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New Zealand’s population is complex, multi-cultural, and diverse, with many different languages, cultures and identities. We aim to be sensitive and responsive to people from diverse backgrounds, identities and cultures – including ethnic, disability, religious, and gender-diverse communities.

 

“Here in New Zealand, we now recognise that consultation with the whānau/family and cultural community is a crucial component to educational decision making.”

(Bevan-Brown, 2001, 2003; Macfarlane, 2005)

 

 

We understand that individual and collective knowledge of cultural backgrounds, values and identities directly affects the lives of mokopuna. We actively build our cultural competency to grow our practitioner skills, our knowledge, understanding and practice.

Principle: ‘Culturally affirming and responsive’

What is cultural competency?

Cultural competency is the acceptance and respect for difference, a continuous self-assessment regarding culture, an attention to the dynamics of difference, the ongoing development of cultural knowledge, and the resources and flexibility within service models to meet the needs of minority populations.

(Cross et al, as cited in Saldana, 2001)

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Commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi

We are committed to the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi – Partnership, Protection and Participation. We acknowledge the special relationship between tangata whenua and Tangata Tiriti. Tangata Tiriti includes all immigrants and descendants of immigrants who have made their homes in New Zealand since the signing of Te Tiriti. As practitioners, we strive to provide culturally responsive support for mokopuna Māori, whānau, hapu and iwi, and Tangata Tiriti through genuine engagement, representation and collaboration.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi – National Library website

Multicultural practice in New Zealand must be based upon the bicultural foundations of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and on principles of cultural safety and competence. One needs to come to a deeper awareness of self and one’s own cultural framework, and how that impacts on engagement with others. This awareness is fundamental to understanding multiculturalism and effectively engaging with many different groups.

Guided by strategies

Our work is also guided by legislation such as United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC), the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and strategies such as the Child and  Youth Well-being Strategy, Māori Education Strategy (Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success ), and the Pasifika Education Plan.

Strategies and policies – Ministry of Education website

“Racism exists – we feel little and bad.”

(Student in alternative education unit from Education matters to me: Key insights, NZSTA & OCC, 2018).

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“I would make ethnicity equal, no one should be higher or lower than any other. I come from a very diverse school, so I would make everyone feel recognised and that their identity matters. No group is greater but understanding each other’s qualities by celebrating their culture. Help those who are failing, praise the high achievers and support the ones that are really struggling. Invest in my teachers so that they teach with passion, that it’s not just about teaching but more than that, you change lives.”

(Secondary school student, Māori from Education matters to me: Key insights, NZSTA & OCC, 2018.)

Pacific communities

Pacific people make up one of the larger ethnic groups in New Zealand. The Pacific community has the highest proportion of children aged 0–14 years (Ministry of Education, 2017, Pasifika Education Monitoring Report). The Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020–2030 maps the Government's commitment to transforming outcomes for Pacific ākonga and families. It signals how early learning services, schools and tertiary providers can achieve change for Pacific ākonga and their families.

Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020-2030 – Ministry of Education website

A fia vave oo lou va’a, alo na o ‘oe, ae a fia tuli mamao le taunu’uga tatou ‘alo’alo faatasi.

If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.

Samoan proverb

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Tapasa support for cultural competency

Tapasā is a resource that practitioners and educators can use as support to become more culturally aware, confident and competent when engaging with Pacific mokopuna and their whānau and communities.

Tapasā: Cultural Competencies Framework for Teachers of Pacific Learners – Pasifika Education Community (TKI website)

Refugee and migrant communities

New Zealand has a diverse refugee and migrant population. Refugees and migrants bring with them new perspectives, traditions, languages, cultures and experiences to enrich our growing multicultural society.

Refugees are ordinary people facing extraordinary conditions. They may have experienced war, persecution, discrimination, racism and oppression. Migrants decide to move based on choice – for example, to better their circumstances. They can decide where they will migrate to.

Who are refugees? – New Zealand Red Cross website

 

The STARS model provides a culturally responsive framework for supporting the sociocultural needs of refugee learners, especially those with additional educational needs. The model is described in this paper by Salmanzadeh, A (2019)

 

STARS model - Adel Salmanzadeh [PDF, 860 KB]

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Links to help cultural competency

Accessing links and resources about cross-cultural training that are available for health practitioners who work with migrants and refugees can help develop confidence and cultural competency.

eCALD - Culturally and Linguistically Diverse includes information on how to develop cultural awareness, knowledge and sensitivity. It also includes guidance on how to work effectively with interpreters.

Cross Cultural Resource e-Toolkit – eCALD website

The following set of general principles for engaging with people from refugee or related backgrounds has been recommended by ChangeMakers, a refugee advocacy group in the Wellington area:

Vision and principles – ChangeMakers website

Deaf culture

Deaf culture is the shared social beliefs, behaviours, traditions, history, and values of the Deaf Community. Being aware of the Deaf Community and its culture, and knowing New Zealand Sign Language can help practitioners to work effectively with mokopuna whose hearing status is deaf and hard of hearing. A practitioner can better recognise differences in hearing status, and how those differences affect language development, communication, and social interactions.

"Deaf people form a distinct community with its own culture. Sign language is the glue that binds that culture together.”

Deaf Aotearoa website

Deaf culture – TKI website

LGBTQIA+

Within any learning community, among the staff, mokopuna, and whānau, it is certain there will be some people who do not identify as cis-gendered and heterosexual. Diverse identities may include, but are not limited to, takatāpui, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender fluid (non-binary), agender, and intersex. For many ethical and legal reasons, these forms of diversity must be affirmed and not ignored.

Affirming diversity of sexualities and gender identities in the school community – PPTA website [PDF, 215KB]

Practitioners encourage awareness, respect and understanding of the diversity within our communities and education settings. By providing positive role modelling, acceptance and cultural responsiveness, we can support safe, inclusive and supportive environments for all. Role modelling can include supporting education settings to take proactive steps to affirm diversity and promote inclusion through their strategic documents, policies, processes and practices. This supports our aim of producing successful, productive and adaptable mokopuna ready for the modern world.