Creating a Culturally Responsive School

This week we were asked to focus on how our own/our school's practice has been informed by indigenous knowledge and culturally responsive pedagogy:

Our schools’ motto is “Attitude determines altitude” or “Whakapono kia koe”.  I love this simple yet powerful statement as I believe that it aligns closely with Carol Dweck’s ‘Growth Mindset’( 2010)  or the idea that success is achievable for anyone through effort and perseverance.

This motto is evident in the positive attitude of teachers at our school, who could be defined as what Bishop (2012) terms as ‘agental teachers’, that is teachers who reject deficit theorizing and believe that the responsibility for student achievement rests firmly within their classrooms.  While the achievement of Maori students is of course tracked closely (as required by the Ministry of Education) I have not once heard deficit theorizing either during an assessment meeting or in an informal context and this is in turn reflected in the overall high achievement of Maori students at our school.

Along with rejecting deficit theorizing culturally responsive teachers create an environment where Maori knowledge is validated, celebrated and actively drawn upon, build relationships with students and whanau and involve them as partners in learning and assessment (Bishop, 2012)(Savage et al., 2011). Through acknowledging and knowingly incorporating these practices into their classroom educators can create culturally-safe schools, that is, “places that allow and enable students to be who and what they are” (Macfarlane, Glynn, Cavanagh, & Bateman, 2007, pg. 65).
Our school vision (included below) aligns closely with these culturally responsive teaching practices and with our increased incorporation of Te Reo Maori (30% of classroom language), active Kapa Haka and inclusion of students, parents and the community in learning I feel that we are well on the way to living our vision.

Mā te whai pānga mai a ngā mātua me te hāpori, e rite ai wā tātou tamariki mō te paeako tawhiti

With the involvement of parents and community our children will be prepared for life long learning.

Mā roto atu I ngā whakaakoranga hiranga me ngā tūhae wheiako whai kounga.

Through excellent teaching and a range of high quality learning experiences.
Ka whai uara, ka whakautea te tuakiri me te mana o ia tamaiti.

The individuality and dignity of each child will be valued and respected.

Bishop (2012)  believes that “Teachers are the key to making a difference for Maori students”. However individual classrooms do not exist in a vacuum and in order to create a truly culturally responsive environment where Maori can achieve success “as maori” it is important that teachers receive support from their school and from the government.

Bishop (2012) gives an example of this support in the form of quality professional development training for teachers.  While serious work has been done in regards to establishing a more culturally responsive environment at my school this is one area that could be developed further.  We have received some professional development on the creation of inclusive learning environments but there are variances in cultural knowledge and Te Reo Maori skills among the teachers at the school and I believe that further training and support would be beneficial to ensure consistency across year levels and classrooms.

Along with the school the government also has a responsibility to support teachers in the creation of culturally responsive classroom environments. I believe that a lack of skills and knowledge is an issue nation-wide as training at teachers college needs to be more comprehensive, e.g. including actual Te Reo Maori language skills alongside studying Maori theories of learning and development. There should be on-going funding and support for the upskilling of teachers who qualified before this was even an area of study at teachers college. 

Bishop (2012) mentions collaboration between teachers as being integral in the creation of culturally responsive schools, while this happens informally at our school a next step forward in our journey could be formalizing this support system through mentoring workshops with more knowledgeable peers supporting others to increase their Te Reo Maori skills. 

With our growth mindset approach to learning and inclusive practices our school has already laid solid foundations for becoming a truly culturally responsive school where Maori students can achieve the success in an environment that acknowledges, includes and celebrates their culture. I know that further steps will be undertaken until our vision is fully realized and look forward to being part of this.

References:

Bishop, R. (2012). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations. Retrieved September 27, 2016, from https://vimeo.com/49992994

Dweck, C. S. (2010). Mindset. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success - Business Book Summaries, 1(1), 1–10. Retrieved from http://content.ebscohost.com/ContentServer.asp?T=P&P=AN&K=51237690&S=R&D=qbh&EbscoContent=dGJyMNHr7ESeqLQ4v+vlOLCmr0qeprFSsai4S7aWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMOzpr1Cvpq5KuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA\nhttp://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=qbh&AN=51237690&

Macfarlane, A., Glynn, T., Cavanagh, T., & Bateman, S. (2007). Creating culturally-safe schools for Māori students. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 36, 65–76. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Leading-change/Manaakitanga-Leading-with-moral-purpose/Creating-culturally-safe-schools-for-Maori-students

Savage, C., Hindle, R., Meyer, L. H., Hynds, A., Penetito, W., & Sleeter, C. E. (2011). Culturally responsive pedagogies in the classroom: indigenous student experiences across the curriculum. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39(3), 183–198. http://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2011.588311