Challenges and issues for culturally aligned leadership
Define culturally aligned leadership
(500–700 words)
1, 2, 3
Address our commitment as leaders to Te Tiriti o Waitangi | The Treaty of Waitangi and our diverse society
- inherent bicultural commitment for educational leadership and school governance
(900–1,000 words)
4
(1,000–1,100 words)
5, 6, 7
Discuss the impact and implications for culturally aligned leadership
What are the possible/potential effects that your chosen challenge or issue might have for culturally aligned leadership?
Make recommendations related to the issues identified in the implications for culturally aligned leadership
Why is there a need to have culturally aligned leadership in Aotearoa New Zealand?
Critique the challenges and issues of culturally aligned leadership in relation to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Critically reflect on a challenge or issue in your own working context
Intro/ Conclusion
200 + 200 words
Paradigms
The way you see something, your point of view, frame of reference or belief
Cultural hegemony
Only serves to downplay the cultural identity, knowledge, histories and stories of those who are not part of the dominant culture.
Key concepts such as identity, knowledge hierarchies and cultural capital
Knowledge hierachy
Whose knowledge is valued and whose cultural capital dominates?
Epistemology
'How we know that we know something?'
Methodology
‘How do I find out about this reality?’
Axiology
‘What part of this reality is worth finding out about?’
Ontology
‘What is real?’
M2.3 - the epistemological status of what counts as indigenous educational leadership knowledge
McGrath, 2008 - Educational leadership theories made by non-Maori, for non-Maori
3 - a good deal of educational leadership research provides non-Māori perspectives, based on non-Māori experiences and realities all with the non-Māori leader in mind
McGrath, 2008, 7 - As Māori we are constantly reminded where the cultural capital lies when determining what counts as educational leadership and as Māori we must not forget that its Eurocentric origins are also not those of our own.
3. M2.5 - Māori concepts on the PERIPHERY of educational leadership models
Hemara, 64 - major issue: clear privilege & subordination in mainstream POLICY document:
critique and examine the KLP to demonstrate the ‘traditional western’ leadership discourses that are privileged, and to highlight the subordinate positioning of Māori leadership discourse in this mainstream policy for educational leadership.
Kiwi Leadership for Principals
Fitz, 33 - But pragmatism contextualises law according to a homogeneous culture and Western society, while the post-modern point of view accepts and vindicates a world of irreducible cultural heterogeneity in which each one of us possesses very different bases for the knowledge of and the experience of life.
2. One-size-fits-one
Mugisha, 2013, 14 - principals navigated a complex intercultural educational policy environment in New Zealand, a country that continues to struggle with the legacies of colonialism and the corollary effects of globalization.
1. Kawanatanga
In the contemporary context (of unequal relations of power and resourcing), kawanatanga also relates to using statutory, governance, policy and management authority and influence to share power, and support iwi, hapū, whānau and Māori aspirations.
2. Tino Rangatiratanga - self-determination
In contemporary contexts, rangatiratanga is expressed through both Māori ‘standalone’ and Tiriti ‘partnership’ models.
3. Equitable Outcomes
Iwi, hapū, whānau and Māori outcomes should be equitable across education, building capability and capacity, and reducing disparity.
Quantz et al., 2017
mainstream theories infrequently place culture at the center - treated as just another problem among the many - technical first, democracy added later.
Power
Hemara, 2013, 64 - KLP demonstrates: 'the ‘traditional western’ leadership discourses that are privileged, and to highlight the subordinate positioning of Māori leadership discourse in this mainstream policy for educational leadership.'
M2.5 - Māori knowledge absent and invisible
McGrath, 2008, 3 - Māori educational leadership is in a crisis as non-Māori theories reifies what counts as Māori educational leadership
Hemara, 70/ - document focuses solely on the principal as the heroic leader
- Heroic leadership marginalises Maori collective leadership values
M2.5 - acceptance by Māori.
McGrath, 2008, 2 - Māori educational leadership is at risk of being socially constructed by non-Māori values, realities and experiences and is in a crisis as more Māori leaders accept non-Māori perspectives on how to lead as their own
1. Ethnocentrism
Identity
M2.5 - status quo maintained
Cultural capital
M2.5 - In the educational context, only certain knowledge, skills and beliefs are recognised, valued and rewarded (Apple, 1999; Harker & Nash, 1990). Apple (1999) further describes this as 'official or high status' knowledge endorsed by dominant cultures, which serves to silence those voices outside of that culture.
M2.5 - homogenised difference—generic and ubiquitous expectations of how to lead
Spiller, 2016, 34
• By moving from stillness, the island comes to you, in a "be-coming" approach.
• Tupu – the idea of "becoming" – requires releasing the potential in others and in situations.
• The wayfinding leader is fully present, deeply grounded, aware, and open to being guided.
Spiller, 29 - For the wayfinding leader, "Purpose" is not a static slogan for the boardroom wall or annual report; it is something people are willing to share in and become.
30 - tupu: the leadership challenge we all face, and our individual and collective purpose, is to be awake to the potential of ourselves, others, and situations, and to then consciously manifest that potential.
- accessing potential in others
Spiller, 30 - intro/conc: Wayfinding requires that we become explorers of our world, seeking to discover and shine light upon that which is not seen. To do this is to sail beyond the compass of our existing knowledge and to traverse uncharted waters in ourselves and the world.
31 - findng coherence amongst complexity:
Such navigation is not just about the stars, sun, clouds, swells, or the wind – it is based on a deep understanding of the relationships between them.
34 - Wayfinding leaders are kaitiaki – experts in the practice of taking care of people and of place. They create mauri ora – "wellbeing" – and they not only liberate themselves and others, they create a space where all people liberate each other in communion to fulfil their potential.
Dickson, 732 - Emics are things that are unique to a culture, whereas etics are things that are universal to all cultures. Emics are by definition not comparable across cultures.
Dickson 732 - Much, if not most, of the cross-cultural leadership research to date has been focused on the issue of equivalence—determining whether aspects of leadership and leadership theory are ‘‘universal’’ (etic) or are culturally contingent (emic).
Dickson, 734 - recognition that much leadership theory has a distinctly American bias has made some researchers particularly interested in unique ways in which leadership manifests itself in other cultures.
Dickson et al., 2003 describe the degree to which leadership behaviors, stryles, and traits are transferable across cultures. Argue for an understanding of the potential variation in enactment of such behaviors because of cultural context (eg. impacted by a multitude of complex factors such as ind. vs. collect, power distance, uncetainty avoidance
- 759 - We thus do not anticipate the emergence of a set of specific behaviors that will be universally effective (in the ‘‘simple universal’’ sense described earlier). Instead, we expect to see increasing results showing culture as a moderator of effects previously identified. Culture will continue to matter, and leaders will continue to face unexpected challenges when confronting cultural resistance.
Dimmock & Walker, 2000
How Anglo-American scholars dominate theory, practice, and policy and therefore there is a need to apply caution when looking at how ideas/models might apply across cultures
D&W, 145 - Anglo-American scholars continue to exert a disproportionate influence on theory, policy, and practice. Thus, a relatively small number of scholars and policy-makers representing less than 8% of the world’s population purport to speak for the rest.....rarely do scholars explicitly bound their findings within geo-cultural limits. Claims to knowledge are made on the basis of limited samples as though they have universal application.
D&W, 146 - Define culture:
'Culture’ is defined as the enduring sets of beliefs, values and ideologies underpinning structures, processes and practices which distinguishes one group of people from another. The group of people may be at school level (organisational culture) or at national level (societal culture).
- can vary on multiple levels and therefore needs CAL
D&W, 147 - one-size-does-not-fit-all:
Policy-makers and practitioners are increasingly adopting policy blueprints, management structures, leadership practices and professional development programmes fashioned in different cultural settings while giving little consideration to their cultural fit. In seeking to understand why some leadership practices appear to be workable in some contexts but not others, and the nature of adaptation needed, there is a clear need to take the cultural and cross-cultural contexts into account.
D&W, 147 - The dominance of Anglo-American theory, policy and practice denies or understates the influence that culture, and societal culture in particular, may have on the successful implementation of policy. There is serious risk at present that our understandings will remain too narrowly conceived.
- 159 - limitations of existing models and theories which tend to be ethnocentric, and by generally failing to distinguish cultural boundaries, to assume a false universalism.
D&W, 145 - No two societies are exactly alike demographically, economically, socially or politically.
- 145/ - Within countries/ regions: High differentiation/ variation among regions not being considered
Benha & Murakami-Ramalho, 2010
79 - Leadership, as viewed here through indigenous eyes, has a rich cultural foundation.
90 - boldness and vigour of engaging in leadership—a leadership that champions schools, that delivers learning and teaching within the context of place and spirit, and that occurs in partnerships with diverse communities.
Mura, 77 - Educational leadership in indigenous communities must be bold, vibrant, and champion schools that deliver learning through indigenous languages and philosophies, and sustain partnerships with the communities and families they serve.
