Connections between the principles and Te Kotahitanga
In 2002–03, the Te Kotahitanga project (Bishop et al., 2003) used the technique of “collaborative storying” to bring to the surface the experiences, concerns, and questions of Māori students in mainstream New Zealand secondary schools.
The same technique was used to identify what fifty whānau members from four schools saw as the major educational influences on their own and other Māori children’s achievement. Analysis of their stories led to identifying three major “discourses”1:
- The child and their home, including parents’ responsibility for children’s learning and the influence of peers
- Relationships and interaction patterns, including child–teacher, parent–teacher, home–school, parent–child, and child–child relationships
- Structure, including curriculum, school structures, the impact of parents’ negative school experiences, transition issues between primary and secondary schools, the mixed impact of whānau-based support groups, and school policies.
Overwhelmingly, the whānau members identified the relationships their children had with their teachers and others as the most important influence on their educational achievement.
They were concerned about the relationships and interactions between the children and their teachers, between themselves and their children, and between home and school.
In Culture Speaks (Bishop and Berryman, 2006), the researchers explain:
Whānau all emphasised that how teachers related to students, both now and in the past, influences how they taught those students and that this was the key to improving student learning. Relationships of respect were, they believed, more likely to result in interdependent relationships between teachers, learners and others (whānau) so that all were able to share in and contribute to the learning contexts, and thus all were able to benefit.
page 166
The themes that emerged within this discourse and some of the associated points are summarised below. It is well worth rereading pages 59–67 of the report or accessing Culture Speaks to understand each point in more detail and, in particular, to hear the voices of the parents.
Bishop et al. (2003) show that changing the ways teachers theorise about Maori students can lead to improved student engagement and achievement.
This involves shifting from “deficit theorising” to a partnership approach between students and teachers and also between students, teachers, and whānau. They identify the following characteristics of effective partnerships:
page 202
- Acknowledging the mana or expertise of each partner in the sense of the tino rangatiratanga that was guaranteed to Māori people in the Treaty of Waitangi.
- Working collaboratively with their partner in culturally competent ways that allows the partners to define what culture means to them.
- Learning from the partner and changing their own behaviour accordingly.
Footnote
By 'discourse', Bishop et al. (2003) refer to the norms, beliefs, and assumptions shared by members of a group and revealed in the way they interact and behave with each other. The researchers also examined the discourse patterns of students, principals, and teachers.