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CRITICAL THEORY AND LEADERSHIP PRACTICES

Contextualized Principal Preparation for the Improvement of American

Indian Education: Negotiating Cross-cultural Assumptions

William G. Ruff and Joanne L. Erickson

The Indian Leadership Education and Development (I LEAD) project was developed
through a grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education to provide contextualized
principal preparation and induction services to Native American teachers aspiring to school
leadership positions. This study sought to determine how Native American graduate students
in a contextualized principal preparation program stepped into leadership roles and their
impact on school improvement. Findings suggest that some graduate students may need
additional support in asserting their leadership capability within the schools where they work.
American Indian children in Montana are served in our lowest performing schools by a
disproportionate number of non-Indian educators. Forty-nine of the 58 schools that did not
make AYP have high concentrations (50–100%) of American Indian children (Montana
Office of Public Instruction, 2006). American Indian children constitute 75% of the total
junior high dropout rate, and high school dropout rates for American Indian children are
nearly four times the rate of white students. While American Indian children make up
approximately 12% of public school students, only 2.5% (253 of 10,223) of teachers were
American Indian. According to 2004–2005 data reported to the Office of Public Instruction,
there were only 18 American Indian school administrators in Montana.
Teacher and administrative turnover complicated the problem of providing quality
education in schools serving American Indian children. In a recently conducted Schools and
Staffing Survey, 25% of the principals in high-poverty schools had three years or less of total
principal experience and a third had been in their current school two years or less (Northwest
Regional Educational Laboratory, 2004). School Administrators of Montana (SAM) track and
announce administrative vacancies in Montana. Darrell Rud, Executive Director of SAM
reported that schools serving American Indian students have the highest rate of administrative
turn over and the most difficult time filling administrative vacancies (Personal
Communication, March 18, 2006). Rud’s observation was echoed by Bob Vogel from the
Montana School Board’s Association from his experience in conducting superintendent
searches. Vogel also reported that the most difficult administrative positions to fill were those
on Indian reservations and were usually filled by the least qualified and most inexperienced
candidates (Personal communications, March 24, 2006). Non-Indian administrators report that
their lack of cultural understanding and different cultural assumptions interfered with success.
Recruitment efforts to fill administrative vacancies with American Indian leaders have not
been successful, as there are not enough trained and qualified American Indians to fill the
positions (National Center for Education Statistics, 2007).

William G. Ruff, Montana State University
Joanne L. Erickson, Montana State University