School psychologists’ supporting American Indian students on the path to academic success: a community cultural wealth approach

Purpose This study involves a content analysis of research published from 2000 to 2018 about American Indian students with the principal aim to identify investigations addressing the supportive factors that contribute to student academic success. Secondary aims involved better understanding the parameters of the investigations, such as sample tribal affiliations and journal outlets. Design/methodology/approach Out of 6,341 total articles published in PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO and Education Resources Information Center over the time period, 86 articles covering the pre-school to college age years were identified, almost evenly distributed between pre-college (n = 42, 48.8%); and college age samples (n = 44, 51.2%). The 86 articles account for a mere 1.4% of all published articles over the 19 year period. A community cultural wealth approach (Yosso, 2005) was used as a framework for understanding the myriad of strengths students bring to their school experiences and was used as a lens for interpreting the study findings. Findings When disaggregated, the most common supports for pre-college age youth were culturally-sensitive schooling, personal/intrinsic qualities along with family and social support. For college age students, the most common supports were university personnel, community-based supports and student intrinsic factors. Further results, study limitations and implications are discussed. Originality/value This research is original.