4. Self-determination
Mura, 79 - Leadership, as viewed here through indigenous eyes, has a rich cultural foundation. This way of seeing supports the affective, intellectual, and cultural life of a community of people, and it frames a particular view of educational leadership. It has been derived from the local protocols of exchange among communities of indigenous peoples.
Mura, 82-3 - one must understand the context, history, and relations of indigenous peoples within their community, and across diverse or dissimilar communities over time....requires our full intellectual and spiritual commitment (ha) to the multiple communities that are a part of our lives—for example, family and extended family (relatives), tribal and indigenous communities, other communities (governments local, state, national, and global), and the land (place) that all communities share. The model also illuminates the need for both/and deep cultural learning of one’s own historical lineage and language,...// and the richness of the diversity and knowing of a multicultural world. The complex set of interrelationships between self and community, culture and language, indigenous and indigenous knowing and non-indigenous ways of knowing defines guideposts for the community of educational leadership that is grounded in the principles of ha, place, relations-sacredness-mana, individual generosity, and collective action.
Mura, 83 - This lesson, that culture and language is the breath of life that sustains an indigenous community, was at the heart of how this leader had come to know his roles and responsibilities
Mura, 90 - What we have tried to present here is the idea that we lead from our individual generosity, from a sacred place. We lead because our RELATIONS challenge us to make a difference.
Santa, # - Addressing academic disparities have proven to be daunting for educational leaders serving students and communities with high levels of increasing cultural and linguistic diversity.
Useable
Diversity
Santa, - Historically underserved students and their families look to educational leaders to change status quo educational practices and usher in educational systems where more learners can enjoy academic achievement than has been the norm.
/Santamaria et al. (2014) describe applied critical leadership as the practice of CHOOSING to address issues ef educational practice through a crticial race perspective that enables context-specifc change in response to imbalances of power, access, domination, and achievement, resulting in better academic outcomes for learners
- the idea of choice is interesting here, suggests actively pursuing outcomes, instead of passively accepting status quo
McGrath, 2014, # - A major assumption of this thesis is that high and disproportionate levels of indigenous marginalisation and underdevelopment within education and schooling will not be adequately overthrown if educational leadership is ill fitting with the cultural context
- argue for a need to expand and change existing notions about educational leadership to more adequately respond to cultural difference, so that those differences can be more appropriately validated and addressed directly and with due diligence within existing leadership and management programmes.
McGrath, 2014, # - One of the central issues in educational leadership today is to seek the illusionary ‘one best way’ to lead. As a consequence some problems arise with the definition and orthodoxy of ‘educational leadership’, which is disconnected from indigenous educational settings.
McGrath, 2014, # - One of the historical difficulties is what constitutes indigenous knowledge and indigenous educational leadership has been determined by those other than indigenous peoples
Solutions
M2.5 - assumptions of sameness in realities and experiences of how Māori educational leadership is enacted imposes 'enforced identification and assimilation' positions (Bottery, 2004, p. 115)
Fitz, 201 - I am troubled however by the apparent primacy of ethnocentric ways of knowing, acting and leading.
Fitz, 201 - located at the periphery are bodies of knowledge for/about Indigenous ways of leading and being led.
Fitz - Problems of looking to the int. community for competitive advantage and applying EL theories without consideration of context - diversity can be sacrificed at a local level
- 202 - Arguably the pressure for schools to gain competitive advantage in an internal arena (or market), whereby the ‘local’ is abandoned for the ‘global’, has the potential to reduce concerns for diversity and difference in the pursuit of policies and practices that promote assimilation.
Fitz, 203 - Minority commuities not positioned to benefit from present school organisation:
Neither the local/national nor the global/international market is connected with or organized around the interests and lives of those from minority groups. Schools function to serve the interests of dominant groups (Apple, 2001) and those who benefit the least occupy marginal positions. Accordingly, it is more difficult to be recognized and speak from the margins.
Fitz, 203 - One of the tensions that inevitably arise as a consequence of calls for a more outward looking focus is that the spotlight is shifted from the local to the global. My primary concern therefore is that calls for globalization are a call for the inculcation of western values, practices and privileges (Apple, 2001) that serve to homogenize and standardise and simultaneously segregate, stratify and marginalize.
Author's position - contextualized - national solutions for global problems, and local solutions for national problems
Fitz, 204 - Less recognized is the way in which whiteness is a privileging construct that perpetuates power and authority and which prevents access and opportunity for minority groups and, more specifically, women of colour.
Fitz, 204 - There is a fundamental risk that in developing cross-cultural or comparative approaches we fail, yet again, to recognize the homogenization of theory and practice and the taken-for-granted assumption that diversity and difference is primarily about race, ethnicity and identity of those other than white.
Fitz, 206 - Discussing differences and distinctiveness within the scope of educational leadership is complicated, contested and dangerous terrain.
Fitz, 2010 - Minority is more visible in the presence of a majority.
Mainstream theories infrequently place culture at the center - treated as just another problem among the many
Quantz et al., 376-7 - We further argue that while many critiques address questions of culture and values and draw upon broader sociocultural theories, the mainstream textbooks and the actual practices in the field too often fail to place culture at the centre, remaining satisfied for it to be treated as only one among the...many problems for leaders and leadership theory to address
Limiting the meaning of culture (calling it organizational culture) undermines 'culture's' real significance
Quantz, 377 - In these traditional educational administration and leadership texts, ‘culture’ is reduced to ‘organizational culture’, an attribute of the organization rather than a description of the dynamics of the larger world within which actors struggle for meaning and legitimacy. In limiting the meaning of the term, these texts, intentionally or not, appropriate the concept and colonize potential democratic spaces.
Interesting critique - org-centered acknowledges positional leaders, but can never recognize external leaders (eg.parents, citizens) as they exist outside of the school boundary and therefore do not 'qualify' as leaders within it**
Quantz, 380 - Organization-centred leadership not only maintains a narrow focus on which organizational offices are leadership positions, it is extremely unlikely to recognize those leaders who may not be members of the organization at all–such as parents, local ministers, or news columnists. This consequence results from the assumption that there exists a delineated boundary between the internal jurisdiction of the organization and its external environment, hence the language of insiders and outsiders. Insiders (district officials, school administration, teachers, non-teaching staff and students) hold the potential to be leaders within the organization while outsiders (policy-makers, corporate executives, parents and other citizens) may be community leaders who have influence on the organization, but can never occupy leadership positions within the organization**. Of course, and for several decades now, organization-centred leadership theory has acknowledged the permeable nature of such boundaries, but permeable or not, the boundary identifies and creates the distinction between insiders and outsiders.
Org-centered leadership - priveleges the organization's interests over the actual people inhabiting it
Quantz, 380 - A third effect is the assumption that the organization is an extant natural entity with its own identity, needs, goals and interests. The organization is assumed to exist in the world instead of existing in the lived experience of its actors. It is also assumed to have its own interests that should be protected and privileged over the interests of the actual people inhabiting its space and time. As a result, too often, the interest of the organization is conflated with that of powerful formal position leaders—mainly principals or superintendents and their leadership teams. While the principal is assumed to represent and protect the interest of the whole school organization, other groups (e.g. teachers, students, custodians) are presumed to have special interests that exclusively promote their own position. Administrators often justify their actions by rhetorical appeal to the interest of the whole and the well-being of the entire community, developing a mythical language and mythical culture. When both interests clash, special interest groups are usually portrayed in the negative language of troublemaking, disruption, and resistance.
Quantz et al., 2017, 377 - we argue that the field has for too long been dominated by organization-based leadership theories, theories which share certain weaknesses and problematics.
Dominant cultural groups like the status-quo, whereas minorities may prefer disruption of this
Quantz, 381 - When one observes the actions of players in a school, one detects the continuous flow of society’s wider cultural struggles. The general interest of the organization that most administrators claim as their own can now be understood as no more than the special interest of the dominant cultural groups in society. For example, while the typical interests of administration favour smooth functioning, lack of conflict, predictability, and docile bodies over active minds, the interest of minority groups in majority-dominant schools may favour disruption, conflict, unpredictability, and active minds and bodies.
Quantz et al., 2017
Culture-centered leadership starts with ethics, morals, SJ first (the core), and then layers on technical expertise
Quantz, 381 - a culture-based theory of educational leadership will likely identify these individuals as democratic leaders fighting for a democratic society rather than troublemakers. The culture-based educational leader not only recognizes the cultural tensions around which the politics of culture develop but also encourages difference and struggle to speak up in the face of imposed cultural regularity and sameness. Here, recognition of all faces and all voices becomes key to the democratic process.
387 - offer each person recognition and legitimacy as representatives of their group(s).
Quantz, 381 - A third result is the sensitivity of such theories to time, space and subjectivity. Starting with culture, these theories are much less likely to fall into the imperialist trap of assuming that their theories are universal and desirable for all schools regardless of their cultural location. Since the cultural is constantly embedded in social relations, it can never be trapped or objectified—be it an identity, an organization or a nation.
