INTRODUCTION

Purpose

Nationwide statistics indicate that Alaska Natives and American Indian students are the most at risk of all minority groups for failure in school. ¹ When compared to non-Native students, they drop out of school more frequently, are less likely to graduate, and generally have lower educational attainment. For generations, various approaches have been taken to improve education outcomes. While there are some successes, statistics still show much room for improvement.

On behalf of the First Alaskans Foundation, McDowell Group, Inc. has conducted baseline research on Alaska Native attitudes and values toward education. The First Alaskans Foundation, a nonprofit organization created by the Alaska Federation of Natives, seeks to influence positive change in the lives of Alaska Native people. The Foundation sees education as a key to positive change.

The McDowell Group study for First Alaskans Foundation has four components:

• A random telephone survey of 1, 000 Alaska Native households'opinions, attitudes, and values regarding education was conducted in the spring of 2001.
  
• A secondary review of national and Alaska research identified programs and techniques that could enhance Alaska Native education. This report was completed in June of 2001.
  
• Executive interviews of experts in the education field provided further insight and suggestions for improving the delivery of education services to Alaska Natives. The results of the interviews were compiled in a report completed in July 2001.
  
• Focus group discussions on issues affecting Alaska Native education were held in September 2001. Results of the focus group research are reported in this document.

  The focus group report presents noteworthy outcomes from the research, which involved three focus group discussions in both urban and rural settings. The information presented here describes, rather than quantifies, the variety of views among the focus group participants.

Methodology

Davis, Hibbitts &McCaig, Inc. (DHM), in association with McDowell Group, Inc., conducted three focus groups in mid-September 2001 - one in Aniak in the Yukon/Kuskokwim region of Alaska, and two in Anchorage.

The research team designed the composition of the focus groups and the topics to be covered in each discussion. The design was developed to deepen the understanding of the most germane issues regarding the education of Alaska Natives - their perceptions of the barriers and their solutions to improve performance to enhance their lives.

After completion of the literature review, the household survey, and executive interviews, it was apparent that both the rural and urban experience needed to be further examined. Thus, one focus group (referred to as "Aniak") was designed to capture a cross-section of a rural community's experience with the educational system and a second delved into the urban experience (referred to as "Anchorage").

The study team chose the village of Aniak because it possesses characteristics representative of rural Alaska. While it was understood that Aniak is not representative of all rural Alaska, it was felt it contained many traits found throughout rural Alaska. The community is off the road system, the population is predominately Native, and the population was large enough to enable effective random recruitment for the group discussion. A demographic cross-section of the village was recruited so the study team could gather some insight into the role of the rural community in the education of its children.

The Anchorage focus group consisted of parents of Native children enrolled in pre-school through eighth grade in the Anchorage area. This level of schooling was selected because other components of the research showed that many experts believe these early years were critical in establishing good school habits and developing good communication, reading, writing, and math skills.

Several of the Anchorage parents had personal experience as youth transitioning from a village school to an Anchorage school. While all were randomly selected, these parents said they believed they represented a somewhat higher income and more educated group than the general Alaska Native population. All but one had a college degree.

In addition to the urban and rural experience, more information was needed on the preparedness of Alaska Native students when they enter the job market. A third focus group (referred to as "Business") was composed of Alaska Natives who are in the position to hire other Alaska Natives. While the group was held in Anchorage and comprised mainly of Anchorage executives, members of the business and non-profit sectors from Kotzebue and Fairbanks also attended the discussion group. The participants represented the oil, social services, and health care industries, and Native corporations.

A total of 21 people participated in the three focus groups. Appendix A contains information on participant demographics.

Responses during the group discussions were recorded both orally and in writing. Responses to all written exercises are in Appendixes B - G.

Statement of limitations

This study was designed to qualitatively explore the range of opinions of a designated population and to gain insight into what underlies these opinions. It was not in the scope of this study to quantitatively measure with statistical reliability the attitudes of the populations from which the samples were drawn, or to correlate any attitudes with demographic or behavioral variables. The role of the focus group research is to gather qualitative information to supplement and validate other primary and secondary research conducted for First Alaskans Foundation. The information reported below is the result of multiple discussions and group-to-group validation. This information helps establish quantitative boundaries for the attitudes expressed by the participants.

Report Format

Each of the following sections reviews a different major topic discussed in the focus groups. Quotations are set out first, followed by evaluative commentary based on oral and written comments from participants in each group. Similarities and differences among the groups are noted. The report in the last section relates focus group findings to results of earlier FAF research components. The quotations were selected to represent the range of opinions regarding a topic, and not to quantitatively represent the expressed attitudes. Readers should refer to the appendices for specific wording of the written exercises.

¹ American Indian Relief Council, http://www.airc.org/living/education.html.  

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