A new guide will help tertiary sector educators to develop or deepen their cultural competence, which research has shown impacts positively on M膩ori and non-M膩ori student achievement.
Ng膩 Hau e Wh膩 o T膩whirim膩tea: Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning for the Tertiary Sector,听published by Canterbury University Press as a free digital edition, is the final in a series proving a game-changer for Aotearoa鈥檚 education sector.
These books are establishing themselves as valuable guides for putting ideals into action, project lead听听蝉补测蝉.
鈥淭he early childhood book听) came on the scene in 2019 and was embraced by ECE educators who already had a strong underpinning philosophy based on manaakitanga (caring for tamariki). The New 成人大片Council for Educational Research (NZCER), the publishers, had great success with book sales and uptake with early childhood centres throughout the motu,鈥 he says.
Led by Professor Angus Macfarlane, the UC-based project went on to produce practical, step-by-step culturally responsive teaching resources for primary school (), and secondary school (), both published by NZCER Press, and now for the tertiary sector.
The national听听run by the University of Waikato in the early 2000s with 12 schools, 400 teachers and over 10 000 students, produced empirical evidence of the positive effects of teacher cultural competence on M膩ori and non-M膩ori student achievement.
鈥淭his was a watershed project which produced long-term empirical data that was able to conclusively show the positive impact that teacher cultural competence can have on student literacy and numeracy - and this was for all students, but most pronounced amongst M膩ori,鈥 Dr R膩tima says.
The tertiary guide听Ng膩 Hau e Wh膩 o T膩whirim膩tea听is the team鈥檚 first digital, open access resource (a print edition will follow). It provides suggestions for tertiary educators to try in the classroom, based on four values of manaakitanga 鈥 ethic of care, whanaungatanga 鈥 relationships, kotahitanga 鈥 unity and rangatiratanga 鈥 student agency and leadership. Some ideas can be implemented immediately, others may be incorporated over a term, or even over a year. Teachers can move at their own pace and that of their students.
鈥淭his is not a quick fix; it鈥檚 a way to self-reflect, and to bring authentic understanding and practice into your work. It takes time, but the rewards are that you will expand your knowledge personally and this will translate to your students achieving greater success.鈥澨
Schools across the early childhood, primary and secondary sectors have invited the UC team to professional development sessions 鈥 more than they can accommodate. They are now planning to develop a micro credential professional development programme for tertiary teachers, based on the new tertiary sector resource.
Nga虅 Hau e Wha虅 o Ta虅whirima虅tea: Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning for the Tertiary Sector, was edited by UC Faculty of Education鈥檚听Dr Matiu Tai Ra虅tima,听Jennifer Pearl Smith,听Professor Angus Hikairo Macfarlane,听Nathan Mahikai Riki听and听Kay-Lee Jones, with UC library鈥檚 Kaitakawaenga Ako听Lisa Kaye Davies.
Ng膩 mihi nui ki a Ng膩 P膩e o Te M膩ramatanga. Thank you to Ng膩 Pae o Te M膩ramatanga (New Zealand鈥檚 M膩ori Centre of Research Excellence) who provided financial support for this book to be made available as a free open access digital resource.
Nga虅 Hau e Wha虅 o Ta虅whirima虅tea: Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning for the Tertiary Sector,听published by Canterbury University Press, February 2022, OpenAccess pdf file, 68pp, ISBN: 978-1-98-850327-1
