Creating an Equitable and Inclusive Classroom for Māori Students

Creating an Equitable and Inclusive Classroom for Māori Students

“Kotahitekōhau o tengira e kuhunaaitemiromā, temiropango, temirowhero. I muri, kiamaukitearoha, kiteture, kitewhakapono.” As spoken by King Potatau I, sharing his hope and vision for Maori at his coronation at Ngaruawahia in 1858 Through the one eye of the needle pass the white threads, the black threads and the red threads. Afterwards, hold firmly to your love, to the law, and to the faith.

The Current Situation • One of the National Education Goals of the Ministry of Education (2004), NEG 2 , is “Equality of education opportunity for all New Zealanders, by identifying and removing barriers to achievement.” and the other that applies is NEG 9, “Increased participation and success by Māori through the advancement of Māori education initiatives, including education in Te Reo Māori, consistent with the Treaty of Waitangi.” • However, currently within secondary schools there is a ‘power asymmetry’ that does not provide for an equitable education system (Simon, J., 1992). • Pākehā values, beliefs and systems are regarded as normal, with the pervading assumption of superiority. Whereas, Māoritanga is currently only selectively used. (Connell, S., 1989) • Even though teachers want all their students, including Māori, to do well, many do not understand the important role culture plays in a student’s learning. (Jill Bevan-Brown, 2003 p 1). • Māori students are consistently over-represented in early school leaver statistics and underachieving in NCEA.

Ministry of Education – National Administration Guidelines (1 v and 2 iii) • Each board, with the principle and staff, is required to: • in consultation with the school’s Māori community, develop and make known to the schools’ community policies, plans and targets for improving the achievement of Māori students; • report to students and their parents on the achievement of individual students, and to the school’s community on the achievement of students as a whole and of groups ... Including the achievement of Māori students against the plans and targets referred to in 1 v above. As quoted in Ministry of Education, (2000).

The key issues • Because our education system is determined by the majority group and has institutional bias, it has always been involved in reproducing class inequalities (Bell & Carpenter, 1994). • Our education system as it currently stands, does not ensure equitable outcomes for Māori students (Bell & Carpenter, 1994). • As a cohort, they (Māori ) consistently under-perform the norm (Bishop et al. 2007). • Most teacher education institutions need to develop their courses and programmes to better equip teachers to teach Māori students (Te PuniKōkiri, 2001).

What the data tells us. In research projects, it has been found that creating an equitable and inclusive classroom for Māori students raises engagement and achievement levels: • the proportion of year 11 Māori learners achieving the reading literacy and numeracy criteria for NCEA Level 1 increased to 61.1%, an increase of 1.2 percentage points from 2006 • Māori school leavers with NCEA Level 2 or above increased from 36.7% in 2006 to 43.9% in 2007 • Māori school leavers qualified to attend university increased from 14.8% in 2006 to 18.3% in 2007 • the retention rates for 17½-year-old Māori learners increased from 38.9% in 2006 to 39.1% in 2007 • the proportion of Māori participating in modern apprenticeships has increased from 15.1% in 2006 to 15.6% in 2007 (Ministry of Education, 2009).

Equality of Opportunity versus Equity • Equality of opportunity involves treating every student the same in terms of providing them an ‘opportunity’ to be educated, whereas equity is about treating every student based on their individual need so that they have an equal chance of achieving the same outcome (Ball, 1994). • Therefore to make Equal Opportunity = Equity, we need to provide a multi-curricula, multi-pedagogical educational system whereby the classroom system is individually tailored to each student to achieve the “best” outcome for each student according to that individual student’s needs.

What if ...? • For those of you who are still not sure that we should be concerned with equity, try considering what position you would be in if the tangatawhenua were in the majority group today? In terms of: • Language used • Curriculum • Teaching styles • Culture • We hope that you get the picture!

What does an Equitable and Inclusive Classroom for Māori students look like? • In general we would see the following: • Visible signs of culture – images, icons, work on display, resources that reflective Māori perspectives, people and language. • Invisible signs of culture – e.g. “discursive practices and co-construction (power sharing) between students and teachers” (Bishop et al, 2003). • Māori students feel ‘normal’ in the classroom. (Bishop et al, 2007). • From Walters, Phillips, Olliver, & Gilliland, 1993: • Teachers promote a positive self-image amongst Māori students. • Teachers learn about the emphasise the positive aspects of the culture and provide a culturally relevant education. • Students learn through co-operation and sharing. • Students achieve through motivation, decision-making and self-regulation.

