Student Mobility as an Underrecognized and Unattended to Problem for Predominantly American Indian School Districts in Nebraska

Abstract:A project considering teacher readiness for student mobility and the student mobility rates in Nebraska meatpacking communities led to the unexpected discovery that student mobility rates in districts with significant American Indian enrollment are even higher. This review of multivocal literature (Ogawa & Malen, 1991) combines an extensive literature review with statistical and ethnographic data from several Nebraska districts to illuminate (1) how mobility is a significant feature of American Indian education in Nebraska that (2) is not anticipated by the state, the districts, or local teacher education programs. Noting that Department of Defense schools have a decent track record of responding to high mobility, the article concludes that education systems and teacher preparation could become much more responsive to mobility, converting what too often is allowed to be a hazard into something for which teachers and systems are prepared and to which they can adequately respond.