Background
González, Moll, & Amanti (2005[i]) surmise that students do better in education when: what and how they learn reflects and positively reinforces where they come from, what they value and already know. Learning needs to connect with students’ existing knowledge. Identity, language and culture are an asset and a foundation of knowledge on which to build and celebrate learning and success[ii]. The Ministry of Education (MOE) new national priorities for professional learning and development in 2020 focus on cultural capability, local curriculum design, and assessment for learning[iii]. The first two of these priorities feed into the makeup of this Bicultural Achievement Challenge (AC) as well as a second AC on Aotearoa New Zealand History in the CENCOL curriculum. To help crystallise the focus of this AC the term “Bicultural” is defined from a Christian education perspective as “seamlessly moving in learning between a Māori and non-Māori world[iv] in a way that honours the Lord and the Treaty of Waitangi”.
Rationale
Evidence suggests that building cultural capabilities amongst staff is an area development within the CENCOL, as in the past, efforts to strengthen relationships with students, their whānau and Iwi have met with mixed success. An iwi commissioned report with the MOE (2014[v]) attests to improved student learning outcomes through strengthening connections with Māori whānau. This AC prioritises the importance of building culturally capabilities in te reo Māori me ōna Tikanga (language and customs). For this to occur, all staff in the CENCOL require theories of action and practice (Jensen, 2002[vi]) which acknowledge the critical place of Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa, New Zealand. The principles of Te Tiriti[vii] (Partnership, Protection and Participation) inform legislation in the Education act, NEGs, NAGs and the New Zealand Curriculum that flow into students learning. The recently passed Education and Training Act, 2020 (which replaces the 1989 Act) aims to give greater prominence and effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi at both a national and individual school level. Under the new Act, School Boards from the beginning of 2021 have new objectives relating to Te Tiriti o Waitangi including emphasising the importance of local history and practices through the curriculum; improving the teaching of te reo and tikanga Māori and contributing to the Crown’s duty to actively protect tino rangatiratanga rights[viii].
An essential partner in this AC is the local iwi and Mana Whenua[ix] Ngāi Tahu. Matauraka Mahaanui is the mandated Māori Advisory Board for the Ministry of Education within the Waitaha/Canterbury region. This iwi and Crown partnership enables mana whenua education facilitators to advise on how local Māori stories and knowledge are woven into cultural narratives, physical spaces, pedagogy, and curriculum content for education providers. For more details see their website full of classroom resources and scope of the work they do here[x]. This AC provides a unique opportunity to strengthen an authentic partnership with Mana Whenua.
Building Cultural Capabilities
The MOE defines cultural capability as “understanding, valuing and amplifying different world views, perspectives, experiences, and measures of success[xi]”. This will be done within a Christian schools context focusing on bicultural capabilities in te reo Māori me ōna tikanga as a taonga/treasure[xii] that is protected under Article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi.
We have a sense that Māori achievement can be wider than simply academic results. As we build teacher cultural capabilities, with a particular focus on Kaupapa Māori, we intend to explore this concept with key stakeholders including, kaiako/teachers, ākonga/students, whānau and iwi to understand their desires and expression of success.
Framework
Matauraka Mahaanui have developed a planned considered approach to building cultural capabilities through their “Indicators of Success” (IoS [xiii]) programme. The IoS will form the main framework of measuring progress towards this Bicultural achievement challenge. The IoS document has been created to “assist schools / ECE centres including school / ECE leaders, Boards of Trustees / ECE governors and teachers to be culturally responsive, and to respond in authentic ways that contributes to enhanced evidence and application of Mana Whenua pedagogy”. The IoS framework will form part of an inquiry cycle. The IoS draws upon many of the past and current research that is pertinent to this AC [xiv] under the main focus areas:
- TE REO MĀORI: Planning for enhanced provision/programming
- WHĀNAU ENGAGEMENT: Strengthen whānau through productive partnerships
- PEDAGOGY & LEADERSHIP: Culturally based professional development that targets leading & managing for Māori learner success as Māori
This inquiry cycle is to begin with an initial hui Sept 17th. Evidence suggests that within the CENCOL there are mixed levels of the cultural capabilities. There are examples ranging from “building/emerging” through to “strengthening and championing” that can be celebrated and shared to improve student learning outcomes.
