Navigating mainstream higher education: examining the experiences of Native students using Tinto's interactionalist's model

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Billie Harrington (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Leila Villaverde

Abstract: Postsecondary degree attainment for American Indian college students at predominantly White institutions has consistently been the lowest among any ethnic and/or racial group for the past three decades. A plethora of studies have been conducted to examine the experiences of Native students at mainstream institutions within the conceptual framework of Vincent Tinto's interactionalist's theory whether in segments or in its entirety. Tinto's model considers, among other variables, prematriculation characteristics and dispositions of students including the influence of family, postsecondary aspirations, components of informal and formal academic integration, and the phenomenon of transient transition of students through institutional assimilation. Today, the retention and graduation of college students is the bedrock of conversations on quality and accountability in the field of higher education and Tinto's model has served as one of the catalysts for policy and program development in this area of study. In keeping with this model, this study examines the experiences of American Indian college students at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP) to determine the applicability of this particular model and its Western paradigm to an examination of Indigenous students.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2012
Keywords
American Indians, Cultural conflict, Culture, Higher education, Indigenous, Lumbee
Subjects
Indians of North America $x Education (Higher) $z North Carolina
Indian college students $z North Carolina
College attendance $z North Carolina
College dropouts $z North Carolina

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