The motivational influence of the school environment on the resiliency of Native American high school students in selected North Carolina public schools.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study reported on the motivational influence of the school environment on the resiliency of Native-American high school students in selected North Carolina public school districts. For its theoretical framework, the study relied on the Resiliency Theory of Henderson and Milstein (1996). Historically and currently, the academic achievement of Native-American students lags behind all other students (Noley, 1992). A sample of 50 Native-American public high school students in three school districts in North Carolina served as subjects of this study. The North Carolina End-of-Course test scores in English and math served as indicators of success. The students completed McInerney's (1995) Inventory of School Motivation, which the author modified for this study. The inventory measured students' motivation for doing well in school. Twenty-four students were interviewed in group settings to clarify the resiliency characteristics of successful and less successful Native American high school students. The author hypothesized that Native-American high school students whose End-of-Course tests indicated resiliency had a greater sense of motivation, competence, recognition, and purpose, based on responses on the Inventory of School Motivation, than Native-American students whose End-of-Course test scores indicated less resiliency. The results of a west of independent samples, at the .05 level of statistical significance indicated no statistical difference between the students who passed the End-of-Course tests and those who did not pass the End-of-Course test. Group interviews resulted in similar findings. The findings of this study challenge educators to increase resiliency by fostering a more caring school environment and communicating high expectations for Native-American students.