Quantz, 383 - Organization-based leadership inevitably favours a technical rationality that prefers standardization, specialization and ends-driven action. On the other hand, culture-based leadership more likely favours a normative rationality with an emphasis on building moral community.
... concerned with ethical values, moral communities and the good life. It embraces democratic politics as integral to leadership valuing such things as equity, equality, liberty, community and justice. Ethics takes the centre while efficacy and efficiency become peripheral. This normative rationality starts with a commitment to ethical principles and builds a set of educational experiences in order to achieve continuously emerging broad educational goals.... Means and ends are an emerging property of the journey.
Quatnz, 385 - On the other hand, the leadership ideal associated with culture-based leadership centres democratic values, especially those values necessary to the struggle for power, recognition and legitimacy by disempowered groups. This is because the theory itself takes these values as central to its empirical grounding. Even when confronted with the language of standardization, predictability, order, efficacy and efficiency (values deeply embedded in the present educational reforms), a culture-based school will necessarily layer such values on top of its own deeper commitment to democratic practices. Schools must first be places of democratic practices and only then engines of technical success.
Quantz, 385-6 - The ancient Greeks had seven different words representing seven different ways of knowing. Each provides a different perspective of ‘reality’. Epistemic knowledge (which corresponds to our idea of science) was only one kind of knowledge among other equally important forms. Policy derived from ‘scientifically-based’ research fails to capture the totality of the educational experience (as does knowledge derived from any single form of knowledge). For....one thing, scientific conclusions about human social actions can only speak to variables that can be quantified, measured, and standardized through measures of central tendency.
- link to culture - not capturing the totality of ed. experience
Quantz, 386 - Leaders are not trained; they are educated. Therefore, culture-based leaders will reject a belief that leaders should follow a set of universal rules applied to any situation. Instead, they will take into consideration the local situation and use their understanding of theory and ideal to determine the best actions based on their analysis and interpretation of what those particular circumstances are.
Quantz, 387 - know your terrain:
They are likely to recognize that the cultural reality of the wider contexts (political, economic, legal and sociological) that exist outside of schools are likely to become realized within the school arena as well.
Quantz, 387 - Culture-based educational leaders are likely to create spaces for conversations through which beginnings are crafted, ends are negotiated, and means are assessed, all in complex continuous cycles including places for the discussion of values such as spirituality. Such conversations promote democratic modes of communication including those of debate, argument, and most importantly, dissent.
Quantz, 387 - how Pakeha can show CAL:
make sure that the interests of the minority groups are protected from the domination of the majority groups. They are likely to actively work to recognize and show respect to the history, ideas, and values of all groups within the school without pretending to be other than who they are. Showing respect to others is not the same as becoming the other. In fact, trying to become the other is a sure way to show disrespect. The intent is to respectfully recognize as legitimate those whose interests have been traditionally ignored in schools.
Quantz, 387 - ethical commitments such as equity, equality, social justice, respect, care, diversity and human satisfaction must provide the primary mechanisms of curricular and instructional practices. In other words, culture-based leaders will not abandon commitments to efficiency and efficacy, but are likely to subordinate both to values essential to a democratic community
Quantz, 387-8 - Democracy cannot be reduced to such mechanisms as majority rule or the application of state mandates. Democracy is a messy, slow process that is rarely pleasant. It is a way to deal with conflicting interests within a community, which necessarily leads to compromise and, therefore, demands the relinquishment of some of one’s privileges. Ultimately, democracy is a way for participants in public spaces to figure out how to work together in a manner that recognizes as legitimate the different interests of different groups. Culture-based leaders are likely to actively work to protect minority interests against those of the majority by recognizing their right to self-determination as long as such self-determination is congruent with the....values and practices of democracy.
Quantz, 388 - distinguish between:
theories in which social justice is a goal that organizations are to achieve and those with which social justice is the fabric of cultural life from which to build an organization.
Begley, 45 - Cultural isomorph:
Such experiences reveal cultural isomorphs that occur within and among specific cultures. By isomorph is meant social conditions or value postures appearing to share the same shape or meaning from country to country but actually structured of quite different elements.
- 46 - Same term and concept, but the assigned meaning is composed of different elements.
Begley, 46 - why ethnocentrism is a problem:
The consequences are a risk that the generalized experiences of one country may be inappropriately assumed to be instructive to the practices in radically different contexts
Begley, 46 - As our communities and societies become more diversified, school administrators must become more sophisticated in their leadership and management of education, and more sensitive to the value orientations of others.
Begley, 48 - The focus has been on the empirical and the technical, and the bulk of the literature has been blind to what Barnard (1938) proposed as the moral dimension of leadership.
Begley, 48-9 - Not so long ago school communities in most countries tended to reflect the relatively stable cultural homogeneity of the communities they served. Administrators carried out their role in schools through a fairly limited repertoire of managerial processes....Management was largely a function of comfortable and proven procedures. In the North American context at least, the school was an arena for professional..../activity, the community stayed at a comfortable distance, and professional expertise was sufficient warrant for the trust of the community.
- 49 - However, circumstances have changed radically in the past decade. Societies have become more pluralistic, and the demands and needs of interest groups in communities more diversified and insistent. The nature of school administration has altered dramatically.
Begley, 51 - Once a degree of improved self-knowledge has been achieved through personal reflection, administrators must then strive to develop a sensitivity to the values orientations of others in order to give meaning to the actions of the students, teachers, parents, and community members with whom they interact. The payoff occurs when understanding the value orientations of others provides leaders with information on how they might best influence the practices of others toward socially defensible educational outcomes.
Begley, 55-6 - authenticity—that is, clearly articulated and socially justifiable intents pursued in a...consistent manner by a skillful leader who enjoys the trust and respect of the followership.
Begley, 56 - It is a function of sophisticated reflective practice that includes KNOWLEDGE of ONESELF, appreciation of the needs and orientations of others, combined with the skills required to establish a shared vision of worthwhile attainable goals among a team of professionals.
F&S, 25 - Epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with the origin, nature, methods of derivation, and limits, of human knowledge.
F&S, 25 - The significant factor here is that Maori have been subjected to European colonisation since the early 1800s and continue to live today in a societal context of unequal power and social relations. Maori are not all passive, nor uncritical recipients of a determined educational existence-indeed, schooling and education are sites for both the reproduction and production of dominant Western knowledge as well as being sites of resistance for Maori language, knowledge and culture.
F&S, 26 - solution:
Thus this paper develops the argument that Maori cultural transformation implies transformation of the dominant Pakeha societal context as well. The philosophy of education in New Zealand needs to be both informed and probably (re)formed by the theoretical challenges growing out of the indigenous context.
F&S, 37 - Managerialism does not adequately theorise and integrate tradition-based knowledges and practices. In New Zealand, for example, managerial prerogative is accomplished on the basis of theorising Maori on the dominant group’s own terms. Naming the world in this manner, is, of course, a key feature of colonisation.
F&S, 38 - Under the dominance of Western epistemologies, young Maori have disengaged from the world; they have become colonised. To counter this colonisation, we argue for a re-engagement under Kuupapa Maori.
F&S, 39 - what is required is a re-theorisation of structural and cultural conditions today. Kaupapa Maori calls for a relational identity through an interpretation of the interaction of kinship and genealogy and current day events, but not a de-contextualised retreat to a romantic past. The past is instrumental in developing an equitable present and future.
McGrath, # - don't just offer problems, offer solutions:
I argue for a need to expand and change existing notions about educational leadership to more adequately respond to cultural difference; to be more appropriately validated and to be addressed directly and with due diligence within existing leadership and management programmes. If educational leadership is to be valued then re-defining what counts as indigenous educational leadership needs to be addressed and may require educational management programmes and educational institutes to re-think their pedagogical frameworks.
Murkani, 78 - This settling resulted in indigenous peoples having little or no legitimate power and authority to govern their own communities. This lack of sovereignty left contemporary indigenous peoples, in the eyes of non-indigenous and indigenous alike, without their own unique world-views through which to sustain themselves, their families, and their communities.
F&S, 39 - Ideas based on support of Kaupapa Maori:
For Maori ... partnership in terms of the Treaty of Waitangi implies power sharing and involvement at all levels of policy development, application and evaluation (that is, to also reserve the right to determine what counts as success). The control of the evaluation and assessment factors to evaluate services for Maori is critical; it is a means for Maori to name their world. Naming is employed in the sense of using language to control conditions of existence through cultural definitions of the world.
F&S, 39 - Historically, Maori have not featured significantly in debates within educational philosophy; they have not enjoyed speaking positions in that dominant discourse. At least part of this problem arises from philosophy’s lack of space for traditions other than Eurocentric ones.
Hohepa, 2013
628 - I have argued that indigeneity provides a space in which Ma ̄ori leadership can critically engage with this information, on the basis that Ma ̄ori educational leadership may have needs and goals similar to those found across educational leadership more generally. Indigeneity also provides the space in which Ma ̄ori educational leadership can expect to have those needs addressed and those goals met in different culturally preferred ways and contexts, drawing on different kinds of evidence and knowledge bases.
