Week 31 - Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness

What:    This is a kaupapa that I am very passionate about, as I have been a kaiako, kaitakawaenga 

and I am currently a pouako in a kura ā-iwi. I have worked also worked in a kura tuarua and whare wānanga. I have been actively involved in researching and teaching indigenous knowledge. I believe that cultural responsiveness is embedded in my practice. As students are able to be Māori as soon as they enter the kura until they leave.  I am committed to continue enhancing  my language and teaching pedagogies.

Russsell Bishop (2009) States that teachers make a difference!! Milene also discusses in her keynote speech for U Learn 2017 that students form their identity is from others then they create that picture of themselves.  Therefore, as a Māori medium educator I need to continue to demonstrate

high expectations to our Māori students and to create a learning environment that is responsive to the child. 

At our kura we have four core values that are embed into our school culture;

" He kura te Tangata" The people are alive and prospering

Te Kura Māori o Porirua prosper from this whakataukī implying that all ākonga have the right to administer their natural abilities to become leaders. To develop their skills in a whānau orientated environment crucial for growth and development

• Te Whānaungatanga: good whānau relationships and communication networks

• Te Whai Wāhaitanga: Growing positive interpersonal skills in students and respecting people’s differences and cultures.

• Rangatiratanga: Autonomy, independence and educational wellbeing

• Kaitiakitanga: promote the social values of manaakitanga,aroha, and kaitiakitanga.

Currently we are designing a new report system that reflects our core values. In this bog I will focus how we are improving our assessment procedures.

So what? In our kura I think most of us sit in the green column and we have a few kaiako that sit in the red column who have chosen to live "authentically as Māori". However in terms of assessment practices they are still colonial in terms of expectations and definitions of success. Before the change of government we defined children's success based on colonial expectations eg Whanaketanga (national progressions). Now as kura ā-iwi we have a chance to re-defined what success looks like for us "as Māori" in a kura ā-iwi.  We have just started to collect whānau voice, they are very supported with the move and we have discussed what kind of graduates they would like their child to be, we had the following responses; that kaiako knowing the character of the child was important, "expand them outside their comfort zone", finically literacy, social responsibility and empathy were key skills they thought were important.  In this round of reports we want whānau to have more input into their child's progress based on the four matapono of the kura..

What Next?

• Continue to consult with whānau about our new reporting system.  
• We will need to review our current assessment policies, so they are more aligned with our values. 
• Also we need to continue to review and develop our reporting framework, so whānau our clear were their child sit and they can see how they have progressed and parents will have the opportunity to co-construct next learning steps with their child's teacher.

APA Referencing 

Bishop, R., Berryman, M., Cavanagh, T. & Teddy, L. (2009).Te Kotahitanga: Addressing educational disparities facing Māori students in New Zealand. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(5),734–742.

CORE Education.(2017, 17 October). Dr Ann Milne, Colouring in the white spaces: Reclaiming cultural identity in whitestream schools.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cTvi5qxqp4&feature=em-subs_digest