Cultural responsiveness...what is it? Although we ‘talk about it’ a lot I’m not actually sure that all our staff knows. Gay (2001, p.106) described cultural responsiveness as “using the cultural characteristics, experiences and perspectives as conduits for effective teaching”. This struck a chord with me as I think many teachers believe that being culturally responsive is having a few signs up around the place and saying some names correctly. Maybe throwing in a few words here and there? But it is far deeper than this.
Professor Russell Bishop explains 6 characteristics that a highly effective culturally responsive teacher would display.
- Teachers must genuinely care for maori students as maori. Children are very sensitive to the ‘vibe’ that they get from teachers and will persevere and take more risks if they trust that you are looking out for their best interests and have a genuine interest and investment in them as individuals, their culture as well as their learning. Caring for students as culturally located individuals within a framework of positive student–teacher relationships is considered beneficial for all students, but particularly so for Maori (Bishop et al., 2003; Hall & Kidman, 2004)
- Letting children now that you have high expectations of them is another important trait. Maori children are too often at the wrong end of the achievement gap and they tend to have very poor expectations and views of themselves as learners.
- Teachers must be prepared for maori to be maori by creating learning context where they become the experts and bring their own knowledge to the classroom.
- Teachers must manage the classroom so they can provide academic feedback, feedforward and negotiated co-construction of learning.
- Use of a range of strategies effectively is also necessary in a culturally responsive classroom.
- Evidence based teaching where students know where they are going in their learning (next steps) and what they need to do to get there (success criteria).
At my school I feel our school vision and mission are culturally responsive through the inclusion of Treaty principles in our school charter and policies. Also our 3 bold steps making Students, Community and Staff our focus when planning anything, align with culturally responsive practices.
We have a KMST (Kaupapa Maori Support Teacher) who has a unit and assists with all things Maori. She has had a basic discussion with staff about what cultural responsiveness is, each staff member has filled out a where do I think I’m at with my practice form and an evidence form based around the 5 indicators. From here our KMST has produced a personalised school cultural responsiveness indicator form. She has also provided staff with ample resources for inquiry topics and basic everyday Maori language. The KMST is responsible for our MLA (Maori Language Assistant) and liases with her about timetable and topics to be taught.
Our school values and the way that we assess if our staffs culturally responsiveness need to be worked on. I don’t feel our values are explicit enough and I would like to see them changed so that they are more easily understood by the children and are based around behaviours such as resilience and risk taking. Currently our KMST is using Tataiako for planning and assessment of school wide practices. She has been introducing it to the rest of staff this year so we are on this journey already.
Personally I feel that my own practice is very culturally responsive. In our ILE we make the most of my students strengths and encourage them to share their cultures as much as possible. Our biggest success has been the way that our students from other cultures will now adapt our Te Reo sessions and learnings into their own language. For example we have been learning our Pepeha and Mihi and students have come to school having translated and learnt these in French, Samoan, Bulgarian and Burmese. We were so proud of their initiative and pride that they showed in their culture that we had them say their mihi at assembly. Our children are also encouraged to teach the class about their culture and language and now will offer to do so.
We are currently trialing Seesaw as a way of making stronger home/school links and will encourage our children to use their own languages when they see fit. The children have access to a variety of technologies to assist with their work and presenting their learning in various forms. There is lots of choice and student agency involved.
Having time to reflect on what being culturally responsive means to me and discussing this with colleagues has lead me to realise that it is very difficult to 'teach' someone to 'be' culturally responsive. It is a part of who you are as a teacher. An inate way of being.
Te Toi Tupu. (n.d.). Pasifika: Participation, Engagement, Achievement tool. Retrieved from http://www.tetoitupu.org/pasifika-participation-engagement-achievement-tool
Edtalks.(2012, September 23). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations. [video file].Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49992994
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