Hohepa, 619 - Rather than being constructed as a leadership “type” or “style,” Indigenous educational leadership as “different” may be better understood in terms of the enactment of leadership, which is located in and guided by Indigenous knowledge, values, and practices, in order to realize Indigenous educational aspirations.
Hohepa, 620 - There are fundamental tensions in attempting to fit Ma ̄ori leadership into generic conceptions of educational leadership that are developed largely from research findings that sit outside of a Ma ̄ori worldview and Ma ̄ori knowledge, understandings, and experiences of leadership. These tensions connect with concerns relating to the impact of education systems, which were introduced as part of imperialistic and colonizing practices undertaken across the world, on Indigenous epistemologies, values, beliefs, and practices (Grande 2000; G. Smith 1997; L. Smith 1999).
Hohepa, 621 - Working within colonial strucutres:
to what extent is Indigenous educational leadership able to enact distinctive forms within these imposed contexts?
Hohepa, 621-2 - Durie (2006, 14–15) sees effective Ma ̄ori leadership as that which is “expert in navigating within te ao Ma ̄ori” (Ma ̄ori society) “and exploring te ao wha ̄nui” (wider society). In addition, Ma ̄ori educational leadership has a significant responsibility in trying to ensure that....Ma ̄ori students both acquire universal knowledge and skills and Ma ̄ori knowledge and skills, which will help realize aspirations held among Ma ̄ori.
Hohepa, 622 - Difficult to lead indigenously:
Indigenous educational leaders are not simply leaders who happen to be Indigenous. They are leaders who choose not to compromise their Indigenous identity simply because they are an educational leader. Putting Indigenous knowledge, culture, and language at the center of Indigenous education leadership is important, so that emotional and moral energy related to identity may be harnessed to enhance Indigenous student learning more generally (Smith 2009).
- relates to broad definition vs. individualized context - etics vs. emics
Hohepa, 622-3 - Balancing idigenous perspectives with what is also considered effective:
will require leadership that is consistent with Ma ̄ori perspectives, values and practices pertaining to leadership.../Ma ̄ori educational leadership, and Indigenous educational leadership more widely, can also require understanding of, and critical reflection on, what is known about effective educational leadership practices.
- 624 - What count as Ma ̄ori beliefs, knowledge, values, and worldviews deserve being shown the respect of rigorous interrogation.
cont. Hohepa, 628 - Define: Indigeneity concerns the right to conceptualize, articulate, and address Ma ̄ori educational leadership differently—in ways that are distinctly Ma ̄ori.
Hohepa, 624 - A way of exploring the implications of modifying Indigenous educational leadership practices is to consider how leadership practices sourced from non-Indigenous evidence can be engaged with in ways that identify, emphasize, and articulate preferred values, beliefs, and practices of Indigenous peoples
Hohepa, 624 - Is it possible to use and to develop knowledge in empowering ways in fields that themselves have played fundamental roles in disempowerment?
Hohepa, 625-6 - What occurs between Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge is not linear. There is potential for reciprocal engagement and....impact at many given points. What exists is fundamentally relational, involving multidirectional exchanging and interchanging of ideas. In this sense Indigenous conceptualizations can contribute just as much to the revisioning of non-Indigenous conceptualizations and theories.
- 626 - What is needed is an approach that recognizes that to be effective, Indigenous engagement with non-Indigenous ideas needs to be active, dynamic, and selective.
Hohepa, 627-8 - SUMMARY of position:
Ma ̄ori educational leadership requires an enactment of indigeneity in order to continue to contribute to the transformation of education in Aotearoa-New Zealand. Indigeneity assumes that Ma ̄ori have rights in the control and de-...cision making relating to the education of Ma ̄ori children. These rights extend to control over defining what counts as desired or valued educational outcomes and what kinds of Ma ̄ori educational leadership are required in order to realize such outcomes. Indigeneity as a principle and as an approach provides a space in which Ma ̄ori educational leadership can do at least two things. One, Ma ̄ori educational leaders can practice leadership that is Maori. Two, Ma ̄ori educational leaders can engage with available knowledge, theories and information about effective educational leadership in ways that may result in enactments of Ma ̄ori educational leadership that appear relatively the same as “non-Ma ̄ori” leadership, while located in Ma ̄ori cultural knowledge and cultural frameworks.
McGrath, 2014, # - Leadership is about interpretation and is contextualised. Educational leadership cannot be a one-size-fits-all notion, but rather, educational leadership theorising requires the acceptance of multiple truths and must include the realities and experiences of indigenous leaders and their communities particularly if we are to advance the development of pedagogical frameworks of leadership practice. Without this acceptance, ‘one-size-fits-all’ models will continue to perpetuate the colonising strategies for indigenous leaders because power and control remains with the coloniser and keeps the indigenous leader in a constant state of compromise.
McGrath, 2014, para - One of the historical difficulties is that non-indigenous peoples determine what counts as indigenous educational leadership through one-size-fits-one leadership template models.
McGrath, 2014, # - My doctoral thesis argued for educational leadership theorising according to indigenous peoples and their communities’ experiences and realities. I also argued that behaviours and attitudes toward educational leadership practice was easily identified and defined within our own traditional values where relational connectedness required a collective attitude and where our obligations to the collective ensured that our language, culture, knowledge and identity remained intact and strong.
McGrath, 2014, # - This model was fraught with challenges for Māori educational leaders as what counted as ‘effective’ leadership was premised upon western notions of educational leadership theory and practice.
McGrath, 2014, # - The validity of educational leadership knowledge endorsed by ministerial reports such as the Kiwi Leadership for Principals created tensions for Māori leaders as the knowledge it endorsed became a form of capital and had currency when defining success or effectiveness. The control of knowledge was a critical factor in enhancing the ideological dominance of one group of people over less powerful groups.
- McGrath (2014, #) states that 'the reality of western educational leadership theory did nothing to benefit the indigenous leader....and catapulted indigenous educational leadership practice into a state of crisis,
- McGrath, 2008, 16 - Māori educational leadership is in a crisis as non-Māori theories continue to define what counts as Māori educational leadership**
- Hohepa (2013, p. 628) suggests that indigeneity provides a space in which Ma ̄ori leadership can critically engage with this information, on the basis that Ma ̄ori educational leadership may have needs and goals similar to those found across educational leadership** more generally."
- H&R - establishes that the concepts described (taken from local and international research) are compatible with Maori conceptions of EL
- establishes a balance between etics (what the evidence is showing universally) and emics (forms of leadership that are culturally relevant to and resonate with Maori culture)
- Hemara, 30 - Applying a cultural lens to ‘traditional western’ leadership paradigms can help to rethink constructs that have been taken for granted. Such cultural lenses can dispute common sense meanings in policy and provide spaces for other forms of cultural leadership to occur.
ToW
MOS, 10 - In NZ there is scope for contextualized leadership
...self-managing schools. This highly decentralised system.... It has promoted wider community participation in decision-making, and it has allowed schools to better respond to the specific needs of their students and the expectations of the community. Decentralised decision-making has given principals and boards the ability to set the direction and align resources with the school’s goals and targets, which are expected to reflect national priorities.
- 14 - princiapls set 'the direction for the school in ways that reflect the needs and values of the local community.'
MOS, 14 - The increasingly diverse composition of New Zealand’s student population, accompanied by a widening range of student learning needs, present further challenges. Principals and teachers are faced with developing the school’s capacity to identify, understand and meet those learning needs.
MOS, 18 - The Treaty of Waitangi provides a rationale for building a school culture that acknowledges kaupapa Māori, and promotes te reo Māori and tikanga Māori.
H&R, 21 - The changing demographic profile of Aotearoa/New Zealand indicates that the proportion of Mäori school-children will continue to rise. The implications for the nation include a growing need for educational leadership that impacts effectively on Mäori educational achievement.
H&R, 22-3 - requires specific attention to Mäori as tangata whenua (people of the land), the indigenous people of Aotearoa/New Zealand.....This involves serious consideration of the Treaty relationship between Mäori and the Crown (Government), underpinned by Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi), which provides protection for Mäori language and culture whilst guaranteeing Mäori the same rights and opportunities, including educational, as non-Mäori.
H7&, 24 - Contemporary Mäori leadership still involves a focus on success for the group.
- /this does not fit within Eurocentric, individualist models
H&R, 28 - There are undeniable tensions around ‘fitting’ Mäori leadership to a conception of leadership developed outside of a Mäori world view.
