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Attending to Culturally Responsive FuturesIn the Present

their future in our hands – our future in their handsEducation Imaginaries for 2018 and Beyond

Angus Hikairo Macfarlane

Professor of Māori ResearchUniversity of Canterbury

Positive Futures Education Conference6 April 2018

• Reflect briefly on ‘ngā tapuwae o mua’

• Take a glimpse at historical, and at recent thinkers’ contentions

• Reaffirm strengths of educational provision in Aotearoa

• Refer to the Ka Awatea study

• Revisit the evolving dynamic – success ‘as Māori’

• Touch on ‘dispositions’

• Conclude with reference to ‘Education Imaginaries’

Aims of this presentation

Makereti (in Penniman, 1986)

Raised by older people, learned in genealogy, customs, history, te reo and tikanga. Confident in two cultures, at ease in two worlds but always ratified her thoughts from te ao Māori

Guide Performer Leader Humanitarian Scholar And …… she took Māori to the world

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Maggie Papakura (see Diamond, 2007)

(Te Arawa)

• Almost complete loss of the ownership and control of land resources

• The development of alien systems of national administration

• Decimation by warfare and disease

• Enforced migration into cities

• Imposition of alien religious systems

• A money economy and changes in styles of housing, clothing, gender roles, status systems, and language

• The pressures on ethnic identity

• A culturally deprived education system

Te ao tāwhito (tuatahi) And the impact on wellbeing

Restlessness, Resoluteness, Reason ....Macfarlane, A. (2015). Restlessness, resoluteness and reason: Looking back at 50 years of Māori

education. New Zealand Journal of Education Studies, 50(2), 177-193.

• Native Schools Act 1867. The James Belich descriptor.... • Effective teaching of English emphasised as primary task• Corporal punishment during 19th and very much of 20th century• Hunn Report• Johnson Report• Māori Boarding Schools• Te Kōhanga Reo• Kura Kaupapa Māori and Wharekura• Ten Point Plan for Māori Education• Closing the Gaps• Te Whāriki• Te Kotahitanga• Te Kauhua• Ka Hikitia• In the final analysis, its what we do as whānau, kaiako, tumuaki, pūkenga, that

makes the biggest difference in terms of wellbeing for the present, and the future

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• Interest in culturally relevant pedagogies grew out of a concern about the lack of attention to cultural ways of knowing and learning. Links to the thinking of Paulo Freire and Henry Giroux. Enter critical pedagogy

• The movement has its greatest inspiration in the figure of critics and writers such as Gloria Ladson-Billings, Geneva Gay, Pauline Lipman, Tyrone Howard, Angela Valenzuela, Lisa Delpit

• Our own thinkers and theorisers include Rose Pere, Mason Durie, Tuhiwai and Hingangaroa Smith, Wally Penetito, Ted Glynn, Mere Berryman and Russell Bishop, Sonja Macfarlane, Gail Gillon, Jill Bevan-Brown, and many more. It is their faith in culturally grounded rationality in a quest for better ways, and their courage to confront conventionalists that has made an impact….on the wellbeing and performance of the learner and the whānau

Adapted from McCowan, T. (2009). Rethinking citizenship education. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group.

Criticality

The functions of the teacher(Doyle, 1986; Macfarlane, 2012)

Dealing with the content of instructionAn instructional function that intends to cover the

curriculum, to ensure mastery, to promote favourable attitudes to the subject, and to learning in general

Focusing on the process of teaching and learningA managerial function that promotes order through

procedures, rules, and responding to disruptive behaviour

Listening to cultureA culturally responsive function that encourages

developing a metacognitive approach to learning experiences that are likely to expand ones understanding of difference and human diversity

• Teacher deficit theorising impacting the quality of teacher/learner relationships with taiohi Māori

• Pathologizing classroom practices such as transmission teaching, remedial programs and behaviour modification programs

• Denial of cultural difference resulting in the use of the same identification procedures and assessment measures for all children regardless of their culture and language

• Low teacher expectation leading to self-fulfilling prophecies • Negative and stereotypical attitudes toward Māori children, their parents and whānau

(families), e.g. teachers disbelieving or ignoring parental concerns • Abdication of responsibility for cultural input into education, e.g. Teachers not

addressing cultural issues in the belief that this is the sole responsibility of Kōhanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa (total immersion settings) Māori or Māori teachers in English-medium settings

