The Impact on Navajo Mothers Becoming Special Education Teachers.

This paper discusses the impact that participating in a teacher preparation program has had on Navajo mothers. Mothers play a very central role in Navajo culture, and such impacts, both positive and negative, are important not only to program participants, but also to those working in Indian communities. Informal surveys were conducted with 20 Navajo mothers enrolled in the Rural Special Education Project (RSEP), a pro-gram that focuses on recruiting Native American students and on preparing students to be special education teachers in Indian schools in rural and remote areas. All RSEP participants (Native and Anglo) live in or around Kayenta (located on the Navajo Reservation in northeastern Arizona) during the program. Survey questions examined such areas as student organization of time for family and study, family obligations, coping with stress, obstacles related to being an older student and having lost academic skills, influence of home environment, advice for future RSEP students, student strategies for getting through the program, and effects of educational experiences on student's quest to become a teacher. Most mothers said that family was their first priority. Other responses focused on the importance of an understanding spouse and family, time management and organization, determination and commitment to the program, and the support given to students by local teachers and administrators. (SV) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY