To Give Back?: Exploring Motivation in Native American College Choice

Abstract

This study explores the hopes and dreams of college-bound Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian high school students who applied to the College Horizons pre-college program, with the goal of helping higher education institutions better respond to the needs of these students. Understanding what motivates Native students to pursue college can inform recruitment efforts, support persistence, create academic opportunities, and promote positive messaging from a variety of sources, including family, community, tribes, financial aid providers, school counselors and teachers, and future employers. The findings reveal that the high-achieving, likely college-bound Native students in the sample often centered their aspirations on “giving back” to their communities, tribes, and families. Many students expressed a desire to be role models for future generations and to challenge social stereotypes about Native peoples. In addition to this sense of “giving back,” some students viewed higher education primarily as a means to pursue personal success and expand their horizons, highlighting the balance and tension between personal and collective motivations that drive Native students toward higher education. The implications for research, theory, and practice/policy are discussed.