H&R, 31 - We view it as imperative that considerations of culture and ethnicity are included in the identification of leadership dimensions that are effective in raising outcomes for diverse students in Aotearoa/New Zealand. This is particularly so in the case of Mäori.....our conception of educational leadership needs to be able to resonate with Mäori conceptions of leadership
Hohepa & Robinson (2008)
H&R, 33 - Our account of leadership makes it clear that leadership is centrally concerned with the possibilities for and realities of change. Leadership involves influencing people either directly (through face to face encounters) or indirectly (through creating conditions) to think and act in ways that they would not have otherwise. This influence may involve challenging others to reconsider their views about what does and does not need changing as well as to change particular practices.
H&R, 31- Three important features of our concept of educational leadership are that it includes both positional and distributed leadership, treats leadership as highly fluid and sees it as embedded in specific tasks and situations.
- state their conception is compatible with Maori conceptions of EL (BES)
- 32 - Both the traditional and contemporary lists of attributes important to Mäori leadership reflect a view of leadership as being knowledgeable and skilful in areas necessary for ensuring that important group goals and aspirations are realised.
H&R - relationships are embedded:
- 34 - Relationships can play a significant part in developing knowledge of and respect for individual and cultural identities.
H&R, 36 - While there is an ever-present danger of stereotyping Mäori versus Päkehä (European-New Zealander) leadership, we take the view that there are features of Mäori leadership which are distinctive. We wish to describe the distinction in terms of values and roles and responsibilities that underpin leadership, rather than in terms of leadership style. The latter would encourage stereotypical views and misrepresent the wide range of approaches to be found within Mäori leadership.
- 36 - The distinctiveness of Mäori leadership lies in the duties and associated accountabilities that are bestowed upon Mäori educational leaders by the communities they serve.
McGrath, 2008
McGrath, 2008, 2 - If educational leadership is to be valued then re-defining what counts as Māori educational leadership by Māori for Māori needs to be addressed
McGrath, 2008, 2 - Those in educational organisations and tertiary educational management programmes all seek the one best way to lead
- link to periphery paragraph - 2 - does little to acknowledge or express what counts as Māori educational leadership and in fact provides non-Māori perspectives of how Māori educational leadership should be enacted.
McGrath, 2008, 3 - Only when Māori educational leadership theorising conducted and discussed by Māori leaders will the praxis of Māori leadership be realised as valid, normal and transformative.
McGrath, 2008, 3 - Of greatest concern for Māori however, is the acceptance of colonised beliefs that have permeated the traditions of Māori leadership understandings
McGrath, 2008, 3 - understand Māori educational leadership in a Māori way. Therefore it is essential to engage in theories of action that explain, interpret and to make sense of Māori educational leadership within a kaupapa Māori way.
McGrath, 2008, 5 - the realities and experiences of the Māori leader are included within the theories of educational leadership thereby indicating that those realities and experiences are the same as non-Māori realities and experiences of leadership.
McGrath, 2008, 5 - a call by Māori leaders to seek and express their own realities to determine a distinction itself from the status quo.
McGrath, 2008, 5 - educational leadership
theories speak for Māori leaders thereby defining what counts as Māori educational leadership
McGrath, 2008, 6 - Māori leadership within nation-states requires recognition, and validation not only by non-Māori educational leaders, researchers, and policy makers but also by the Māori leaders themselves.
McGrath, 2008, 7 - Unless Māori and leaders hold onto their ways of knowing and creating knowledge there is a critical danger of replicating non-Māori models of what constitutes effective leadership.
McGrath, 2008, 7 - Being recognised and heard however, does not hold the same meanings as legitimated and validated knowledge worthy enough to be endorsed as viable practice...Educational leadership theories do not reinforce or recognise Māori values, actions,
customs, culture and identity as noteworthy.
- relates to NZ policy documents - tokenistic
McGrath, 2008, 7 - Imperialism as a form of power and control continues to influence the realities of Māori practice and knowledge today.
McGrath, 2008, 7 - Globalisation perpetuates the struggle for self determination for Māori and particularly for Māori educational leadership.
- 8 - Globalisation has caused issues for Maori EL through its 'generic and ubiquitous expectations of educational leaders' (universal definitions of EL)
McGrath, 2008, 8 educational leadership that determines what counts as effective leadership in educational settings place Māori leadership at the periphery. Power therefore remains with Western educational leadership orthodoxy where the prime foci remains at the centre. A consequence of educational leadership for Māori leaders within this context highlights the hierarchical structure of societies where knowledge claims, resources, identity, and power remains with high-status cultural resources employed to gain economic capital and social prestige of western anglophone countries
McGrath, 2008, 10 - Although not definitive, the guiding principles of kaupapa Māori ('a Maori way of doing things' p. 9) will present an active and directive means to establish what counts as Māori educational leadership. Each principle is significant and relevant in drawing out the realities and experiences of Māori educational leadership.
McGrath, 2008, 10 - Therefore, rangatiratanga issues the right of Māori to define what counts as Māori knowledge and includes what counts as Māori educational leadership. Such autonomy has been guaranteed to Māori in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Aotearoa/New Zealand’s founding document of nationhood (Te Tiriti o Waitangi, 1840).
McGrath, 2008, 10 - Therefore, rangatiratanga issues the right of Māori to define what counts as Māori knowledge and includes what counts as Māori educational leadership. Such autonomy has been guaranteed to Māori in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Aotearoa/New Zealand’s founding document of nationhood (Te Tiriti o Waitangi, 1840)."
McGrath, 2008, 16 - Of great concern for Māori however, are the colonised traditions of Māori leadership. That is, traditional Māori knowledge influenced by colonial, western thinking based on scientific theorising
Macf, 65 - All students benefit from being in a culturally-inclusive classroom. However, many students from non-dominant cultures are not free to be whom and what they are when they go to school.
Macf, 66 - Under Article 1 of this Treaty, Maori ceded kawanatanga (governorship or administrative control) to the Crown.
Macf, 66 - Maori have long regarded the Treaty of Waitangi as a charter for partnership and power-sharing in the decision-making processes of government, for self-determination as Indigenous people, and as a guide to intercultural relations within Aotearoa New Zealand.
- 66 - However, the relationship between Maori and Pakeha- (people of European ancestry) in Aotearoa New Zealand has not been characterised by partnership and power-sharing, but rather by political and social domination by the Pakeha-majority.
Macf, 66 - Under Article 3 of the Treaty, Maori were guaranteed the full rights of British citizenship.
Macf, 66 - Under Article 2, the Crown ceded to Ma- ori rangatiratanga (chiefly control or self-determination) over their lands, forests and fisheries and other taonga (treasures or resources). Maori also retained their sovereign rights to define, promote and control those treasures and resources, which include the creating, retaining and transmitting of language and cultural knowledge.
Macf, 67 - Government educational policies have ranged through assimilation, integration, multiculturalism and biculturalism. The cumulative effects of these successive policies has been to require Maori to sacrifice more and more of their language, culture and their own Indigenous educational aspirations to the needs and goals of the nation, as determined largely by the Pakeha-majority. Participation in mainstream education in Aotearoa New Zealand has come for Maori at a cost of their own language and culture.
Macf, 67 - When educational policies in Aotearoa New Zealand succeed in addressing the principle of protection embedded in Article 2 of the Treaty, and allow Maori to exercise their rights to define and develop curriculum and pedagogy that will protect their knowledge, language, values, beliefs and practices, the scene will be set for schools that will be culturally-safe for Maori students and their families.
Macf, 69 - schools are complex and dynamic organisations. They reflect and are a microcosm of our society. Nowhere else in society do the different dimensions of culture come together in such a small space. We can expect differences and should support, encourage, and celebrate those differences, never allowing one perspective to dominate over another.
Macf, 69 - The primary findings from this study show relationships to be the core element for a culturally-safe ethos within the school. The key groups involved in relationships are students, parents, families, teachers, administrators, and community members. The central activities of relationships are explained in terms of three constructs: restorative practices, relationships-based classroom pedagogy, and a culture of care. The glue that holds a school together is an ambiance or atmosphere of care, which combines rituals, relationships, and community.
Macf, 73 - The Treaty of Waitangi (Article 2) guarantees Maori protection of their taonga (treasures – taonga such as the culture and the language.
Walker & Shuangye (2007)
W&S, 185 - The major theme running through related discussion is that authentic intercultural leadership is particularly attuned to the values, beliefs and behavioural uniqueness of the students, teachers and others which comprise the community. In other words, it aims to acquire intercultural understanding on an ongoing basis and use this to inform leadership beliefs and practice. Therefore, authentic leadership and learning can be viewed as inseparably twinned.
- shifting context, so leaders must always be attuned to such shifts (through learning)
W&S, 185-6 - iterative process of learning through community engagement:
authenticity is not something that can ever be truly found; rather it is revealed piece by piece through an ongoing iterative process of learning through purposefully engaging students, teachers and the broader community to understand the meaning they...ascribe to their school. As such, personal leader authenticity in schools does not lie within standardized prescriptions that tell us how schools should work, but through interpreting what makes sense to others through ongoing social interaction and learning.