• Economic rationalization and commercially-driven values which result in Māori relevant services not being provided because they are not economically viable

• The Educultural Wheel – Strategies based on Māori principles• Huakina Mai – Opening Doorways for Māori Learners• Te Pikinga ki Runga – Treaty as the Platform for Raising Potential• The Hikairo Rationale – Culturally Responsive Tool• Ka Awatea – High achieving Māori learners

Te ao hou (tuarua) More recent thinkers Bevan-Brown, 2002; Bishop, et al., 2009; Bourke et al., 2001; Cullen & Bevan-Brown, 1999; Glynn, 2009; Sonja Macfarlane, 2012; John and Hilary Mitchell, 2006; Meyer et al; 2013.

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Deficit-focussed (takahi) research: • frames ‘success’ through western

eyes, and locates it in the ‘generalist stream’

• ascribes ‘failure’ to Māori; the tail is Māori languishing

• negatively stereotypes Māori culture as a ‘probem’ – a barrier (the ‘either/ or’ situation)

• takes away hope and aspiration for Māori “I will succeed if I relinquish my Māoritanga”

• serves to imply that ethnicity is the cause of failure: a barrier to success (see Ritchie, 1963) “I am Māori, Māori is bad, I am bad”

Te ao hou (tuatoru) Even more recent thinkers(McRae, Macfarlane, Webber & Cookson-Cox, 2010; Webber, Macfarlane, McRae, Cookson-Cox; Macfarlane, Fickel & Te Hemi, 2013)

Constructive (whakanuia) research:• frames ‘success’ through Māori eyes,

and locates it in the ‘culturalist stream’

• rejects failure as a Māori construct; the tale is Māori flourishing

• positively reiterates Māori culture as being an asset – the ‘and/also’ situation

• restores hope and aspiration for Māori “I will succeed if I espouse my Māoritanga”

• serves to imply that ethnicity is a key to success (see McRae, Macfarlane, Webber & Cookson-Cox, 2010) “I am Māori, Māori is choice, I am tūmeke”

Ngā tapuae o mua mō murithe events of the past influencing the activities of the present and future

Ancient world Today’s world Future world

whānau

hapū

iwi

national

global

local

Te ao hurihuri Today’s world

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Schooling

Ancient world Today’s world Future world

Ngā tapuae o mua mō murithe events of the past influencing the activities of the present and future

Schooling

Ancient world Today’s world Future world

POSITIVE EDUCATION

Ngā tapuae o mua mō murithe events of the past influencing the activities of the present and future

Schooling

Ancient world Today’s world Future world

Ka Awatea: A model of Māori success

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Ngā tapuae o mua mō murithe events of the past influencing the activities of the present and future

Ancient world Today’s world Future world

Ngā Pūmanawa e Waru o Te ArawaThe eight beating hearts of Te Arawa

Identity Relationships

Innovation

Wellbeing

Scholarship

Humility

ValuesDiligence

Schooling

Ancient world Today’s world Future world

Ka Awatea: A model of Māori taiohi success

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Mana Motuhake – a positive sense of identity Mana Tū – a sense of courage and resilience

Mana Ūkaipo – a sense of placeMana Tangatarua – a sense of two worlds

Schooling

Mana Whānau successful learners are nurtured into succeeding

in both worlds by their whānau

Ka Awatea: A model of Māori wellbeing

• Why is it that what we have done in education has not changed the status quo, and instead may have perpetuated it?

• Why is it that the status quo is one where educational disparities are ethnically based, and have been so for some considerable time?

• How can we provide research and teaching in such a way that it galvanizes principals’ and teachers’ empathy, skill and confidence in their work to assure the wellbeing of Māori learners and colleagues?

(adapted from Berryman, 2007)

More questions than answers?

