Traditional Culture and Academic Success among American Indian Children in the Upper Midwest.

This research examines factors affecting school success for a sample of 196 fifth-eighth grade American Indian children from three reservations in the upper Midwest. The regression model included age, gender, family structure, parent occupation and income, maternal warmth, extracurricular activities, enculturation, and self-esteem. The results indicate that traditional culture positively affects the academic performance of fifth-eighth grade children. The bivariate correlation between enculturation and self-esteem was nonsignificant and there was no significant interaction between enculturation and self-esteem indicating that enculturation was directly associated with school success. The findings are discussed in terms of resiliency effects of enculturation for American Indian children. Over the past three decades there have been numerous studies pertaining to the influence of traditional culture on academic performance of American Indian children. These studies have focused on drop-out rates, classroom adjustment and academic performance. With some notable exceptions (e.g.