & Synopsis

This digest briefly reviews the events that led to the development of the American Indian and Alaska Native Education Research Agenda, the basic assumptions and premises underlying it, and its six priority research areas. In response to pressure from Native organizations and tribes and a subsequent Executive Order, a working group organized by the U.S. Department of Education developed a research agenda for American Indian and Alaska Native education. Formulated with substantial input from Native educators and researchers, the agenda focuses on identifying best practices. Studies must be conducted from a perspective that respects Native languages and cultures, and researchers must produce findings useful to local communities while being cognizant of tribal differences. Definitional issues concerning who is Native need to be resolved. Six general categories of priority research topics were identified: educational outcomes of Native students; the role of Native language and culture in education; teachers, schools, and educational resources; special education and Native students; early childhood education needs of Native children; and education standards and assessments and how they relate to schools with large enrollments of Native students. (TD)