Profession reading - "Culture Speaks" - Russell Bishop and Mere Berryman

Conclusions: Learning from Narratives

What participants are saying - 

• Most cases Maori students not seen as achievers. Low expectations
• Maori students act out in the form of absenteeisim brought on by an onslaught of their cultural values
• Maori students and Whanau hold relationships in high regard. 
• Maori students want their culture and identity recognised and accepted in the classroom.
• Teachers had a deficit theory of Maori students focusing on influencing factors outside of the classroom. 

The effective teaching profile - 

Key factors that help foster success for Maori students:

• Teacher caring for the child as culturally located human beings
• Having high expectations of the learning and behavioural performance of the child
• Having high expectations of their own performance in terms of planning, class organisation, assessment and curriculum knowledge. 

Other factors of an effective teaching profile:

Wanaga - traditional methods of large teacher talk time don't work. Maori students prefer to interact with peers and work with teachers in small group settings.

Ako - teaching and learning positions are interchangeable