4) Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

Background

1.      In New Zealand there is much disparity between Māori and non-Māori achievement¹

2.      This has huge economic, political and social impacts on our society² (Bishop’s video)

3.      Our society has not met its obligations to Māori under The Treaty of Waitangi²

4.      We therefore have a moral, political and cultural imperative to improve the education of Māori students³

5.      Research shows that in order to raise achievement among Māori students cultural responsive pedagogy is vital¹

Culturally responsive pedagogy & Indigenous knowledge

To me culturally responsive pedagogy means teachers are interacting with students and making their teaching meaningful by embracing students’ cultural identity and adding meaning through it. Through this we can improve students’ self-esteem, engagement and learning. It involves harnessing indigenous knowledge which I see as community-specific rather than general, scientific knowledge.

While NZ is indeed a multi-cultural society, we have a primary responsibility to the indigenous people (Māori) as agreed in The Treaty of Waitangi. If we can improve outcomes for Māori, we will be better equipped to meet the learning needs of all our students.

Reflection on Cultural Responsiveness in my school

The areas I intend to discuss are our school vision & values and school resources. The tool I will use as a framework for my critique is taken from the observation tool used in Kia Eke Panuku⁴:

·        relationships of care are fundamental (whanaungatanga)

·        power is shared and learners have the right to equity and self-determination (mahi tahi, kotahitanga)

·        culture counts, learners’ understandings form the basis of their identity and learning (whakapapa)

·        sense-making is dialogic, interactive and on-going (ako)

·        decision-making and practice is responsive to relevant evidence (wānanga)

·        our common vision and interdependent roles and responsibilities focus on the potential of learners – Māori students achieving and enjoying educational success as Māori – (kaupapa)

At my school, our vision is to create inclusive, equitable and relevant learning opportunities for students with clear pathways that meet the aspirations of our community and which empower every student towards life-long learning.

Our three core values are Aspire (Wawatahia), Respect (Whakautea) and Contribute (Tohaina).

I think the school is taking steps towards realising this vision, which does have kaupapa concepts at its heart. As steps towards this vision the school has invested in two valuable resources: the Kia Eke Panuku programme and a Māori resource teacher. Kia Eke Panuku involves a mentoring programme to help participating teachers develop a culturally responsive and relational pedagogy. In a new initiative this year, the school has employed a young Māori teacher as a resource person who is available to all teachers to help them improve learning for their students.

Our school mostly does relationships well. There is a real sense of teachers caring for and going out of their way to foster relationships and help students. It is a pleasure to walk around the school grounds and mostly witness positive student-teacher interactions. There is a growing focus on promoting the three values in all students.

As a school I feel we are only starting to understand and develop the concepts of mahi tahi, kotahitanga, whakapapa and ako.  The Kia Eke Panuku programme has commitment from the SLT and is gaining more following from teachers. I also see the employment of a Māori resource teacher is a very positive move. It will be invaluable to have such an approachable person to give suggestions, bounce ideas off and be an expert in things Māori that many of us do not feel confident about.

So with a solid vision and some excellent resources in place I think the school is on its way to providing culturally responsive pedagogy. It will not be easy though. I teach 150 different students this year and to reach each one on their own ground will be challenging!

Ki te kahore he whakakitenga ka ngaro te iwi

Without foresight or vision the people will be lost

References

¹ Bishop, R., Berryman, M., Cavanagh, T., & Teddy, L. (2009). Te Kotahitanga: Addressing educational disparities facing Māori students in New Zealand. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(5), 734-742. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2009.01.009

² Edtalks.(2012, September 23). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations. [video file].Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49992994

³ Berryman, M. (2017) Belonging and identity through equity: Maintaining the reform complexity as we move into the PLD/CoL environment. Retrieved from: http://kep.org.nz/assets/resources/site/Colouring-in-the-white-spaces-smaller-v4-2017.pdf

⁴ Kia Eke Panuku: Building on Success. http://kep.org.nz/