W&S, 186 - a deeper understanding of different cultural orientations can be used as the basis for ongoing leadership learning
W&S, 186 - an ongoing interaction between how well one understands oneself within the meanings of a given educational context; and what can best to done to improve student lives and learning within this context. As such, the same leader, if operating in different contexts, will incorporate understandings of diverse community needs and other contextually relevant perspectives to build their authenticity. Given that school contexts are inevitably in a state of flux, this means that effective leaders constantly seek to refine or even redefine their authenticity.
W&S, 186 - At the base of authenticity is a dedication to ongoing leadership learning. Learning can be loosely conceptualized as seeking, exposing and accepting gaps between what is ‘known’ and what really exists or what could be. Learning happens when this gap in knowing produces cognitive conflict and challenges ingrained assumptions, beliefs and ways of working. In other words, it is about leaders seeing and making sense of what happens in their schools and then working to make things better through generating new approaches to learning or relationship building. This does not imply an absence of leader values or beliefs, or even self-interest, but rather an acceptance that these must be constructed within different social and organizational contexts.
W&S, 187 - The ways in which leaders learn to lead and make a positive difference are constructed within a social milieu comprised of multiple, overlapping and constantly shifting contextual factors. Cultural values, the dominant values held by a particular cultural group, are among the most influential of these as they shape the norms and beliefs that students, teachers and their wider social affiliations bring to school....if leaders in intercultural schools are to make a difference then they must learn to understand the cultural influences affecting their schools
W&S, 188 - Leader authenticity is thus context specific; it moves beyond the personal to include the institutional (including teacher and classroom practices and beliefs) and focuses on what students ‘bring to school’ and what they ‘really’ need to learn. It needs to be continually refined and cannot be defined or operationalized in absolute, formal, subjective or imposed forms. Authentic leadership, then, is constructed and reconstructed within a number of overlapping elements, one of which is the culture or cultures that describe the school.
W&S, 189 - Leadership is centrally concerned with the interpretation and enactment of values.
W&S, 191 - Leaders seeking authenticity increase their cultural understanding through learning in a way that leads to improved practice in schools. This involves much more than recognizing cultural influence and accepting or simply making allowances for it: leaders seek pragmatic understanding as a device through which they examine their own practice and theories-in-use with the goal of informing educational praxis.
W&S, 193 - etics vs. emics:
authentic leadership in intercultural schools rests not on over-generalized lists of what works for others, which are often grounded in mono-cultural assumptive bases, but on a personal, professional learning orientation and awareness that can result in authentic practice. This practice is built around the insights which emerge and accumulate through simultaneously applying intuition and collecting and analysing contextually-informed knowledge and evidence.
- 194 - recognise that previous experience does not hold all the answers to the different problems they face.
- 194 - past experience is both relevant and limited
W&S, 194 - Becoming authentic calls for leaders to question, but not deny, their own culturally based ways of working. There is a big difference between learning to see one’s own cultural origins in concert with others and surrendering these completely.
W&S, 201 - Authentic leadership in any setting must be constructed within the micro and macro context of the school. This context describes a complex and continually changing fusion of an individual’s predisposition, values and stage of development, the values underpinning their society and multiple other features impinging on their leadership world (religion, gender, policy and politics to name but some) as well as their organizational environment.
W&S, 201 - SUMMARY:
Authentic leadership in intercultural schools must be particularly attuned to the values, beliefs and behaviours of the students, teachers and others which comprise the community. In other words, it aims to gain intercultural understanding and use this understanding to inform leadership beliefs and practice. Given that this also transpires within an environment in perpetual motion, leader authenticity cannot have a stated end-point, it must also continually evolve. To lead in ever-shifting environments leaders must embrace learning on an ongoing basis. Therefore, authentic leadership and learning can be viewed as inseparably twinned. Learning for authenticity, however, does not happen spontaneously, it must be purposefully pursued.
Hemara, 30 - Applying a cultural lens to ‘traditional western’ leadership paradigms can help to rethink constructs that have been taken for granted. Such cultural lenses can dispute common sense meanings in policy and provide spaces for other forms of cultural leadership to occur.
Hemara (2013)
Hemara, 31 - Contrasts can and do exist between cultures in schools and policy. School leaders need to adopt policies and practices that are suited to their own school environments.
Hemara, 31 - To provide leadership for improved outcomes, leaders must first reflect on who their students are. Leaders in schools need to be attuned to the values, beliefs and behavioural uniqueness that comprise their school communities.
- 32 - leaders must account for the cultures that comprise their schools
Hemara, 32 - Educational leaders must recognise the need to be more explicit about the values and beliefs that underpin their leadership practice. In doing so leaders may be made aware of the differences between their own values and the values of their school communities.
Begin by examining how wider trends have given primacy to ethnocentric theories (Fitz, 201) and EL that seeks the illusionary 'one best way to lead' (McGrath, 2014). Then move to how these traditional discourses have manifested themselves in NZ and their impacts on CAL. Specifically, how NZ policy has priveleged such traditional Western leadership discourses and subordinated Maori leadership theories (Hemara, 2013). This has undermined our bicultrual commitment based on the ToW and Maori right to self-determination. - (Hohepa, 621) to what extent Indigenous EL able to enact distinctive forms within imposed contexts?
Hemara, 69/ - Describes Western leadership as individual/ hierachical, and Maori as collective/ horizontal
- Dicskon, 742 - Define collectivism vs. individualism:
Cultures characterized by individualism can be seen as loosely knit social frameworks in which people are supposed to take care of themselves and look after their own interests and those of their close family only. A tight social framework with strong and cohesive in-groups that are opposed to out-groups is a key characteristic of high collectivism.
What has happened historically?
- primacy of ethnoentric theories
- EL seeks illusionary 'one best way to lead'
Impacts on NZ & ToW:
- one best way to lead disconnected from indigenous educational settings (McGrath, 2014)
- NZ policy priveleges Western theory, while subordinating Maori
- undermines bicultural commitment and Maori right to self-determination
Hemara, 64 - serve to privilege certain knowledges that support and promote the subject position ‘educational leader’ and position how leadership is viewed in mainstream schools.
- 66 - document prioritises a ‘traditional western’ leadership discourse of the positional leader, and excludes a more collective Māori leadership discourse.
Hemara, 64 - how the Ministry through COHERENCE IN POLICY reinforces certain
knowledges as truth.
Hemara, 68-9 - TOKENISTIC:
In the absence of more deeply considered Māori content, the use of Māori words in the KLP could be read...as a token gesture to appease Māori and to provide a ‘kiwi’ and an apparently uniquely indigenous approach to the educational leadership model.
- 80 - meanings from a Māori perspective remain unrecognised and unreferenced.
Hemara, 71 - The majority of principals in schools are non-Māori. It seems likely that few non-Maori leaders will have the commitment or knowledge required to provide leadership that works towards Māori enjoying success as Māori. The job for non-Māori principals is complicated by policy that presumes that they know how to lead in ways which are inclusive of Māori enjoying success as Māori
Hemara, 73 - The state is the governing and controlling body for education. The Ministry determine what they think is best for Māori in education and we accept this as ‘truth’ because it is presumed that policies act in the best interest of all learners. Policies are government documents and they are only one partner in the deal. Any claims to an equal partnership cannot be delivered when only one partner in the deal is making decisions.
Hemara, 79 - It does not address the power relations that exist in the document as the ‘traditional western’ leadership discourses dominate in the policy.
Hemara, 81 - Educational leadership for Māori purposes has to be grounded in particular social and economic issues that face Māori.
H&L, 106 - Normally we operate without an awareness of our own culture - it is just "the way we do things around here". Consequently, our theories typically make little or no reference to the cultural context in which leaders work. A cultural context exists, but our "acculturated lens" blinds us to its effects.
H&L, 107 - Define CULTURE:
From a macro-perspective, the societal culture represents the values, norms, expectations and traditions that define a society
H&L, 109 - In sum, culture is the source of values that people share in a society. As such culture can be viewed as having effects on multiple features of the school and its environment. Culture shapes the institutional and community context within which the school is situated by defining predominant value orientations and norms of behaviour. It influences the predilections of individual leaders as well as the nature of interactions with others in the school and its community. Moreover, it determines the particular educational emphasis or goals that prevail within a system of schooling.
H&L, 109 - Since cultural values vary across nations, we would expect cross-cultural variation in the educational goals of societies as well as the normative practices aimed towards their achievement.
H&L, 109 - These values and normative expectations form a context for educational leadership in two ways. First, they shape what leaders and followers perceive as desired outcomes for schools in the society. Second, they influence the nature of the interactions that occur between the leader and followers
H&L, 109 - Culture affects all aspects:
we view culture as having an impact on schools at the institutional level, on the community context, on the beliefs and experiences of administrators, on administrative practice, and on a school's particular culture.
A school principal talks about how he works with his teachers and Māori community to develop a bicultural school context within which both Treaty partners are acknowledged and valued. A teacher and members of the Māori community describe how this principal’s leadership has facilitated a reciprocal relationship between the school and their local Māori community.
