Week 31 - PRACTICE: Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Responsiveness
What?
Indigenous knowledge, as I understand it, is the collection of values, beliefs, perceptions and traditions that constitute the culture of the native inhabitants of a particular area. With that said, according to Jacqueline Jordan Irvine (Teaching Tolerance, 2010), we need to be mindful that indigenous peoples have this knowledge to varying degrees depending on their connection to their culture. To be a culturally responsive educator, is to attempt to see the world through the eyes of each of our tamariki, and help them to connect that which needs to be learned to the cultural ideas and values they are most familiar with (Teaching Tolerance, 2010).
The demographic in my context is 50% Pasifika and 30% Maori with the remaining learners identifying as Asian, Middle Eastern and N.Z. European. As luck would have it, one of my colleagues worked alongside Dr Ann Milne for some years at Kia Aroha College; she has now spent the past four years guiding the team at Prospect School in culturally responsive pedagogy - and we still feel like we have a long way to go! Our strategic planning, goals, policies, activities, etc., all reflect our school-wide aim to be culturally responsive to all our tamariki, however, an area that continues to require deeper thinking is that of decision-making, and all the issues that brings to bear.
So what?
Our kura, as part of the wider community of our kāhui ako, is learning what it means to fully engage with local iwi. We wish for all schools in our kāhui ako to develop strong links with iwi and have sought support from the Ministry of Education to do so. The majority of our tamariki claim Ngāpuhi as iwi, however, given our location, Te Kawerau a Maki have mana whenua. First and foremost, a decision needs to be made around who connections will be made with, hopefully moving us from the bottom step of Unitec’s Poutama (n.d.) relating to the Taha Whanau strand of Te whare tapa whā. At present, we still reside in the Enquiry phase.
We are learning, slowly, that true collaborative decision-making is NOT working on a task and asking for feedback but piecing the journey together, side by side, bit by bit. Our next step is to apply this learning to discussions with iwi, around their wishes for their taonga that we are responsible for educating; this will hopefully move us into the Consultation phase (Unitec, n.d.).
What’s next?
Stronger connections with iwi will hopefully assist us in building greater engagement with Māori whānau, from whom we can learn, and work alongside, to provide the best education for their tamariki (Glynn, Cowie, & Otrel-Cass & Macfarlane, 2010). Our future decision-making needs to begin with an approach to our Māori iwi and whānau to ensure their voices are heard. As suggested by Geneva Gay (Teaching Tolerance, 2010), we also need to be mindful of connecting the world of education to te ao Māori, and attempting to view it through a different lens - that of our Māori whānau.
References
Glynn, T., Cowie, B., Otrel-Cass, K., & Macfarlane, A. (2010). Culturally responsive pedagogy: Connecting New Zealand teachers of science with their Māori students. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 39, 118−127.
Teaching Tolerance. ( 2010, Jun 17). Introduction to Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGTVjJuRaZ8
Unitec. (n.d). Learning and Teaching at Unitec Institute of Technology. [booklet]. Retrieved from http://www.unitec.ac.nz/ahimura/publications/U008817%20Learning%20and%20Teaching%20Booklet.pdf
Hi Yvonne,
ReplyDeleteIt was really interesting reading your interpretation of indigenous knowledge and the links to classroom learning. At my school, there is a similar demographic distribution so I can really relate with the cultural challenges you may face. It is great to see some more detail about the things that have been implemented, as well as the explicit links with the Māori community and iwi. I think consultation with the community is a logical next step, since they would know exactly what they expect in a culturally responsive environment. The main challenge in this approach, however, is to gain sufficient feedback from whānau. Due to personal obligations, it can be quite difficult for whānau to find time to engage in discussions. Our school recently trialed an online survey when we held our 3-way conversations (parent-teacher interviews) and it was very successful.
Hi Sean,
DeleteI think you're right about us needing to find new ways to engage with whānau rather than expecting them to come to us. We, too, have used the online survey format and this is our best way so far to reach as many whānau as possible. We have a parent who helps us to bridge the gap between the school and whānau and she always seems to be reminding us to start with a hello, bring food, relax, leave the learning conversations until later - I think we are often so keen to get things moving we forget to just connect as people first and this is predominantly where our learning lies. So, I shall work more on relaxing :)
Hello Yvonne. It was great to read about your and your schools learning journey. I understand the importance of ensuring the culture of the students is reflected in the learning and teaching. working with the community is a great way to build this cultural knowledge and ensure teachers are being culturally responsive. Like Sean I think the challenge is to being the community and the families into the learning environment. But with digital technology we can find a way to communicate with them and ensure were are being inclusive and culturally responsive to their need and wishes. As it is about ensuring a learning environment that reflects their values and beliefs. As much as people (teachers) say they are inclusive and culturally responsive I believe that there is still work to be done and improvements to be made before we can say we are fully inclusive and culturally responsive. But the shared open class lunches, notices and invitation to school events, chats with the teacher and school, offering workshops, bringing the knowledge into the classrooms and allowing the learners to bring their culture into the classroom are a good start.
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