Articles

In the labyrinth of modern education, where over 4,000 U.S. colleges impose decentralized deadlines, opaque platforms, and relentless demands on families, and where Western schooling sidelines the relational wisdom of Indigenous traditions, Volume 2, Issue 2 of the Journal of the Educational Impact reveals a profound tension—and a path to resolution. Erkan Acar’s “Lost in the Admissions Maze” lays bare the chaos that turns parental aspirations into survival struggles, while Darren Parry’s “The Path Forward” counters with holistic Indigenous models that prioritize storytelling, empathy, and ecological balance over fragmented metrics. Together, these pieces challenge us to dismantle barriers and reclaim education as a shared journey toward equity and enlightenment.

The U.S. college admissions process is a uniquely complex and decentralized system that poses significant challenges for both students and their parents. With over 4,000 institutions offering varied application platforms, deadlines, and requirements, navigating this process demands a highly personalized approach. While students juggle academic, extracurricular, and application-related responsibilities, effective time management becomes a critical factor in securing both admission and financial aid opportunities. Parents, ideally positioned to support their children through this journey, however they often find themselves overwhelmed due to a lack of clear and accessible information. The increasing dependance on expert guidance highlights the limitations of generic online resources in addressing the individualized needs of applicants. Furthermore, emotional involvement and limited knowledge can hinder parents' ability to provide objective and strategic support. This paper examines the multifaceted challenges parents face in the college admissions process and discusses potential strategies to bridge the information and support gap, ultimately aiming to enhance student outcomes during this pivotal life transition.

This article argues that meaningful educational transformation requires moving beyond Western, performance-driven models of schooling toward learning systems grounded in Indigenous wisdom. Drawing on Indigenous epistemologies, it critiques the individualism, standardization, and linear, sequential structure of contemporary education and contrasts them with approaches that emphasize relationality (interconnectedness among people and the environment), reciprocity (mutual responsibility in learning), experiential learning (learning through direct engagement), and holistic development (cultivating emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and physical growth). Indigenous ways of knowing frame education as a lifelong, cyclical process rooted in relationships among people, the land, and the spiritual world. By examining practices such as storytelling (sharing knowledge through oral tradition), land-based learning (education tied to place and ecology), respect for elders (valuing ancestral wisdom), and curriculum decolonization (centering Indigenous perspectives), the article highlights the relevance of Indigenous education for addressing educational, social, and ecological challenges and calls for a paradigm that cultivates wisdom, empathy, sustainability, and ethical responsibility.

This mixed methods study explored the perceptions of high school students towards online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic by examining the factors that affected their academic achievement. The survey results revealed that a lack of social presence contributed to students’ disengagement from online learning, affecting their academic performance. A qualitative thematic analysis approach was applied to analyze open-ended questions. The findings from this study demonstrated the importance of giving voice to students and learning from their experiences with online learning during the pandemic. Specifically, this study focused on understanding how students perceived the transition to online learning and how their experiences with online learning affected student learning outcomes.

The article is about how the voices of the marginalized should be integrated in teaching history, especially in terms of culturally responsive teaching, in order to make the classroom more inclusive. It examines the relevance of teacher preparation, incorporation of diverse histories, and the use of technology in fostering cultural respect. The study reveals that the self-efficacy of teachers in multicultural classrooms is directly related to their perceptions of diversity climate in schools. It also stresses the necessity to take the marginalized histories, like the history of LGBTQ+ as well as Latinx, into consideration, to consider the whole picture of history. The article finds that teachers should consider prioritizing diversity and inclusion to create an inclusive and engaging learning environment that suits all students.

The Native American princess pageant is an institution that provides a site within which Native American women exhibit and advocate for traditionally important tribal values and behavior. In doing so, princesses transmit culture, and honor is bestowed upon their families, ancestors, and elders. Through their travels and interaction with others, princesses are afforded opportunities to share their culture as they learn more about the cultures of others (Aicinena & Ziyanak, 2024; Cherokee Phoenix, 2023; Fox, 2017; Lonelodge, 2019). In the current study, we sought to determine through qualitative research methods how a specific tribal princess program, specifically the Choctaw Princess and Royalty Program, assists in the maintenance and perpetuation of traditional Choctaw culture and how the program contributes to strengthening Choctaw identity within the program’s participants. To date, no researcher has published study in which this topic has been explored. Our findings led to the identification of three themes and six subthemes: 1) Formal Cultural Education: The Princess in Training Program. Subthemes include Personal Growth, and Cultural Educators. 2) Becoming a Functioning Member of the Choctaw Nation which encompasses four subthemes: Respect for Others, Cultural Identity, Servant Leadership, and Humility. 3) Choctaw Princesses Serve as Role Models. During the process of preparing for pageants, in the midst of pageant competition, and while serving their year-long term as a princess, Choctaw girls and women learn about and share their traditional culture while strengthening their identity as members of the Choctaw Nation.