Postsecondary Aspirations of Rural Indigenous Adolescents and How Schools Support These Dreams, Goals, and Plans: A Literature Review and Synthesis

Myriad structural- and individual-level assets (e.g., close connections within and among families) and barriers (e.g., systemic racism) shape the postsecondary pathways of rural Indigenous students. The current literature review summarizes and synthesizes existing literature on rural Indigenous students’ postsecondary educational aspirations and how schools support these goals and plans. Results of a systematic literature search found six themes; (a) Indigenous students’ desire to continue education after high school; (b) gender-related aspirations and plans, (c) connection to family and place; (d) communication with family, teachers, and counselors about college; (e) posttraditional pathways to college; and (f) school partnerships. We draw on the themes gathered from the literature search to provide three key suggestions for future research focused on supporting rural Indigenous adolescents as they aspire to and plan for postsecondary education.