A Review of the Research on the Influences of Culturally Based Education on the Academic Performance of American Indian Students

The purpose of this review of the literature was to collect and critically review the research literature on the impact of culturally based education programs, known collectively as Culturally Based Education, on the school performance of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children. As directed, the review includes studies that can legitimately be classified as experimental or quasi-experimental. The authors had a variety of findings. Some of the culturally based education programs had a positive effect on student learning, while others had little or no measurable effect. In some cases, a positive effect was found on a non-academic variable, such as self-esteem. This is a very comprehensive review of AI research literature that drew from a very wide number of studies.