Differences in Cultural Norms European Māori Share. Honour in giving. Suspicious of those with too much. Cooperate. Help each other. Work together. Passive. Let others dominate. Quiet. Say what is necessary. Enjoy silent companionship. Stay in background. Time is here. Be patient. Enjoy life. Enjoy today, it is all we have. Enjoy leisure. Depend on nature and use what is available. Allow time for thought • Acquire, save. Possessions bring status. Wealth and security sought after. • Compete. Excel. Be the best. • Assertive, do-er. Dominate. • Vocal. Must talk. Embarrasses by silence. Be noticed. • Time is extremely important. Get things done. Watch the clock, schedule, priorities. • Prepare. Live for the future. • Keep busy. Idleness is undesirable. Produce to acquire and build reserves. • Give instant answers. Walters, B., Phillips, C., Olliver, B., & Gilliland, H. (1993).

Differences in Cultural Norms, Contd. European Māori Respect for wisdom of the elderly. Work for survival. Deep sense of humour. See humour in life. Close ties to entire extended family including many relatives. Live in harmony with nature. Spirituality. Act according to what feels right. Health results from harmony with nature. Great respect for ceremonies and traditions. Looking in eye means aggression or anger. Looking down is a sign of respect. • Emphasis on youth. • Work is a virtue. • Light humour. Jokes. • Few strong ties beyond the single family unit. • Analyse and control nature. • Science. Reason. • Act according to logic. • Health: concern for germs, cleanliness. • Traditions of varying importance. • Always look a person in the eye. Looking away means disinterest or dishonesty. Walters, B., Phillips, C., Olliver, B., & Gilliland, H. (1993).

Differences in Cultural Norms, Contd. European Māori Talk about good things before criticism. Recognition for group achievement. Touching, closeness, affection. Accept public show of emotions: anger, sorrow, affections. Outside is appropriate place to visit teacher until well acquainted and accepted. Bilingual. Values of culture are best expressed in the language of that culture. • Criticism is immediate, blunt, to the point. • Recognition for the sports figure and individual achievement. • Personal space required. • Little evidence of emotion in public. • Visitors, associates, teachers must be welcome inside the home. • Monolingual. English is the best and only important language. Walters, B., Phillips, C., Olliver, B., & Gilliland, H. (1993).

We need to take a Māori Cultural Perspective to Address the Issues • From a Māori perspective the following key concepts have been highlighted as important to Māori students in a classroom context (Bishop et al. 2007). • Rangatiratanga – self-determination • TaongaTukuIko – cultural identity • Ako – reciprocal learning (community) • Kia pikiakeingāraruraru o tekainga – mediation of home difficulties • whānau – extended family • Kaupapa – collective vision or philosophy

Rangatiratanga • Giving the individual the right to exercise authority over themselves. This includes being able to act for themselves, make decisions and take control of their lives. It is used for the betterment of the entire group, not just the individual. (Bevan-Brown. J., 2003, p 19) • In the classroom situation, students can be encouraged to take responsibility for their actions, decisions and learning within the classroom.

TaongaTukuIko • “The principle of cultural aspirations where cultural identities are valued, valid and legitimate... valuing of the student as a unique individual, recognising their mana ” ( Bishop & Glynn, 2003). • Acknowledging the Māori language, knowledge, culture and values and using it as a context for learning. Ensuring that it is seen as normal. • “Taongatukuiho therefore, teaches us to respect the tapu of each individual child and to acknowledge their mana...” (Bishop, Berryman, Cavanaugh, Teddy, & Clapham, 2006).

Ako • Ako means reciprocal learning – to teach and to learn. The teacher’s role is as a facilitator in the classroom, setting up an environment where the student can also add their own knowledge to the discussion. This type of organisation is conducive to shared learning, as each member of the group is able to contribute, which will result in group knowledge building (Bishop, Berryman, Cavanaugh, Teddy, & Clapham, 2006). • Active learning approaches are preferred to enable students to apply their real-life experiences, which is seen as valuable.