- deliberate and visible efforts to recognise both treaty partners
- https://ero.govt.nz/our-research/deliberate-acts-of-leadership
M - W&M, 2018, 3 - Define Ed. Leadership:
Leadership in educational organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand is essentially influencing others to act, think, or feel in ways that advance the values, vision and goals of the organisation, and the learning and flourishing of each of its learners. Leadership is also about seeking sustainable and ongoing improvement and innovation. It is visible in a range of purposeful actions and ways of working.
Walker, # - Properly framed, methodologically sound and internationally accessible studies remain relatively scarce; and those that are conducted, often continue to be written, stored and disseminated in line with long-established rules dictated by a limited number of societies.
Mugisha, 2013 - culturally responsive instructional leadership entails those purposeful, well-intentioned, creative, and collaborative actions that a principal takes to enhance the academic engagement and achievement of minority-culture students.
- not possible without engaging the community through strong relationships
M - Berry & And, 88 - As in many other colonised countries, education in Aotearoa New Zealand continues to perpetuate a situation where disproportionate numbers of indigenous Maori students remain marginalised from the full benefits of education.
Berryman & Anderson, 2017
M - Berry & And, 94 - to be transformative, the knowledge and expertise of the Maori community must be validated, honoured, and embraced. In this way, Maori students and their extended whanau remained at the heart of the mahi (work). By engaging with kaumatua and kuia (Maori elders), Wairoa College demonstrated an understanding that Maori educational expertise would lead to a culturally responsive approach to accelerating the outcomes for their Maori learners.
- 94-5 - When power was shared, within a reciprocal relationship of care and connectedness,...cultural repositioning paved the way
M - Berry & And, 97 - Teachers embraced the importance of locating student learning within their own cultural communities, where te reo Maori (the Maori language), tikanga Maori (customs and traditions), and local culture and history were privileged.
M - Berry & And, 101 - Kaupapa Maori theory compels us to challenge previously dominant Western ideas of what constitutes valid knowledge and consider counter-narratives to sense making and the generation of new knowledge. In educational settings, asking critical questions about the nature of knowledge, how and by whom knowledge is produced, and for whose benefit, enables leaders to deconstruct hegemonic discourses.
M - Berry & And, 88 - guided by the Maori communities in which they are located, as they build relationships of respect and trust and engage in a culturally responsive manner.
M - Berry & And, 101 - critical leadership. They shifted their thinking in terms of deficit, marginalisation, oppression, and hegemony, to thinking that embraced leadership as shared, bi-cultural, equitable, and potential-focused.
M - Berry & And, 102 - educational leaders and the Maori community engaged in power-sharing relationships as Treaty partners.
M - Berry & And, 102 - When educational communities reimagine their commitment to using positions of power and privilege for the benefit of all, they can contribute to changing the very fabric of society.
Walker & Dimmock, 2000, 228 - When comparisons between systems are made on superficial grounds with minimal understanding of the deep historical and cultural roots underpinning them, they are misleading and often dangerous. Both the formulation of policies and practices and their outcomes and consequences can only truly be understood when viewed in relation to culture and context.
- 230 - what is assumed to be effective or suitable leadership and management in one system, may not be in another
Walker & Dimmock, 2000, 230 - If the main purpose of school is the delivery of curricula in ways that enable all students to realise their potential, then leadership and management need to be responsive and adaptive to the requirements and characteristics of teaching and learning.
Walker & Dimmock, 2000, 233 - School leadership in many parts of the world, including Asia, lacks an ‘indigenous knowledge base’. By the same token, the field demonstrates an over-reliance on ‘Western’ ideas, policies and practices. Attempts to reform education by importing ideas from one society to another must consider the overall contexts of the societies involved and display greater cultural sensitivity.
Santa, # - This growing cultural and linguistic diversity, offering innovative opportunities that are simultaneously perceived as challenges to the mainstream, necessitates innovative leadership practices to meet the unique needs of Indigenous, multicultural, multilingual, and bicultural students and communities.
MOS, 10 - The Treaty of Waitangi is central to, and symbolic of our national heritage, identity, and future. Our commitment to the principles of the Treaty obliges a distinctive focus on ensuring excellent education outcomes for Māori. Educational success is the key to enabling Māori to live as Māori in te ao Māori and in the wider world. Our task is to expand on emerging successes for Māori. This is fundamental to an equitable education system.
Bridge between one-size-fits-one & Periphery?
repersonalise?
How does this relate to self-determination and evolution?
- Hohepa enacting distinctive forms of leadership within imposed contexts?
- 76 - undervalued, invisible and subordinate position in mainstream educational leadership policy.
McGrath, 2014, # - If indigenous educational leaders are to contribute and participate fully in educational systems then indigenous educational leaders should help to define, protect, promote and control what counts as indigenous educational leadership, and not simply buy into taken for granted skills or strategies set by ‘whitestream’ (Grande, 2000).
12.12 English ONLY Code
It is the goal of SCI to train students in the proper use of English. Therefore, English is the official teaching language of the school and will be the ONLY language permitted in the classroom and other learning environments. Students are permitted, when necessary, to use electronic dictionaries. At times, it is acceptable for a teacher to have students translate to ensure understanding and accuracy. The language training is an ongoing process and does take time for everyone. Student to student conversations outside of the classroom must also be in English. Students will be sent home for failing to try to speak in English during class and will be recorded as an "unexcused" absence for that particular day OR, depending upon the circumstances, will be required to serve an "in house" suspension for that particular day.
First language retention
Equity and access for ESL students
Second language acquisition
Bilingualism/multilingualism
Organization Background
start this section of your assignment by introducing your working context. You could provide background information about what your organisation does, what your role is within the organisation, who are your colleagues or employees, and who are your main stakeholders? What is important to know about the location of your organisation or the communities who use your tools and resources? What challenges or issues are relevant to the communities/people with whom you work (or who are your customers)?
We employ immersion
Reword/ review policy
Remove references to punishment in wording of policy
Implement Mother Tongue program
Subtractive Bilingualism
Carder, 16 - the term used to describe students who gain English at the cost of gradually losing their mother tongue
Colonial Power Structures
Clearly indicating which language is of value
Loss of identity, culture
Engage with the Community
Canvassing, information sessions etc.
Cannot claim to educate the whole child
For example, you may face resistence/challenges from other staff members or members your school community
Recommendations are specific suggestions regarding the best course of action.
Therefore, what actions will you take to manage your challenge or issue?
Denial of the mother tongue
Intro/ Conc
Cris, 11 - Across all sectors of education, increasing attention is being paid to the issue of students’ mother tongue in schooling
Cris, 11 - It is hard to argue that we are teaching the whole child when school policy dictates that students leave their language and culture at the schoolhouse door.
Approach to Mother Tongue
Cris, 11 - Spectrum of approaches to mother tongue:
Within the schools themselves, however, we can observe a wide range of approaches to supporting cultural and linguistic diversity. In no area is this more apparent than in that of mother tongue. On the one hand, there are still schools that observe a strict ‘target-language only’ approach in classrooms or in the school as a whole. On the other end of the spectrum are schools that embrace and support the languages of all their students, and consider that development of the mother tongue is as important as the development of the school language.
Cris, 13 - ‘no approach’ approach. This is clearly the easiest method for schools, as it absolves them from any responsibility for the mother tongue growth of their students. Conversely, this approach is likely to have negative effects on the mother tongue, depending on the level of support for mother tongue growth outside the school from family and community, and may also have a negative effect on the development of the school language.
Cris, 13 - The second model is an ‘extra-curricular’ approach. Many schools choose this option as it is fairly easy to implement, and often implementation is left to parents and community groups. Common issues with this approach are related to quality control of teaching, matching pedagogy to the school model, and student motivation. The last is an important point, as offering mother tongue as an extra-curricular activity tends to send a message to students that it is ‘optional’ and therefore not as important as the school language.
- issue for CAL - cultural capital
Cris, 13 - The third approach is the ‘parallel’ approach. Schools that use this method timetable mother tongue lessons into the school day. Normally this is done only for the major language groups represented in the student body. Students do not get ‘credit’ for these lessons, and they are outside the official curriculum. This method has many benefits, the main benefits being that qualified teachers are used for the mother tongue lessons, and that the school is visibly supporting the role of mother tongue in education. This means that the students are more likely to value and continue with their own language, and the teaching level will permit them to become academically proficient in their mother tongue as well.
Cris, 13 - The final approach is the ‘integrated’ approach. This method is again generally only used for a small number of well-represented mother tongue languages. In this approach, mother tongue lessons are a part of the core curriculum, assessed by the school and often accredited by an outside organisation. In some cases, this may involve students obtaining a bilingual diploma; in others the accreditation is linked to the education system in the ‘home country’ of the language. This method has the most potential for positive results. In addition to the quality of teaching, the links to core curriculum and accreditation send a very clear message to students and parents about the value of mother tongue and the usefulness of graduating with two ‘academic’ languages.
