Classroom Climate and the Verbal Participation of Indian and Eskimo Students in Integrated Classrooms

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Abstract
The mute withdrawal typical of village Indian and Eskimo students who have been integrated into the public schools is a central concern of many teachers. Ethnographic research suggests that these students’ silence may derive from their perception of a threatening classroom climate where they fear white students will laugh at them. To test this hypothesis, the relationship between forty-two village Indian and Eskimo students’ perception of the classroom climate in three major academic subjects and their verbal participation in each of these subjects was examined. Classroom climate was measured through a pupil perception questionnaire and students’ verbal participation was measured through teachers’ ratings. A moderately strong relationship was consistently found between students’ perception of the classroom climate and their verbal participation in integrated classrooms.

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