56 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 197 



the inclusion in the tabulation of persons 14 to 24 years old un- 

 doubtedly raises considerably the median educational attainment of 

 the total adult group. Nevertheless, the educational level of adult 

 Navahos in 1960 was still very far below that of other adult groups 

 in the country. The median years of school completed by persons 

 14 years old and over in 1960 was about 10.7 years for all persons, 

 8.7 years for the non-Wliite population, and about 4.5 years for the 

 Navalio population. 



A gap of this magnitude cannot be eliminated quickly. Although 

 the 1960 census figures suggest a rapid upgrading in the educational 

 level of younger Navahos, at least another generation will be required 

 before the improved schooling of today's Navaho children can be 

 reflected in the educational attainment of the adult Navaho population 

 as a whole. 



Having seen the average educational attainment of the adult 

 Navaho population as a whole, it is instructive to consider the median 

 years of school completed by adult Navahos according to their age 

 groupings and veteran status. The statistics on Navaho employment 

 applicants (gathered by the Arizona State Employment Service in 

 the period 1950 to 1956) permit some analysis of their educational 

 attainment according to these groupings (table 12). It should be 

 stressed at once that these data are not necessarily representative of 

 the Navaho population as a whole. In the first place, the data pertain 

 to Navahos residing in Arizona, thus eliminating the eastern fourth 

 of the reservation area from representation. Secondly, a number of 

 selective factors are clearly operative among the applicants for ojff- 

 reservation employment. It is obvious, for example, that the educa- 

 tional level of Navaho women who apply for off-reservation employ- 

 ment is well above the average educational level of Navaho women in 

 general at all ages. Other possible selective factors that may operate 

 include serious economic deprivation on the reservation, past experi- 

 ence in off-reservation life, etc. Finally, the median age of the Navaho 

 job applicants is lower than that of adult Navahos as a whole. Omit- 

 ting the applicants aged under 20 for purposes of comparison, the 

 median age of the remaining applicants (aged 20 and over) comes 

 to 34.1 years for the males and 28.2 for the females. Corresponding 

 median ages for the total Navaho population aged 20 and over in 

 1950 were 37.0 for the males and 34.9 for the females (Bureau of the 

 Census, 1953 a, table 16; Arizona State Employment Service, 1956, 

 table 7). Hence the job applicants represent a younger group, on 

 the average, than the total adult Navaho population and would there- 

 fore, on that score alone, be expected to have a somewhat higher 

 average education. 



