Week 28 - Cultural Responsiveness

Week 28 - Cultural Responsiveness

Cultural awareness as coined by Gay (2002), states, "Culturally responsive teaching is defined as using the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse students as conduits for teaching them more effectively” (Pg. 109).   This is achieved by building meaningful and purposeful relationships with students.  It is underpinned with a deeper understanding and knowledge of the student and the skills, experiences, and cultural strengths they bring to their learning.  This is my understanding as it requires me to 'know' my students from every aspect of who they are including the cultural community and heritage that they affiliate with.

Indigenous awareness is about having respect for the fact that all people come from a culture that they practice and believe in with customs and language that usually mean a great deal to them.  As an individual I need to show an understanding and awareness of this that allows them to adhere to their cultural beliefs and practices.  Their beliefs, their values, and their history.  It is stated by UNESCO (2017) that... “Indigenous knowledge is local knowledge which is unique to a culture or society”.pg. 1). 

At Whakawātea Māori culture is exhalted and practiced as the norm.  Our entire way of being sees us formally practicing Māori protocols in our daily routines.  We hold fast to our cultural practices and language.  We place significant value on Māori history, values, beliefs and culture in general.

We use Tū Rangatira to guide leadership and staff performance in an effort to support staff to lead their own learning and further enhance their leadership capabilities.  I fully aspire to the Ka Hikatia strategy and empower Māori students achieve educational success as Māori.  Tātaiako is another useful document which empowers teachers and schools to review and improve their cultural competencies.  Then Mātaiako has been published to assist teachers, families and Board of Trustees understand the academic achievement of their children and gain an understanding of the students next learning steps.

References 

Gay,G. (2002). Preparing for culturally responsive teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(2),106-116.

UNESCO, (2017). Indigenous knowledge and sustainability. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/mods/theme_c/mod11.html