Culturally responsive classroom - being at home at school

After reading about culturally responsive teaching, the idea that stuck with me was power-sharing (Cowie et al, 2011, p. 3, tuākana teina in action). Within ako, and the concept of tuākana-teina there is a valuing of cultural knowledge and the expertise that rangatahi bring to  the classroom. This is a massive mindset shift for some teachers, yet is completely in line with 21st century pedagogies such as knowledge construction within Knowledge Building Communities. (Student centred learning, authentic contexts, diversity of ideas, valuing of student knowledge and expertise) Another concept that resonated was valuing and drawing upon community knowledge. "The teachers used an ensemble of strategies to welcome and highlight the value of community and student funds of knowledge" (Cowie et al, 2011, p. 3, para 4) . Akonga are more likely to engage with learning that reflects them and values them.

Milne (2013) critiques mainstream education in NZ,  'Colouring in the White Spaces' referring to the pervasive hegemony of Pakeha culture in education. Her case studies all designed learning environments that reflected their community and their values. This ranged from the physical design to values. Students felt valued, felt empowered and felt at home at school. Milne's recent blog post ('Why not whiteboy's writing, October 15 2017) powerfully critiqued the pervasive deficit thinking in our schools around Māori achievement. If we believe that our learners are able and we actually work at engaging with te ao māori and connecting with learners, connecting learning to their worlds, then maybe we'll see a shift. " the knowledge we value—and measure—is also White and it, therefore, benefits the children whose values match, and whose values are embedded in and reproduced by our schools ... We need to learn to read the world of our Māori children and craft our pedagogy around that world." (Milne, 15 Oct 2017) As teachers, we need to look at where our locus of control is and that starts with us and our pedagogy.

I will critique communication methods and learning activities within my school, against the Mauri model (Potahu, 2011). Communication is how a school connects with akonga and the broader community, through the said and the unsaid.  Learning design inevitably has values behind it.  As a school we have some work to do around these areas. A recent ERO report identified that Māori students felt confident in their learning within te reo and kapahaka, however, this is not translating to the broader school. This suggests that our learners are in a state of mauri moe (withdrawn). As a school, we need to look at our practices and ask 'why'. To move into Mauri Oho (proactive), we need to recenter our learning design to enhance Mahana (warmth) and relationships in learning. This involves taking time to connect with our learners and to really be present, connecting with their values and more than that, designing an environment where student values inform their learning.  

So, as a digital immersion school  with 1/3 Māori learners how do we design a space (physical and virtual) that is authentically Māori, and affirms Māori learners?  The symbolic levels of communication (what is valued, what is celebrated, the kind of language we use to describe ourselves in a public space) speak volumes to our Māori community.

Bishop's An indigenous approach to creating knowledge (1998) is useful here. He refers to a 'whanau of interest', describing the metaphorical whanau as a place for constructing shared meanings guided by mutually understood protocols.  "it is the concerns, interests and preferences of the whanau that guide and drive the research processes". There is much to be learnt from Bishop. How powerful would it be if teachers were to define their classes as 'whanau of interest' and value the ideas and ambitions of their learners?   

Reference list:

Bishop, R. (1998). Freeing ourselves from neo-colonial domination in research: A Maori approach to creating knowledge. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 11(2), 199–219.

Cowie, B., Otrel-Cass, K., Glynn, T., & Kara, H., with Anderson, M., Doyle, J., Parkinson, A., & Te Kiri, C. (2011). Culturally responsive pedagogy and assessment in primary science classrooms: Whakamana tamariki. Summary Report Wellington: Teaching Learning Research Initiative. (PDF - 76.84 KB)

Knowledge Building Gallery. (n.d.). Introduction. Retrieved from http://thelearningexchange.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/KB-Gallery-0-Introduction-Accessible.pdf

Milne, A. (2013). Colouring in the white spaces : reclaiming cultural Identity in whitestream Schools (Doctoral dissertation, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10289/7868

Milne, A. (2017, October 14). Why not White Boys' Writing? [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.annmilne.co.nz/my-blog/2017/10/14/why-not-white-boys-writing-1

Potahu, T. W. (2011). Mauri - Rethinking Human Wellbeing. MAI Review, 3, 1-12.