Some years ago at my school, it was noticed that student attendance (or lack of) was having a huge impact on educational outcomes. A policy was put in place where students with low attendance rates were unable to attend school functions such as the school ball, or represent the school in sports tournaments, production, Kapa Haka etc. The acceptable rate was set at 95% and for many students this was a huge motivator for them to turn up to school every day.
It had been noted that Maori students on the whole had a low attendance rate, and this policy was most definitely expected to impact on those students as several were rugby players, members of Waka Ama etc. But nowhere was it stated that this policy was targeting “priority learners” as for the school any student not attending regularly was a priority, regardless of ethnicity. By raising expectations for the whole of the student body, there was no deficit theorising but only positive messages to students that their achievement was important to us, and that to gain the results we knew they were capable of they first had to show up.
This approach was hugely successful and led to higher achievement rates for all, and particularly Maori students. Once we had students attending regularly we were able to focus on achievement, and setting goals to reach higher targets and to reach the “Mauri Ora” state (Potahu 2011) where students are motivated, engaged and committed to their studies.
Now we are in the position of having Maori student achievement similar to the rest of our cohort, and above the National averages for NCEA results at all Year levels. In my own classes the Maori students are often above the rest of the cohort.
Interestingly, a less successful initiative from the school involved “whanau meetings” where students who had identified as Maori on their enrolment forms were invited to bring their families to meet with various members of staff and other whanau in a fairly informal way. As a form teacher who was given these invitations to hand out to these students, I was able to witness their reactions. Most students seemed embarrassed to be singled out and just wanted to be treated like everyone else. While most of the experts seem to agree that making connections with whanau are important, it seems to me that we need to be careful of deficit theorising as noted by Bishop et al (2004).
I think that it is important to respect and value the culture, heritage and background of all students. I have found that treating young people with respect and expecting everyone to strive to achieve to their full potential is obvious and surely what all good teachers already do. Hattie (2017) found that teacher expectations were a crucial element in student achievement. Positive relationships between teachers and students as well as effective feedback also feature on this list. These are the many of the same factors mentioned by Bishop as being effective strategies.
As well as having many positive role models amongst the staff, we have had several student leaders of Maori and Pasifika descent, including our current Head Girl. Achieving success for Maori as Maori is natural and ingrained in our school, and I have every confidence it will remain that way.
References
Bishop, R., Berryman, M., Tiakiwai, S., & Richardson, C. (2004). The experiences of year 9 and 10 Maori students in mainstream classrooms. Hamilton and Tauranga: Ministry of Education.
Hattie, J (2017) Updated list of factors influencing student achievement. The Australian Society for Evidence based teaching. Retrieved from http://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/hatties-2017-updated-list/
Pohatu, T. W. (2011). Mauri - Rethinking human wellbeing. MAI Review, 3, 1-12. Retrieved from http://www.review.mai.ac.nz/index.php/MR/article/v...
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