Kia pikiakeingāraruraru o tekainga • Involve parents and the wider family into school activities. Building strong home-school relationships increases participation of students in school based educational experiences and increases the opportunities for whānau to support students in times of educational crisis (Bishop & Glynn, 2003). • The closer the classroom and home experiences are for the student, the more likely it will be that students will be able to participate in the educational activities designed at school. Māori people prefer to work in a culturally familiar environment. • Support and help is sought from whānau for dealing with specific issues or for wider school based activities e.g. sports, cultural groups.

Whānau • Māori parents and whānau are interested in their children’s education and want to be actively involved – they are stakeholders in this venture. This community is frustrated about the lack of cultural equity in classroom. Māori are sometimes hesitant to approach schools to enquire about making changes. This stems from personal negative experiences of school. A need has been recognised for more parental and teacher support, and open communication. (Ministry of Education, 1998) • In classrooms where whānau-type relationships are established, commitment and connectedness would be paramount and responsibility for the learning of others would be fostered (Bishop, Berryman, Cavanaugh, Teddy, & Clapham, 2006). This provides the basis for ako and the development of a community of learners.

Key Stakeholders • At the core – students and teachers, working together. • In the middle – parents, whānau, school community, supporting teachers and students. • At the edge – Ministry of Education, wider community, providing the expectations, policies and systems.

Kaupapa • “An influential and coherent philosophy and practice for Māori conscientisation, resistance and transformative praxis to advance Māori cultural capital and learning outcomes within education and schooling” (Smith cited in Bishop and Glynn, 2003, p,61). • The kaupapa (common vision) is developed collectively and is essential for the development of education relations and interactions that will promote educational achievement and reduce disparities (Bishop, Berryman, Cavanaugh, Teddy, & Clapham, 2006).

What recent research has shown. • What recent research and programmes (e.g. Bishop, Berryman, Cavanaugh, Teddy, & Clapham, 2006) have shown is that if we as teachers: • have the right attitudes and beliefs, • if we take the time to know and to find out the specific needs of the group of students we are targeting, • if we address their needs well within the context of our educational system, and • if we apply proven pedagogical and management techniques we can achieve impressive positive results with this these students.

High Level Summary of Key Success Strategies for Teachers • Manaakitanga – Teachers’ showing that they care by treating students with respect and honesty. • Mana Motuhake – Teachers’ having high expectations for students’success. • NgāWhakapiringatanga – Boundaries, rules and organisation • Wāngana – Appropriate pedagogical approach that engages • Ako – Interactive, reciprocal and community learning • Kōtahitanga – Collaborative achievement of a common / shared goal

Manaakitanga • Teachers need to extend hospitality, kindness and respect towards students in the classroom, enabling Māori students to feel that they can be themselves. • Students need to feel that teachers care for them as Māori. • Teachers need to take into account that Māori students bring cultural understandings and different perspectives to the class. Instruction and activities should be included to reflect and build on this knowledge (Bishop, Berryman, Cavanaugh, Teddy, & Clapham, 2006).

Mana Motuhake • Māori students do not like teachers having low expectations of them and respond to high and challenging expectations. • Teachers need to: • Show that they care for students performance. • Have high and clear expectations . • Communicate clear teaching goals to students. • Teach students how to learn. • Critically reflecting on own teaching. • Support and reward effort and learning by students. • Take responsibility for student learning (not just blame the students). • Be passionate about what is being taught. • Be willing and able to adapt teaching based on feedback. • Make homework relevant and checking it carefully and responsively (Bishop et al, 2006).

NgāWhakapiringatanga • Whilst it might sound counter-intuitive, Māori students did not appreciate chaotic classrooms and they knew when things were not working well. • NgāWhakapiringatanga involves the careful organisation of specific individual roles and responsibilities required to achieve desired outcomes. • In this context, teachers create the environment and organisation to ensure that all students are able to contribute to their own learning and to support the learning of others (Bishop, Berryman, Cavanaugh, Teddy, & Clapham, 2006).

Wāngana • Taking a new pedagogical approach to learning. • Traditional approaches do not work best with Māori students (or any other student for that matter). • Active learning that involved interacting with others was much preferred  cooperative learning.

