American Indian College Students’ Ethnic Identity and Beliefs about Education

Sixty-seven American Indian and 96 European-American undergraduate students responded to questions about their educational and ethnic beliefs and their perceptions of their mother’s and father’s support for education. The American Indian participants completed some additional items regarding their ethnic beliefs and their perceptions of their parents’ cultural beliefs and practices. American Indian students placed greater value on the instrumental importance of education, more strongly affirmed their ethnic identity, and felt closer to their ethnic group than did European American students. For American Indian students, perceptions of mother’s socialization of cultural beliefs and practices were strongly related to students’ ratings of ethnic identity achievement, ethnic practices and belonging, and importance of ethnic identity. Belief in one’s bicultural efficacy was positively correlated with American Indian students’ ratings of academic identity and belief in the instrumental importance of school.