Aboriginal students success in university: self-determination and cultural orientation

This research used a mixed-method approach to examine motivational factors contributing to Aboriginal student retention at the University of Northern British Columbia. To explore academic motivation in the context of Self-Determination Theory, 20 Aboriginal participants completed in-depth interviews. The participants also completed an acculturation questionnaire to explore whether cultural orientation was an interceding factor in academic motivation. Five intriguing findings emerged from the data. First, Aboriginal students were motivated to succeed by the desire to contribute to the well-being of the participants’ home Aboriginal community, or to the broader Aboriginal community. Second, the participants viewed a university education as a means to self-growth, which they perceived as necessary to fulfill a needed role in the Aboriginal community. Third, home community support and institutional support were important factors in motivating students to stay in university and earn a degree. Fourth, participants perceived that their university experience supported their autonomy. Finally, in comparison with more acculturated participants, less acculturated participants were more likely to feel academically unprepared for university, were more likely to attend post-secondary education transition programs, were more likely to use academic resources at the university, and were more likely to return to their home Aboriginal community after graduation. This research showed that Self-Determination Theory, traditionally tested using quantitative methods, can be effectively explored using a qualitative approach. This research also showed that examining cultural orientation within a motivational framework contributes to our understanding of the influence of cultural dynamics on academic motivation in Aboriginal student populations.