Culture & School Success

About
the Program

Indian Nations
at Risk

Related Links

Historical
Images

Music

Behind
the Scenes

Script

Walking in Two Worlds grew out of a special education project, Culture and School Succes: Teaching American Indian Children.

In 1991, the Indian Nations At Risk Task Force recognized the limited number of teachers with adequate skills and training to effectively teach Native children as one of the major contributing factors related to poor educational outcomes for American Indians. Culture and School Success: Educating American Indian Children is a unique documentary-style video course designed to address that concern. Culture and School Success is based on the premise that all children are entitled to have their culture reflected in and affirmed by the schools they attend.

This graduate-level class was developed by the Graduate School of Education at the University of Utah. The target audience is pre-service teachers, although segments will be used for in-service training of current teachers K-12 and beyond. This is a facilitator mediated distance learning class based out of the University of Utah. Culture and School Success is divided into fourteen 90-minute sessions. The session topics range from the history of Indian education to language and culture. Other topics include community partnering, transitions from home to school, and strereotypes and their negative impact on youth.

Since the Fall semester of 1999, two rural sites within the state of Utah have taken the class for three hours of graduate level credit. It is also being taught on the University of Utah campus this Spring. Student evaluations have been overwhelmingly positive.

Culture and School Success: Educating American Indian Children not only explores the issues of Indian education, but demonstrates that success for Indian students within our schools is possible. Throughout the project, American Indian peoples shared their often painful experiences and personal stories with us. They have generously done so in the hopes that America's schools will improve and the experiences of their children will be better than their own. This program was produced in that spirit.

For further information about Culture and School Success: Educating American Indian Children contact:

Department of Special Education
University of Utah
1705 E. Campus Center Drive, Rm 221
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112

Telephone (801) 581-8121