Drifting and directed: the post-high school plans of students from three communities in rural Alaska
Date of Award
12-17-2006
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
Many students in Alaska's rural villages complete their secondary education without a direction for life after high school. Students consistently report high aspirations to vocational training, college, and careers that require postsecondary education, yet few end up realizing these plans. To understand this paradox, this thesis uses qualitative methods to examine the influences that shaped the post-high school plans of 49 rural Alaska Native students in three villages in western Alaska. This thesis finds that misgivings about the purpose of education, difficult choices about leaving home, a substandard education, a lack of information, and perceptions of failure all combined to create drifting students who left high school without direction. Directed students were attached to postsecondary programs that provided them with a structured script with specific guidelines to follow.
Recommended Citation
Doyle, Aaron T., "Drifting and directed: the post-high school plans of students from three communities in rural Alaska" (2006). Arctic and Northern Studies. 10.
https://ualaska.researchcommons.org/uaf_grad_arctic_northern/10
Handle
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/5799