Abstract
INTRODUCTION: This article examines how culturally appropriate teaching contributes to a positive learning experience for Pasifika students on the Bachelor of Bicultural Social Work degree programme at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa (TWoA), an indigenous tertiary institution in New Zealand dedicated to promoting access to education for Māori and others and delivering an educational experience based on indigenous principles and practice.APPROACH: Teaching in a social work programme is explored through the lens of the Kaupapa Wānanga framework and Ngā Ūara (values) that form the foundational ideology of TWoA. It draws on the personal experiences of a social services educator using culturally responsive pedagogies that embrace the unique links of Polynesia–Pasifika peoples. CONCLUSIONS:Culturally responsive pedagogy is vital for Pasifika students to feel valued and culturally connected.
Highlights
This article examines how culturally appropriate teaching contributes to a positive learning experience for Pasifika students on the Bachelor of Bicultural Social Work degree programme at Te Wananga o Aotearoa (TWoA), an indigenous tertiary institution in New Zealand dedicated to promoting access to education for Maori and others and delivering an educational experience based on indigenous principles and practice.APPROACH: Teaching in a social work programme is explored through the lens of the Kaupapa Wananga framework and Nga Uara that form the foundational ideology of TWoA
This article explores how culturally appropriate pedagogies integrated in classroom practice and the physical space contribute to a positive learning experience for Pasifika social work students at Te Wananga o Aotearoa (TWoA), an Aotearoa New Zealand indigenous tertiary institution underpinned by Maori approaches
For a Niue woman living in Aotearoa New Zealand, there are many similarities between Maori and Niue culture but there are distinctions that make Pasifika people unique
Summary
Responsive pedagogy is vital for Pasifika students to feel valued and culturally connected. For Pasifika, connecting is not restricted to human relationships but to physical space and social scenes are attributes that are culturally appropriate for Pasifika students (Mila-Schaaf & Robinson, 2010) In my experience, TWoA does this for Pasifika students where the culturally responsive pedagogies are a natural occurrence in respect of tikanga, Nga Uara and Kaupapa Wananga. Sharing of cultural knowledge in heterogeneous classrooms and the wider educational institution creates robust learning experiences where Pasifika students can bring their entire selves and have freedom to culturally identity through art, poetry, oral history, songs, dress, kai and, more importantly, their own indigenous interpretations (Thaman, 2003). Valuing indigenous knowledge between indigenous people enriches the learning experiences at TWoA This has been achieved through the culturally responsive pedagogies of physical spaces, the magic of noho and kai which are but a few of the positive learning experiences. For an indigenous institution such as TWoA, the kaupapa steers away from the dominant discourse prevalent in Western education systems and seeks to unapologetically decolonise mainstream education through cultural responsive pedagogies
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