I am now further along on the journey to becoming a culturally responsive teacher thanks to the assignments from The Mindlab. I have learnt a lot about indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness after talking with a colleague from our school’s Te Reo Maori/English bilingual classrooms.
This is an ethical dilemma for me. Ours is a highly multicultural school with a Maori bilingual unit. We value diversity in culture, but we are both multicultural and bicultural. I am unsure to what degree I have a bicultural perspective versus a multicultural perspective. Something for further reflection.
Policies and goals
Our school charter states that what we do at school will reflect the cultural diversity of New Zealand and in particular attention will be given to the place of Maori students. The school will also undertake to promote Tikanga Maori and Te Reo Maori where possible.
The strategic goals state that we recognise the unique status of Maori and also aim to promote and take pride in our multicultural learning environment.
Planning and Assessment
The teachers from our bilingual classes plan both with mainstream teachers and collaboratively together. However, many of the assessment practices are school-wide and therefore the learners in these classes must work within a mainstream assessment framework.
Learning activities, School-wide activities and Resources
There are many school-wide activities led by the teachers from our bilingual unit.
- Celebration of Maori Language Week - Each day of Maori Language Week, during morning tea, staff are provided with te reo lessons by the teachers of our bilingual unit.
- Kapa Haka is an opportunity provided for both mainstream and bilingual class students.
- At the start of each term, the school holds a powhiri to welcome new students, families and teachers.
- School planning includes Te Reo but not Tikanga.
- Each BOT meeting opens with a Karanga.
- The bilingual unit holds a separate budget to support increases in literacy achievement.
A culturally responsive pedagogy engages all students in learning. It is about “valuing diversity as an asset, validating culture, language and identity as essential to learning success,” (Ministry of Education, 2015). Do we ‘celebrate culture’ more than affirming it and seeing the links between cultural capital and success in learning?
Culture has to do with world views, beliefs, language, values, opinions, perspectives, assumptions. We teach about different cultural celebrations.
Geneva Gay reminds us that culturally relevant pedagogy is important because we need to remember that “students approach learning not as culturally blank slates.” They bring into the classroom all of their cultural experiences. Culturally responsive pedagogy builds upon students’ prior cultural knowledge and experiences.
Sleeter (2011) argues that celebrating culture is too simplistic and leads to how a school ‘does diversity’. I think as a teacher I could be more culturally responsive by developing planning that allows opportunities for whanau and community to come into the classroom and share their knowledge, and where I as the teacher would become a learner.
Teaching in a culturally responsive way involves power sharing—tuakana teina in action. Teachers seeking out, affirming and incorporating student and community funds of knowledge into the curriculum sometimes challenged traditional classroom power−knowledge relationships. When students and communities had greater knowledge, the classroom culture had to be such that students and teachers were comfortable with teachers positioning themselves as learners (Cowie et al., 2011).
“Effective teachers take a positive, non deficit view of Måori students, and see themselves as capable of making a difference for them,” (Bishop and Berryman, 2009). In order to be culturally responsive, I must ensure that I do not see my Maori learners in my class as ‘lacking’, and with a greater understanding of kaupapa and tikanga practices, I can feel more confident in ensuring I am valuing and affirming their cultural capital.
References
Bishop, R., & Berryman, M. (2009). The Te Kotahitanga effective teaching profile. Set: Research Information for Teachers, 2(2).
Cowie, B., Otrel-Cass, K., Glynn, T., Kara, H., Anderson, M., Doyle, J., ... & Te Kiri, C. (2011). Culturally responsive pedagogy and assessment in primary science classrooms: Whakamana tamariki. Summary report. Wellington: Teaching and Learning Research Initiative.
Introduction to Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGTVjJuRaZ8
Ministry of Education. (2015). Retrieved 29 March 2016 from http://seniorsecondary.tki.org.nz/The-arts/Pedagogy/Culturally-responsive-learning-environments
Sleeter, C. (2011). An agenda to strengthen culturally responsive pedagogy.English Teaching, 10(2), 7.
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