Date of Award
6-19-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Educational Leadership, Ed.D.
First Advisor
Topeka Singleton
Second Advisor
Lori Sanchez
Committee Members
Jennifer Woolston
Abstract
The historical oppression of Native Americans created a distrust in the educational system in American which was based on European models and designed for the advancement of white settlers. This historical oppression transcends generations and stills exists in our educational system. As a result, Native American students represent less than 1% of the student population in post-secondary education systems nation-wide. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify what strategies and practices were most effective for improving enrollment and persistence among Native American students in Oklahoma post-secondary education based on a transformative framework and TribalCrit. Three Native American students, three employees of the post-secondary education institution, and one employee of the Tribal Nation participated in this study. Two research questions were explored: RQ1: What strategies and practices are utilized to increase Native American student enrollment and persistence in Oklahoma post-secondary education institutions (OPSEI) by those Native American Tribal Nations having high enrollment rates and RQ2: What strategies and practices are utilized to increase Native American student enrollment and persistence by an Oklahoma post-secondary education institution that reported high rates of NA student enrollment during the measurement period of 2018-2023. Findings of this study showed that early outreach efforts, financial assistance, sense of belonging, curriculum modifications, representation, cultural events, and family supports were all integral in the success of Native American students. These findings indicate that post-secondary institutions could have greater success in recruiting and retaining Native American students through employing these practices benefiting society, the educational system, Tribal Nations, and Native American students. Recommendations for future studies include a longitudinal study through a cultural mask, a narrative study, or an ethnography. The study would benefit from a long-term study that tracks students through their entire post-secondary journey, studying more than one Tribal Nation, and studying post-secondary institutions in other states.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Jack, Mickey, "Strategies And Practices for Improving Enrollment and Persistence by Native American Students in an Oklahoma Post-Secondary Education Institution" (2026). Student Theses and Dissertations. 1183.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/1183
