Indigenous Knowledge & Cultural Responsiveness

Indigenous Knowledge & Cultural Responsiveness

We all bring our own culture to the classroom. My students bring their cultures and I bring mine. Sometimes we are unaware of the affect they may have.

Culture can be defined as visible and invisible, with invisible culture being values, beliefs, opinions, perspectives etc. Visible culture is made up of the tangible elements such as music, language, art etc. Our Maori students bring all of these cultural experiences with them to our classrooms and they form part of who they are as an  individual. 

Being culturally responsive, as Russell Bishop puts it, is to acknowledge that students bring their own experiences and cultural knowledge to the classroom and that agentic teachers are the key to making a difference in the achievement of our indigenous students. One of the most powerful ways to improve student achievement is through positive, nurturing relationships (Savage,C, Hindleb, R., Meyerc,L., Hyndsa,A., Penetitob, W. & Sleeterd, C, 2011). It is difficult to teach any student if you haven't formed a trusting relationship, which is based on mutual respect. Agentic teachers care for Maori as Maori and have high expectations, which I think is so important for all students. It is also important to identify students' strengths and utilise them. I like giving students the opportunity to teach others who are younger or less skilled and this is a great way to acknowledge  and value Maori students' experiences and expertise.

When I look at the ETP (effective teacher profile) I think I am doing well with most of the six criteria listed. Manaakitanga (caring for students as culturally located individuals) is an area for me to be more mindful of as I am not sure that I gave enough credence to this area. I think I am respectful and caring of all my students but perhaps I need to celebrate the different cultures in my room, especially Maori who have been so poorly treated and let down by mainstream education (or whitestream education).

 

School Wide Activities

Our school wide activities, which have improved relationships with students, whanau and the community, consist of a variety of in school initiatives. 

• We have had several hangi to celebrate Matariki. We have relied on local Maori families to prepare the hangi and share their knowledge. Everyone comes together, which is a fantastic way to build ties and relationships. 

• Whanau attend assemblies on Fridays, especially when their tamariki/mokopuna are involved in running it, is another way of involving whanau in the students education.

• At the end of the year we put on a show for whanau/families, which usually consists of our kapa haka club or general classrooms presenting waiata and haka, thus valuing an important aspect of Maori culture.

• Our annual gala is a time when the whole school community comes together for the betterment of the school to raise funds.

• Parent interviews take place, where students are encouraged to participate.  These are based around reports but are informal chats. Most families attend these which is a great way to work together to celebrate and/or plan ways forward.

I think this is a good start in developing relationships with whanau and valuing Maori students but there is always more we can do.  

Learning Activities 

I think our learning activities, within the curriculum, is an area for our school to work on. Some teachers display a culturally responsive pedagogy in their learning activities but it is not across the school. As seen in "Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Assessment in Primary Science Classrooms" (Cowie, B., Otrel-Cass, K., Glynn, T., & Kara, H., et al. 2011),  the findings indicated the teacher must support diverse ways for students to develop, express and share cumulative understanding. Teachers must become learners, learning from more knowledgeable students and incorporate student and community funds of knowledge into the curriculum. However in our school this is more the picture:

• Student agency/choice in some classes but not all.

• The use of digital technologies to allow for more diverse ways of developing and sharing their understanding needs to be a more unified approach school wide.

•  Blended learning, which allows whanau to participate more in their children's education is not happening across the school.

•  Collaborative learning is takes place in some classrooms only.

• There is little student input into the curriculum and it is not always reflecting our biculturalism. 

• Little opportunity for across class mentoring and isn't focused on Maori students. 

   

   

 

References:

Cowie, B., Otrel-Cass, K., Glynn, T., & Kara, H., et al.(2011).Culturally responsive pedagogy and assessment in primary science classrooms: Whakamana tamariki. Wellington: Teaching Learning Research Initiative. Retrieved from http://www.tlri.org.nz/sites/default/files/projects/9268_cowie-summaryreport.pdf

Dunn, Michael. Defining indigenous knowledge (26th September 2014). theoryofknowledge.net. http://www.theoryofknowledge.net/areas-of-knowledge/indigenous-knowledge-systems/defining-indigenous-knowledge/ Last accessed: 3rd October 2017

Milne, B. A. (2013). Colouring in the White Spaces: Reclaiming Cultural Identity in Whitestream Schools (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)). University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10289/7868



Savage,C, Hindleb, R., Meyerc,L., Hyndsa,A., Penetitob, W. & Sleeterd, C.(2011) Culturally responsive pedagogies in the classroom: indigenous student experiences across the curriculum .Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39(3), 183–198