Virtual Learning Network

Just some initial thoughts and questions:

• Who do I go to for support, guidance and help with tikanga Maori and Maori education?
• How does my knowledge of current research on Maori education influence my mahi?
• What depth of connection do I have with my local Marae and iwi colleagues?
• What relevance does the Treaty of Waitangi have to my mahi?
• What beliefs do I hold about why Maori and Pasifika students are underachieving in our schools?
• What do I have to confront in my own practice to become part of a solution?
• How “Maori and Pasifika competent” am I as a leader, teacher, educator, trustees?
• How does my knowledge of Maori and Pasifika peoples influence the way I engage with whanau?
• What does “Maori Achieving Success as Maori” mean to me and also my work?
• How do my values align with Maori and Pasifika people’s values?
• How can I develop myself to be more culturally competent than I have ever been myself?
• How equitable and culturally appropriate are my leadership, teaching and learning strategies?
• In what ways might I improve my leadership, teaching and learning knowledge and understanding so that I am not relying solely on western-scientific ideologies and processes?
• Why does culture matter in teaching and learning?
• How can we create learning environments where all students feel a sense of membership?
• How does your school come to be on that land?
• How do I benefit by becoming more culturally competent?

Kia ora all

I wonder what a list of questions would look like if we were to target teachers, school leaders and board of trustees? I sometimes think that the greatest shift when engaging with whanau and their tamariki is not the shift that needs to occur outside the school gates but the shift within.

Understanding our own understanding of what and why we think, feel and act in the ways we do can lead to a real shift.

I suggest we think more about 'growing our cultural capacity and understanding and how that could lead to effective partnerships'.