Being Culturally Responsive
A New Plymouth councillor has recently been widely criticised for his comments about Te Reo and questioning whether there is value in promoting it. This condemnation is not surprising. We expect the councillor, as someone in a public role, to have greater sensitivity and awareness of cultural matters and their importance to New Zealand.
Within the classroom, teachers should show daily their understanding of indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness. There continues to be a disparity between Māori and non-Māori students. Savage et. al. (2011) attribute this to the domination of Pākehā culture and western practices in the education system. Culturally responsive pedagogy means contextualising learning to meet students' "cultural forms, behaviours and processes" (Savage, et.al., 2011, p. 2). Likewise, Bishop et. al. (2007) identify culturally responsive teachers as being those who "care for students as culturally located individuals" (p. 11).
The adapted "Pasifika: Participation, Engagement, Achievement" tool supplied by Mindlab provides a useful set of reflective questions to assess the cultural responsiveness of my practice, and that of my school.
Over recent years there has been a concerted effort to school-wide activities to increase the number and range of activities which promote Māori culture and values. This has included inter-house haka and waiata competitions, using haka and waiata written specifically for the school, as well as junior ki-o-rahi competitions. These have given Māori students the opportunity to express their identities, and lead the school. It also allows the school to acknowledge and show pride in the place Māori have within it. This has been reinforced through the new signs around the school which have whakairo telling the story of our region. We also have a pōwhiri at the beginning of each school year to welcome our new students and staff.
So, visibly, as a school we strive to create conditions where students are able to express their cultural identities, particularly our Māori students. We have a growing population of students from other ethnic backgrounds, particularly Filipino, and our challenge is to also enable these students to maintain their cultural values and identities in our school.
My own journey to cultural responsiveness continues as I work to develop my relationships, learning environment and teaching practice.
My unit planning template includes space for developing lessons which support cultural diversity, and as a department we have a list of texts by authors of diverse ethnic backgrounds which we endeavour to introduce to our students. I belong to a Culturally Responsive PLG and have identified strategies for addressing the needs of students of different cultures within my classroom, including a wide range of learning activities. My classroom includes days, months, learning goals, key competencies and key terms in Te Reo. I promote whanaungatanga; I strongly believe in the potential of all my students and have high expectations for them.
However, in the day to day management of my classroom, there are many ways I could be more culturally responsive. Despite intentions of greeting my classes with my mihi, my nerves overcame me and I stayed within my comfort zone. My use of Te Reo for greetings and instructions can definitely be improved. Manaakitanga is important to me and I work hard on improving relationships with students but I know that sometimes my time is dominated by more vocal (or misbehaving) students at the expense of others. Although I give students choice in a range of activities, there are ways to improve tino rangatiratanga and ako.
The Education Council's Tataiako - Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Maori Learners is a particularly useful for helping me on this journey. What tools do you use?
Within the classroom, teachers should show daily their understanding of indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness. There continues to be a disparity between Māori and non-Māori students. Savage et. al. (2011) attribute this to the domination of Pākehā culture and western practices in the education system. Culturally responsive pedagogy means contextualising learning to meet students' "cultural forms, behaviours and processes" (Savage, et.al., 2011, p. 2). Likewise, Bishop et. al. (2007) identify culturally responsive teachers as being those who "care for students as culturally located individuals" (p. 11).
The adapted "Pasifika: Participation, Engagement, Achievement" tool supplied by Mindlab provides a useful set of reflective questions to assess the cultural responsiveness of my practice, and that of my school.
Over recent years there has been a concerted effort to school-wide activities to increase the number and range of activities which promote Māori culture and values. This has included inter-house haka and waiata competitions, using haka and waiata written specifically for the school, as well as junior ki-o-rahi competitions. These have given Māori students the opportunity to express their identities, and lead the school. It also allows the school to acknowledge and show pride in the place Māori have within it. This has been reinforced through the new signs around the school which have whakairo telling the story of our region. We also have a pōwhiri at the beginning of each school year to welcome our new students and staff.
So, visibly, as a school we strive to create conditions where students are able to express their cultural identities, particularly our Māori students. We have a growing population of students from other ethnic backgrounds, particularly Filipino, and our challenge is to also enable these students to maintain their cultural values and identities in our school.
My own journey to cultural responsiveness continues as I work to develop my relationships, learning environment and teaching practice.
My unit planning template includes space for developing lessons which support cultural diversity, and as a department we have a list of texts by authors of diverse ethnic backgrounds which we endeavour to introduce to our students. I belong to a Culturally Responsive PLG and have identified strategies for addressing the needs of students of different cultures within my classroom, including a wide range of learning activities. My classroom includes days, months, learning goals, key competencies and key terms in Te Reo. I promote whanaungatanga; I strongly believe in the potential of all my students and have high expectations for them.
However, in the day to day management of my classroom, there are many ways I could be more culturally responsive. Despite intentions of greeting my classes with my mihi, my nerves overcame me and I stayed within my comfort zone. My use of Te Reo for greetings and instructions can definitely be improved. Manaakitanga is important to me and I work hard on improving relationships with students but I know that sometimes my time is dominated by more vocal (or misbehaving) students at the expense of others. Although I give students choice in a range of activities, there are ways to improve tino rangatiratanga and ako.
The Education Council's Tataiako - Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Maori Learners is a particularly useful for helping me on this journey. What tools do you use?
References
Bishop, R., Berryman, M., Cavanagh, T., Teddy, L. (2007). Te Kōtahitanga Phase 3 Whānaungatanga: Establishing a Culturally Responsive Pedagogy of Relations in Mainstream Secondary School Classrooms Report to the Ministry of Education. Ministry of Education, New Zealand. Retrieved from http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/9922/Te_Kotahitanga_Phase3.pdfEducation Council (n.d.). Tātaiako - Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners: A resource for use with the Graduating Teacher Standards and Practising Teacher Criteria. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/sites/default/files/Tataiako%20Cultural%20Competencies%20for%20Teachers%20of%20Maori%20Learners%20A%20resource%20for%20use%20with%20the%20Graduating%20Teacher%20Standards%20and%20Practising%20Teacher%20Criteria.pdf
Keith, L. (2017) Mayor condemns councillor's Facebook post about Maori language. Taranaki Daily News. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/89353239/public-backlash-over-councillors-facebook-post-about-maori-language.
Savage, C., Hindle, R., Meyer, L. H., Hynds, A., Penetito, W., & Sleeter, C. E. (2011). Culturally responsive pedagogies in the classroom: Indigenous student experiences across the curriculum. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39(3), 183-198.
Te Toi Tupu. (n.d.). Pasifika: Participation, Engagement, Achievement tool. Retrieved from http://www.tetoitupu.org/pasifika-participation-engagement-achievement-tool
Te Toi Tupu. (n.d.). Pasifika: Participation, Engagement, Achievement tool. Retrieved from http://www.tetoitupu.org/pasifika-participation-engagement-achievement-tool
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