• Insisted on high academic and behaviour standards …… and worked to help learners achieve them

• Tapped into learners’ experiences and culture

• Considered nuances of a dominant discourse

• Took at-risk learners under their wing

• Perceived teaching as a calling

• Provided care and guidance

• Transformed classrooms and centres from boring to brisk

• Modelled a disposition that connected them to the culture of the learners …. Premised on relevance, balance of power, and scaffolding

CRP: Some congruencies in teacher practice…. from the research

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√ Caring for person (socio-culturally located) (soft care)

√ Caring for performance (socio-cognitively located) (hard care)

√ Identifying and transforming the potential of Māori learners

√ Creating a secure, well-managed learning environment

√ Insisting on effective teaching interaction – valuing Māori learners

√ Connecting to culture – engagement with Te Ao Māori

√ Managing transitions (David Riley, 2007)

√ Using astutely the vast range of information (see Report from Office of the AG)

√ Linking the culture of home and education setting

√ Procuring a repertoire of strategies

Suggested Solutions Contentions(Bishop et. Al, 2003; Hill & Hawk, 2000; Macfarlane, 2004, 2007, 2017)

Tools from The Educultural Wheel(Macfarlane, 2004)

A co-existence of Māori concepts that vary

together in patterned ways (adapted from Rogoff, 2003)

•Whanaungatanga

• Rangatiratanga

• Kotahitanga

• Manaakitanga

• Pūmanawatanga

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The Educultural Wheel

From Macfarlane, A. (2004)

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The Magic of Mary Morgan and others just like her …. A. Macfarlane, 2004; S. Macfarlane, 2015; Pierce, 1994)

Classroom/Centre Organisation Roles Assumed by the Teacher Teacher Enthusiasm

Instills in learners a belief in their abilities to learn and a desire to achieve. Motivates

Teacher models the desired tikanga - pronunciation, kupu, whakataukī etc.

Enthusiasm is developed from life experiences.

Each child knows they are valued. Teacher as person, encourager, counsellor and safety net.

Enthusiasm is developed from formal education experiences.

Bonds early into a cooperative unit and at selected junctures.

Teacher may share discerningly, his or her own experiences.

Relaxed classroom/centreatmosphere adds to enthusiastic climate.

Ensures learners understand and internalise the tikanga.

Teacher is never threatening. Freedom of (but controlled) movement within the setting.

Explains that a person’s mana is of immense value

Teacher is skilled in academic and non-academic dialogue.

Teacher’s attention to diversity.

Teacher’s warm smile.

Pierce, C. (1994). The importance of classroom climate for at-risk learners. Set Special, Item 10. Wellington: NZCER

Disposition

Teacher effectiveness is more than pedagogical knowledge and skills. It is also imperative that they possess positive dispositions that affirm all learners, as the evidence is clear that learners respond favourably to this kind of relationship. The literature supports that diverse students who have caring relationships tend to be more motivated and perform academically. (Talbert-Johnson, 2006, pp. 156 & 157)

Also the literature supports that Māori learners who have caring relationships, are pushed, scaffolded, and listened to, tend to feel better about themselves, about others, and about the learning setting they are in ….and are likely to be more motivated and perform academically. (Webber and Macfarlane, 2018)

Particular dispositions have been reported to be associated with effective teaching and learning.

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Effective pedagogypp. 34 - 35: New Zealand CurriculumMacfarlane, 2007, p. 110

The evidence tells us that young people learn best when teachers:

• create a supportive learning environment

• encourage reflective thought and action

• enhance the relevance of new learning

• facilitate shared learning

• make connections to prior learning and experience

• provide sufficient opportunities to learn

• inquire into the teaching-learning relationship

• Connect to the culture of the learners

UNESCO - 4 pillars (Atherley, 1998) with contentions adapted from Shields (2004)

Learning to know ….that difference is normal. It is neither to be

celebrated or denigrated. It just is.

Learning to do …. Mahia te mahi. Must be transformative.

Learning to be ….accepting of difference; understanding that it is an

intrinsic aspect of daily life – expecting to encounter difference on a

daily basis, refusing to pathologise it, but accepting it and coming to

understand it by placing positive relationships at the centre of moral

practice

Learning to live together …. The differences in our Schools and Centres

provide a rich tapestry of human existence that must be a starting point

for a deeply democratic, academically sound, and socially just education

And an additional pillar ……..

Learning to lead …. Transformative educational leaders must address

issues of power, control, and inequity ….by adopting a set of criteria

(fairness, empathy, optimism)

• Challenge the status-quo

• Critique the knowledge we take for granted

• Acknowledge epistemologies of local wisdom and global considerations

• Look for different angles

• Look for how our children, your children, their children, can grow up in the best possible way

Positive Education Imaginaries