Link between teacher knowledge and student achievement
A key strategy for improving teacher practice is to engage pre-existing beliefs about how learning occurs (Zeichner and Liston, 1996[xv]). This strategy creates a sense of ownership and belonging that is more likely to lead to sustainable improvement in learning outcomes (Robinson, 2018[xvi]). “Knowing about practice means knowing the theory that underpins it” (Timperley, 2011, p.80[xvii]). Professional learning around cultural capabilities for teachers will challenge beliefs and assumptions and will lead to evidence-based improvement, which in turn supports enhanced student outcomes. Research by Hattie[xviii] finds the number one influence on students’ achievement is Collective Teacher Efficacy (CTE[xix]), the collective belief of staff as in their ability to positively affect students. This achievement challenge links directly to increasing CTE by building teacher cultural capabilities.
Resources
[i] González, N., Moll, L., & Amanti, C. (2005) Funds of Knowledge:Theorizing Practices in Households, Communities, and Classrooms. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
[ii] Ka Hikitia – accelerating success 2013-2017. https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/overall-strategies-and-policies/ka-hikitia-accelerating-success-20132017/
[iii] https://conversation.education.govt.nz/conversations/curriculum-progress-and-achievement/national-priorities-for-professional-learning-and-development/
[iv] Inspired through words of Dave Mann Hope project coordinator. https://alltogether.co.nz/
[v] Ministry of Education. (2014). Whānau Advisory Groups Research Project. Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated, Wellington: Ministry of Education.
[vi] Jensen, B. (2002). Knowledge, action and pro-environmental behaviour. Environmental Education Research, 8(3), 325–334.
[vii] https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/2016/11/te-tiriti-o-waitangi-living-the-values/#:~:text=The%20three%20%E2%80%9CP’s%E2%80%9D%2C%20as,under%20the%20Treaty%20of%20Waitangi.
[viii] https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/legislation/education-and-training-act-2020/giving-better-effect-to-te-tiriti-o-waitangi/
[ix] Mandated tribal authority for an area
[x] https://www.matauraka.co.nz/our-work
[xi] https://pld.education.govt.nz/regionally-allocated-pld/pld-priorities/
[xii] https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/read-the-treaty/maori-text
[xiii] https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b5653d5b27e39cc700a025f/t/5cd54019e79c70d453a15b32/1557479452022/Indicators+Framework+FINAL+Updated+February+2019.pdf
[xiv] 1. Te Kotahitanga, University of Waikato 2. He Kakano, University of Waikato, Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi 3. Education Review Office, Promoting Success for Māori students 4. Ka Hikitia Accelerating Success 2013-2017 5. Culture Counts, Bishop & Glynn 6. Culture Speaks, Bishop & Berryman 7. Scaling up Education Reform, Bishop, O’Sullivan & Berryman 8. Responsive Pedagogy, Macfarlane & Margrain 9. Discipline Democracy & Diversity, Macfarlane 10.Tātaiako, cultural competencies for teachers of Māori learners
[xv] Zeichner, K., & Liston, D.P. (1996). Reflective teaching an introduction. Monwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
[xvi] Robinson, V. (2018). Reduce change to increase improvement. California, United States of America: Sage.
[xvii] Timperley, H. (2011). Realizing the power of professional learning. Maidenhead, Berks: Open University Press.
[xviii] https://visible-learning.org/2018/03/CENCOLlective-teacher-efficacy-hattie/#:~:text=CENCOLlective%20Teacher%20Efficacy%20is%20the,%E2%80%9Cnew%20number%20one%E2%80%9D%20influence.
[xix] 1.57 effect size-two times bigger than that of feedback (d=0.72), and almost three times bigger than the effect of classroom management (d=0.52) anything over 0.4 is significant
