Educational Programs for Native Americans: Implications for Vocational Education Research and Development. Occasional Paper No. 40.

In the past, educational programs for Native Americans have failed to train Indians to develop and use their own natural resources. The following four central issues have arisen from testimony regarding vocational education for Indian people: Indian people should be involved at all levels of the program, including planning, implementation, and evaluation; each tribe's economic development plan should be considered as the basis for vocational education in that area; counseling and follow-through should be provided for the students; and curriculum in these vocational education programs should be made relevant to the Indian students. These issues point out the need for research and development efforts in vocational education for Native Americans. Vocational education research and development implications for Native Americans focus on the following needs: the need to train Indians in the field of vocational education research and development in order to discourage dependence; the need for Indian children to be exposed to career education options on or near the reservation to help them aspire to employment positions related to their future education and training; the need to help adult Indians cope with the rapid economic developments and inherent occupational developments on Indian Reservations today; and the need to help those individuals who, due to family background, perceptual habits, and life style, require the most basic vocational training for tribal occupations. The overall emphasis for future research and development efforts should be to develop human resources in congruence with tribal development needs. (BM)