culturally responsive pedagogies

Culturally Responsive Pedagogies

I believe that teaching is so much about building relationships and knowing what makes your children tick - and what doesn't. In order for a child to feel comfortable to learn, we need to provide inclusive, safe and happy environments where all children know that they are understood.  

Bishop and Berryman (2009) agree - stating that "relationships and interactions between teachers and students in the classroom are key to effective teaching of Måori students." They talk about how important the interactions are that exist between teachers and their Maori students - in order to be an effective teacher, you must have effective interactions. They argue that there are several things that these effective interactions rely on:

1. manaakitanga (caring for students as Maori and acknowledging their mana)

2. mana motuhake (having high expectations)

3. nga whakapiringatanga (managing the classroom to promote learning)

4. wananga and ako (using a range of dynamic, interactive teaching styles)

5. kotahitanga (teachers and students reflecting together on student achievement in order to move forward collaboratively).

In our school, I believe, we promote and celebrate what it is that makes each of us different and special. A big part of that is where we and our whanau are from, or where we connect with. In every classroom you will find teachers and students talking about cultural differences and exploring each and every one of them. Living in New Zealand, the responsibility falls on all of us to understand and share our Maori culture - something we do in our classroom daily. We have discovered that there are so many resources out there to use to help, parents who wish to share, online resources and other teachers who have a wealth of knowledge. I am the first to admit, there is so much more for me to learn, so I do so alongside the children - hopefully improving my practice.

Last term we held a Hui & Fono evening where Maori and Pacific families were invited to attend, share kai and see our culture club perform. We then asked for their feedback - how can we make school better for them and their children, they offered their thoughts on how we were going, what they like and some thoughts and ideas for the future. 

Cultural celebration days, powhiri and culture club are part of what makes our school special. In his Edtalks video, Bishop (2012) again talks about the importance of caring relationships - caring for children and their learning, more than simply holding their hands. Through such events and groups at school, it is vital that these interactions are not seen as 'token'. They must be deeper than that, showing true care and respect for our cultural differences and then see this reflected in our planning, teaching and learning. 

References

Edtalks. (2012, September 23). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations. (Video). Retrieved from http://www.edtalks.org/#/video/culturally-responsive-pedagogy-relations

Berryman, M., & Bishop, R. 2009. The Te Kotahitanga Effective Teaching Profile. Maori Achievement. Retrieved from https://moodle.education.auckland.ac.nz/pluginfile.php/4007/mod_resource/content/1/Bishop%20et%20al%20(2009).pdf