Ako • An effective classroom environment is where lots of discussion and co-operative group learning and knowledge sharing can take place (Pere, 1982, p.70) • Ako involves both the acquisition of knowledge and the processing and imparting of knowledge. This is a teaching-learning practice that involves teachers and students learning in an interactive, iterative, dynamic relationships where cooperative learning occurs.

Kōtahitanga • Working towards a commonly held vision. • The first step is to define and agree the commonly held vision. • Students want to know what they are meant to learn, why and how well they are doing. • Teachers and students form a compact that focussed on achieving certain outcomes and students develop a sense of responsibility to work towards these outcomes and to help the teacher and others achieve the agreed outcomes as well.

Seven ways of applying Māori Values in the Classroom • Group problem solving. • Apply peer tutoring. • Apply cooperative effort to learn new skills. • Develop and focus on ‘group pride’ in achievement. • Focus on students’ learning. • Replace competition with others with self-competition (using ipsative assessment techniques). • Encouraging students to help each other – peer learning. From Walters, Phillips, Olliver, & Gilliland, 1993

General characteristics of Successful Teachers • Most importantly, build trusting relationships with students. They are non-judgemental of their students (Carpenter, McMurchy-Pilkington, & Sutherland, 2001), (Saravia-Shore, & Garcia, 1995). • Celebrate the cultural diversity of their learners and treat as an opportunity for all students to learn more about our world (Saravia-Shore, & Garcia, 1995). • Take time to build their own cross-cultural knowledge and seek consistent professional development (Carpenter, McMurchy-Pilkington, & Sutherland, 2001). • Identify and own their own culture, being aware of the impact this has in the classroom (Saravia-Shore, & Garcia, 1995). • Always hold high expectations which is reflected in quality instruction of the curriculum (Carpenter, McMurchy-Pilkington, & Sutherland, 2001). • They empower students by reinforcing an internal locus of control and help build individual self-control (Carpenter, McMurchy-Pilkington, & Sutherland, 2001). • Have a safe and healthy environment for students to participate and collaborate with interactive learning activities. These should be fun, real-world and relevant. • Provide appropriate scaffolds for the students to develop within their zone of proximal development (Eggen, & Kauchak, 2007) . • Include students perspectives and contributions, treating them with respect and meaning. (Saravia-Shore M., & Garcia, E. 1995, p49)

Effective Teaching Profile for Māori students (Bishop, Berryman, Cavanaugh, Teddy, & Clapham, 2006). • In addition to the general characteristics outlined in the previous slide, effective teachers of Māori students create culturally appropriate and responsive context for learning in their classroom. In doing so they demonstrate the following beliefs: • They positively and vehemently reject deficit theory in explaining the performance of Māori students. • There are strategies for bringing about change in Māori students’ educational achievement and that if they are committed to doing so they can make a difference.

In Summary: Effective Teachers of Māori students do the following: • Manaakitanga – they care for the students as culturally-centred human beings. • Manamotuhake – They have high expectations and care for the performance of their students. • Whakapiringatanga – They create a safe, secure, well-managed learning environment with innovation and creativity. • Wānanga – they are able to engage with Māori students effectively in reciprocal learning. • Ako – They can use a range of strategies to promote cooperative learning environments where everyone learns and teaches. • Kotahitanga – They work collectively towards agreed outcomes that lead to improvements in educational outcomes for Māori students. From (Bishop, Berryman, Cavanaugh, Teddy, & Clapham, 2006).

How to Make Inclusive and Equitable Schools a Reality for Māori students? • Schools need to be reformed and pedagogy needs to be improved in ways that will lead them to respond positively to student diversity – seeing individual differences not as problems to be fixed, but as opportunities for enhancing learning (UNESCO, 2005). • Developing leadership that is responsive and proactive. The Education Review Office (1999, page 15) notes that: “The quality of the principle’s leadership in te reo me ngātikangaMāori is important to the learning success of Māori students. In the best case, principals have ability in te reo Māori, a practical understanding of tikanga Māori, and a strong empathy with Māoristudents and their whānau” as quoted in Ministry of Education, (2000). • Ensure that Māori is effectively represented on the Board of Trustees of the school (perhaps by co-opting a qualified member) (Hohepa & Jenkins, 2004). • Establishing the conditions in schools that is required for inclusive and equitable education. For example, Māori students are more likely to achieve when the school environment is recognisably Māori (Ministry of Education, 2000). • A program of professional development for teachers and other staff that are responsible for teaching Māori students. • Implementing the strategies (e.g. the effective teaching profile) that have been developed as a result of proven research e.g. Te Kōtahitanga Phase 3 Whānaungatanga: Establishing a Culturally Responsive Pedagogy of Relations in Mainstream Secondary School Classrooms.

