Award Date

5-1-2017

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching and Learning

First Committee Member

Kendall Hartley

Second Committee Member

Jane McCarthy

Third Committee Member

Christine Clark

Fourth Committee Member

LeAnn Putney

Number of Pages

209

Abstract

Developing a Navajo Educational Media Guide was investigated through the lens of Postcolonial Theory and Critical Indigenous Pedagogy utilizing the methodology of Participatory Action Research (PAR). Ten Navajo Consultants involved in teaching the Navajo language and culture were interviewed identifying learning objectives that should be included in a Navajo Educational Media Show for the audience of Navajo pre-school aged children to learn the Navajo language and culture. The Diné Cultural Content Standards for Students (DCCSS) was decoded. The codes were then utilized to encode the interview transcripts. Using Indigenous methodologies and the Navajo Way of Knowing concepts of: Nitsáhákees, Nahat’á, Iiná, and Sihasin, four themes were identified for the Navajo Educational Media guide: K’é, Navajo Values, Survival, and Language Arts. Three specific learning objectives not mentioned by collaborators, but appeared in the DCCSS were revisited in a member checking session. These learning objectives were: Navajo Regalia, Navajo Sweat Lodge, and Navajo Long Walk. During the member checking session, these were items suggested to be in the guide. New learning objectives not mentioned by the DCCSS or the collaborators were also explored during the member checking session and were also added to the guide: Five Senses, Navajo Alphabet, and Learning Sentence Structure. When considering the sacredness of some aspects of Navajo culture, six areas of consideration were identified as being topics that must be handled with respect as it pertains to the recording and distributing of a Navajo Educational Media Show. These areas were: Ceremonies, Navajo spirituality, Navajo taboos, personification of animals, acknowledging dialect differences, and seasonal restrictions. The findings in this study will serve to inform the development of a Navajo Educational Media Guide that is to provide guidelines for a potential Navajo Educational Media Show that teaches the Navajo language and culture to pre-school aged children (4-6 years old). Implications from this study suggest that more research in needed around Indigenous Educational Media and the development of culturally relevant media for Indigenous populations in the area of Indigenous language rejuvenation.

Keywords

Curriculum; Educational Media; Indigenous; Navajo; Navajo Language; Television

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | Curriculum and Social Inquiry | Education | Educational Methods

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Download


Share

COinS