Master of Social Work

The Problem and Purpose Very little research has been done related to the Alaskan Native student who dropped out of school. This lack of research coupled with the fact that the number of native dropouts was increasing, prompted the Juneau Area Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Social Service Division and the Alaska State Department of Education to encourage and support this project to study native dropouts, their needs, and the reasons they left school. The first study was conducted on the Alaskan Native dropouts in the year s 1969-1970. To provide further information in this area and to provide a test of reliability on the 1969-1970 study, this study was conducted on the 1970-1971 Alaska native dropouts v The purpose of this study was to determine characteristics and attitudes of the Alaskan Native student dropout, focusing on the following questions: 1. What factor s influenced dropping out of school? 2. What had the dropout been doing since leaving school? 3. What would the dropout like to be doing and what were his future plans? 4., What social services had the dropouts received from the various social service agencies since leaving school? 5. What kinds of additional services were provided, and what were the characteristics of those who wanted additional services? Subjects The project included 722 Alaskan Native students who left school during the 1970-1971 school year. A total of 337 dropouts were studied or 46 percent of the population. Methodology This project was undertaken through the Graduate School of Social Work, University of Utah. Research was completed and compiled under the direction of Dr. Kenneth A. Griffiths. This was a continuation of a study made of Alaskan Native high school dropouts during the summer of 1970. This research project was conducted during the summer of 1971 by a team of 12 student researchers from the University of Utah. The studies' population consisted of 337 native student dropouts. The data were compiled and tabulated by use of the computer at the University of Utah. Areas of interest were selected by each researcher who formed his own hypothesis concerning a specific dichotomy and assumed responsibility for analysis of that data. The chi square test was used with significance reported at the. 05 level