Concluding Points • Currently, Māori students are not receiving the best opportunities to excel in education. There is an underlying sense that Pākehā values and processes are superior, to the detriment of people from different cultures, including Māori. • When we look at the evidence outlined above it is clear to see that Māori tikanga in education has many benefits, not only for Māori, but for all students. • Classroom teachers and resource teachers need to find generic teaching strategies that work for all students (Macfarlane, 2004). • These strategies should be introduced in cultural contexts, and with culturally appropriate pedagogies, that still represent and affirm the language, culture and values of Māori (Macfarlane, 2004). • Even without a school-wide programme, teachers can individually create inclusive and equitable classrooms by the attitudes and behaviours they display, and by the pedagogies, processes and management that they employ. • You can make a difference!!

Works Cited • Bevan-Brown, J., (2003) The Cultural Self Review, New Zealand Council for Educational Research, Wellington. • Bishop, R., Berryman, M., Tiakiwi, S., & Richardson, C. (2003). Te Kotahitanga: The experiences of year 9 and 10 Māori students in mainstream classrooms. Wellington: Ministry of Education. • Bishop, R., Berryman, M., Cavanaugh, T., Teddy, L., & Clapham, S. (2006). Te Kotahitanga phase 3 whakawhānaungatanga: Establishing culturally responsive pedagogy of relations in mainstream secondary school classrooms. Wellington: Ministry of Education. • Bishop, R and Glynn, T. (2003) Culture counts: Changing power relations in education. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press. • Carpenter, V., McMurchy-Pilkington, C., & Sutherland, S. (2001). Kaiakotoa: An outline of the findings. NZARE Conference, December. Christchurch, NZ: NZARE. • Connell, S., (1989) Beyond Guilt. Wellington: Radio New Zealand. • Education Information and Analysis Group/Group Māori [Ministry of Education], (2009). Ngahaeatamatauranga: The annual report on Māori education, 2007-08. • Eggen, P., & Kauchak, D. (2007). Educational Psychology: Windows on Classrooms. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc. • Hohepa, M., & Jenkins, K. (2004). Raising Māori Students' Achievement in Te Taitokerau. Wellington: Ministry Of Education. • Macfarlane, A. H. (2004). Kia hiwara! Listen to culture - Māori students' plea to educators. Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research.

Works Cited • Ministry of Education, (2004), The National Education Goals (NEGs), http://www.minedu.govt.nz/educationSectors/Schools/PolicyAndStrategies • Ministry of Māori Development/Te PuniKokiri, Making Education work for Māori/Te WhakamahiiteMatauranga mo teiwiMāori: Report on Consultation (July 1998) • Ministry of Education, (2000). Raising the Achievement of Māori Students. Wellington, NZ: Learning Media Ltd. • Pere, R.M. (1982) Ako: concepts and learning in the Māori tradition. Hamilton, New Zealand: Waikato University • Simon, J., (1992) ‘Good intentions, but...’ In Quest Rapuara (Ed.), Cultural identity: A resource for educators (p39-43). Wellington: Quest Rapuara • Saravia-Shore M., & Garcia, E. (1995). Diverse teaching strategies for diverse learners. In R.W. Cole (Ed), Educating everybody’s children(pp47-57) Alexandria, VA: ASCD • Te PuniKōkiri, (2001). The Quality of Teacher Training for Teaching Māori students. Wellington: Ministry or Māori Development. • Walters, B., Phillips, C., Olliver, B., & Gilliland, H. (1993). "Challenging Education - A Positive Approach to Teaching Māori Students in New Zealand Schools". Palmerston North: Kānuka Grove Teacher Centre, Palmerston North College of Education. • UNESCO. (2005). Guidelines for Inclusion: Ensuring Access to Education for All. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Creating an Equitable and Inclusive Classroom for Māori Students