Featuring readings on four prominent theoretical perspectives on American Indian education - cultural discontinuity theory, structural inequality theory, interactionalist theory, and transculturation theory - this book provides a comparison of each theoretical perspective's basic premise, fundamental assumptions regarding American Indian education, implications, and associated criticisms.

Terry Huffman is professor of education at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon.

Chapter 1 Preface Part 2 Chapter 1. American Indian Education Scholarship Part 3 Chapter 2. Cultural Discontinuity Theory Chapter 4 Reading 1. Teachers' Cultural Knowledge and Understanding of American Indian Students and Their Families Part 5 Chapter 3. Structural Inequality Theory Chapter 6 Reading 2. Constructing Failure and Maintaining Cultural Identity: Navajo and Ute School Leavers Part 7 Chapter 4. Interactionalist Theory Chapter 8 Reading 3. Ethnicity and the Concept of Social Integration in Tinto's Model of Institutional Departure Part 9 Chapter 5. Transculturation Theory Chapter 10 Reading 4. Transculturation Theory as an Explanation for College Persistence among Culturally Traditional American Indian Students Part 11 Chapter 6. Continuing the Tradition Chapter 12 References