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Accelerating the Mathematical Development of Young Navajo Children

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Rural Education Research in the United States

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Abstract

We describe a fulfilling 7-year relationship between educational practice and program evaluation at the STAR School, an Arizona public charter dedicated to providing excellent education for Navajo children in a rural, impoverished area. Previous literature had empirically identified Pre/K math and language skills as predictors of future school success. Therefore, a Montessori-based curriculum with trained teachers was implemented. It provided high quality preschool math education that was congruent with Navajo cultural values. Program evaluation and educators’ insights comprised a long-term collaboration that guided annual improvement of the program. Children’s data on growth in math, language, and social development are summarized for the most recent 3 years of the program, as are parental assessments of the school. Results indicate that this program has been highly successful with Pre and K students. They entered more than a year behind, on average, in math concepts and language. By the end of their Pre/K experience virtually all of the children were at or above grade level in math. We believe that our work underscores the value of creating long-term collaborative relationships between rural educators who are implementing promising educational practices and dedicated researchers who can offer beneficial empirical and theoretical perspectives.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The STAR (Service to All Relations) School, 145 Leupp Road, Flagstaff, AZ, 86004, USA

    Mark Sorensen

  2. Professor Emeritus, Psychology, Wheaton College, Norton, MA, 02766, USA

    Derek Price

Authors
  1. Mark Sorensen
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  2. Derek Price
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Mark Sorensen or Derek Price .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Nebraska - Lincoln Nat. Center for Research on Rural Edu, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

    Gwen C. Nugent

  2. University of Nebraska - Lincoln Nat. Center for Research on Rural Edu, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

    Gina M. Kunz

  3. University of Nebraska - Lincoln Nat. Center for Research on Rural Edu., Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

    Susan M. Sheridan

  4. Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA

    Todd A. Glover

  5. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

    Lisa L. Knoche

Additional information

We dedicate this chapter to James Peshlakai, the Navajo educator who suggested our collaboration.

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Sorensen, M., Price, D. (2017). Accelerating the Mathematical Development of Young Navajo Children. In: Nugent, G., Kunz, G., Sheridan, S., Glover, T., Knoche, L. (eds) Rural Education Research in the United States. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42940-3_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42940-3_8

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-42940-3

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