Reflective Entry 3 - Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Responsiveness inside the silo?

To Ponder:

I begin by pondering how the use of Kanban Boards, to create cohesion and collaboration within a Senior Leadership Team can support or connect with Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Responsiveness within our school setting?

Firstly, it is not just as simple as that. I feel a need to look deeper, as to - what would be the purpose of having a cohesive and collaborative Senior Leadership Team? Simply put, the purpose would be to improve outcomes for all our learners, through effective and aligned teaching pedagogy that encompasses the cultural identity of the learner.

Bishop (2020) puts this clearly in a recent interview, where he identifies that for school leaders who are wanting to promote equitable outcomes in their school , they must first replicate in their practice what they expect their teachers to do. In other words - if we want cohesive and collaborative teaching teams, then the leadership of the school has to model this too.
What does this mean in terms of Indigenous Knowledge?

Indigenous Knowledge:

I understand local and Indigenous knowledge as having an understanding and knowledge of, and respect for, the native / local people of the country or area - knowing about the uniqueness of, and connections with, the customs, cultures and relationships (most often to the land or nature) of the Tangata Whenua (people of the land).

In the local context of Aotearoa New Zealand, this is having a working knowledge, understanding and respect of Te Ao Māori (a Māori world view) and tikanga (Māori culture and practices). In the classroom or within a school it is reflected in critical pedagogies:

“Critical pedagogies provide frameworks for the academic success of indigenous students. For example, culturally relevant pedagogy seeks to provide a way for students to maintain their cultural integrity (their needs) while succeeding academically (educational needs). “

(Ferguson, R., Coughlan, T., Egelandsdal, K., Gaved, M., Herodotou, C., Hillaire, G., ... & Misiejuk, K., 2019, p.16)

If we see culturally relevant education as connecting with the local community, particularly the indigenous peoples, the outcomes for learning are limitless - we create an inclusive, cohesive curriculum which must surely be valuable to all stakeholders. (Ferguson, et al, 2019). We acknowledge who was here first and begin to see things through the indigneous perspective.

How can this impact the use of digital innovations such as Kanban Boards? Perhaps they become a place to draw that cohesion and connected relationships together through digital collaboration. I also see this linking strongly to the development of our Local Curriculum - drawing on the stories and histories of our community to create authentic learning opportunities for all.

Cultural Responsiveness:

Culturally responsive practice is about making educationally powerful connections / relationships to the lives and identities of the learner and their whānau. Knowing your learner and their whānau goes beyond the visible aspects of culture such as dance / craft / music and acknowledges and integrates the invisible aspects of culture such as the beliefs, opinions and even assumptions around them. Teachers and schools should then embrace student cultural identity at every opportunity throughout curriculum and learning activities, school policies and events... schools have a role in sustaining culture instead of negating it. (Milne, 2017).

The uniqueness of Māori, as New Zealand's indigenous people, must be reflected in the classroom. Russell Bishop’s research, first through the development of Te Kotahitanga and later into his Teaching from the North East - Relationship-Based Learning in Practice, is definitely something that has and continues to influence my practice. I want it to now influence the practice of our Senior Leadership Team.

Bishop (2019) stresses that family-like relationships are central, indeed fundamental, to teachers being able to use those pedagogies we know best promote Māori students’ engagement with learning and learning itself (p. 30). Furthermore, this relationship is one of whakawhanaungatanga - extended whānau (family) relationships - a family-like relationship established in the classroom between student, teacher and whānau where the driver is success for the learner. This in itself needs to be cohesive and collaborative.

Where to next for my practice and research?

If I think of where my current practice is in terms of indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness with my Senior Leadership Team I realise that I make assumptions regarding our lack of cohesion and collaboration. I have not taken sufficient time to really understand their identity and the culture that sits behind their practice. I assume I know why they think the way they do, and make decisions the way they make decisions but I am not truely building powerful, connected relationships. I need to be conscious of this bias as I move into my research and using Kanban Boards.

References:

Bishop, R. (2020). Eyes on the North-East: An interview with Russell Bishop. Springboard Trust. https://www.springboardtrust.org.nz/news/eyes-on-the-north-east-an-interview-with-russell-bishop

Bishop, R. (2020). Russell Bishop: Teaching to the North East Webinar. Springboard Trust. https://www.springboardtrust.org.nz/news/russell-bishop-teaching-to-the-north-east-webinar

Bishop, R. (2019). Teaching to the North-East: Relationship-Based Learning in Practice. New Zealand Council for Educational Research. PO Box 3237, Wellington 6140 New Zealand.

CORE Education. (2017, 17 October). Dr Ann Milne, Colouring in the white spaces: Reclaiming cultural identity in whitestream schools.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cTvi5qxqp4&feature=em-subs_digest

Ferguson, R., Coughlan, T., Egelandsdal, K., Gaved, M., Herodotou, C., Hillaire, G., ... & Misiejuk, K. (2019). Innovating Pedagogy 2019: Open University Innovation Report 7. Retrieved from https://iet.open.ac.uk/file/innovating-pedagogy-2019.pdf