Cris, 13 - Drawbacks. These are mainly to do with cost and ease or difficulty of implementation and staffing. Schools beginning the journey towards an inclusive approach to languages will often use different approaches along the way, and the final program may also be a combination of approaches, in order to best meet the needs of students in diverse schools.
Parents
Scott, 22 - English should not come at the expense of home language
Scott, 22 - we are teaching our learners to be bilingual not by offering one language at the expense of the other but by actively supporting the development of both.
- Carder, 12 - do everything possible to give non-English speakers the chance to reach their academic potential in English without sacrificing their native tongue
Scott, 22 - Question for SCI:
how do we adjust our practice in schools to ensure we support each learner’s home language when, as a teacher, we often don’t speak their languages?
Jackson. 25 - Importance of mother tongue and shifting mentality:
need for curriculum coordinators and school administrators to value the importance of a mother tongue programme. With their support it is possible to train and encourage mainstream teachers in supporting mother tongue language learners
Scott, 22 - ‘should my learners be allowed to use their mother tongue in class?’. It’s a topic that raises strong feelings, especially amongst parents who are from the host country of the school, speaking the host country language with their child and sending their child to an English-medium school largely because they want their child to learn English. They often feel that they don’t want their child to speak anything other than English during the school day as they receive enough exposure to their home language at other times.
- In some cases, teachers have tended to agree with parents as they see children who are quite able in English, but are using their home language so much that it appears to be to the detriment of their development in English.
Jackson, 25 - The third point centres on educating parents in the importance of allowing students to use their mother tongue language in order to gain access to the school curriculum. Often parents are reluctant to embrace this. They want their child to learn English and believe that reading, writing and speaking only in English is the most efficient way of ensuring this. At times, parents can see education as a competitive area.
Jackson, 25 - Conducting parent information sessions will assist parents in understanding the cognitive and academic research that supports the necessity of having a strong foundation in the mother tongue language in order to learn a new language. Parents must adopt good language policies at home in order to help their children develop good literacy skills in their mother tongue language.
HB, 75 - It is important to practise ‘additive bilingualism’, that is when the second language is learned without neglecting the maintenance and development of the first.
Jackson, 25 - The importance of additive bilingualism...must be instilled in the parents in order to support a strong mother tongue programme.
Recognition of language/ identity/ culture
Nijpels, 30 - Encouraging students to take pride in their language and culture reinforces their sense of who they are as individuals and their place in the 21st century. As educators we recognize the need to help and support our students’ mother tongue development
Nijpels, 30 - budgets and time often cited as reasons for non-implementation of such programs.
Nijpels, 30 - Budgets and time management can be manipulated. Yes, it is harder in small schools....However, they correspondingly need to understand what mother tongue programs contribute to student learning and the success of their academic programs.
Nijpels, 30 - Scapegoating parents for avoiding mother tongue investigation:
We are often told that parents are the reason for mother tongue programs taking a backseat to academics. Some parents perceive their children’s futures being based on their English fluency, but that should not preclude developing their mother tongue.
Nijpels, 31 - Implicit in the policy is an inclusive approach while learning English, and students being allowed to speak their own languages outside the classroom
Nijpels, 30 - A language policy where EAL and mother tongue are the cornerstones of implementation; this policy is not incorporated with a Learning Support or Special Needs policy
Nijpels, 31 - An information program for parents at the admissions point of entry and at information evenings throughout the school year, to support understanding of the importance of continued mother tongue language development
Nijpels, 31 - The entire philosophy of this approach is based on reinforcing mother tongue (MT) development where all languages have equal value.
Carder, 3 - IS context:
large majority of these schools – over 90% – offer an education solely through the medium of English...Many parents are more than happy with this situation; they see an effective education in English as the best means of ensuring an affluent future for their children in the new ‘globalised’ world.
Carder, 4 - in some schools the matter of mother tongue instruction will often be completely ignored.
Carder, 7 - The programme of linguistic and cultural awareness training for staff will form an integral part of the school’s in-service training.
Carder, 7 - Learning a language has been described as the most difficult task we undertake in our lives.
Carder, 8 - Awareness is a key to the whole issue of bilingualism.
- 16 - School staff need to understand the importance of children maintaining their mother tongue, and parents’ awareness has to be raised.
Carder, 10 - Thus parents placing their children in an International School have a right to know:
• what sort of programme the school offers for educating their children in English, where this is not the child’s first language;
• how the school has trained its teachers to educate bilingual children, and those who do not have English as their first language; and
• what programme the school offers for maintaining children’s mother tongues where these are not English.
Carder, 10 - Language is the basis of much around us; all thinking, all speaking, signing for the deaf, and writing are based on language. It fills our lives; it comes from deep inside us; we breathe it out through our vocal cords.
Carder, 12 - It is hardly necessary to point out that even mother tongue speakers of the school language of instruction have a challenging task in school, but unfortunately many of those involved in schooling assume that non-English speakers will quickly pick up the language and forget the extra difficulties that this involves.
Carder, 12 - Re ESLs quickly picking up the language:
Such a view cannot be supported by research or experience; there must be well-devised, theoretically and practically based programmes to educate second language learners; simply temporarily supporting ESL students will not suffice.
Research indicates...
Wellbeing and academic performance
Carder, 2007
Carder, 13 - many parents do not understand what their children go through when they arrive in a totally new environment
Carder, 16 - This is a frequent occurrence in International Schools, when immersion in English begins before the basics of a student’s mother tongue have been mastered.
Carder, 16 - many parents see English as the path to success and insist on its exclusive use by their children.
Carder, 19 - This is unfortunate for the hundreds of students who go through a process of initial confusion, disorientation, inner loss, emotional upset, gradual loss of their own language and links to their own culture, and a lifetime of never being really literate in English or any other language.
Carder, 20 - SCI training needs:
In some schools there is no programme for teaching them their mother tongue, and the majority of the staff is not trained in any way to instruct them according to their language needs.
Carder, 24 - not so much an issue at SCI:
In International Schools mainstream teachers don’t always feel the need to understand their students’ language background and to develop the necessary techniques to be able to teach them appropriately; it might be necessary to overcome resistance by some mainstream subject teachers who express their reluctance to take this on...Training might well reverse this situation
Carder, 26 - Thus the cognitive base should be enriched in the mother tongue and added to meaningfully in the second language. A large body of research has shown that students who achieve full cognitive development in two languages have cognitive advantages over monolinguals
Carder, 25 - A programme that offers only basic ESL with no instruction in the student’s mother tongue may impoverish the child, with the long-term consequences
Carder, 13 - Research has also shown that well-balanced bilinguals may have advantages over monolinguals in thinking and in academic achievement...by learning another language such children have two ways instead of one of naming many objects and thinking many thoughts
Carder, 26 - The first step is to heighten awareness amongst the whole community of the matters just raised: that for International School students to experience long-term success there should be a socio-culturally supportive school environment that promotes a linguistic, academic and cognitive programme in both mother tongue and second language.
Carder, 27 - teachers will always be on the lookout for ways to include you and your cultural and linguistic capital in the current theme
Carder, 28 - there are still places where the richness of the languages and cultures found where young people from many nations come together is not built on, but instead is either ignored or strait-jacketed into the English-only framework, thus damaging children’s language growth, identity, academic potential and spirit.
Carder, 28 - Parents must also take a leading role in insisting on good language development programs for their children. Many parents are reluctant, unsure or too polite to put their case.
Carder, 29 - Without an educational programme that builds on and enriches students’ mother tongues, educators may be abusing these students’ inner sanctum – their cognitive, academic and linguistic centre, which makes up much of their personality and character. This can have obvious deleterious effects both emotionally and academically.
Carder, 13 - Students, especially younger ones, can feel alienated and out of place.
Carder, 163-4 - Parents of children who are native speakers of English can be made aware of the benefits of bilingualism by learning the host-country language, and... also of the rich background their children will be exposed to through contact with others from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Attitude must be addressed: much of the children’s motivation will come from their parents.
Carder, 2011, 2 - On the other hand, students in international schools are described as affluent (Baker, 2006:252), and live in what I have conceptualised as an ‘international space’ (Carder, 2010) in which national politics need play no part and educators can look to provide the best pedagogical model.
HM, 73 - Although we want the children to learn English it is important that they maintain their mother tongue to remain connected to their family and to avoid a sense of alienation that is detrimental to a child’s sense of well-being.
- The visibility of linguistic and cultural diversity at international schools sends a strong message to the families about the value of languages and cultures. This starts from school policies and classroom practices.
HB, 73 - Language learning is a means of promoting intercultural understanding, and children are quick to sense, even at an early age, if their language is not valued in society or that certain languages and cultures are more valued than others. Often as a result children might decide not to speak their native language outside the home.
HB, 73 - Our identity is conveyed in our language, and in our expressions and engagements, distinctiveness and allegiances.
HB, 74 - A harmonious community is achieved by celebrating the language and culture of all the children in a school.
HB, 75 - Teachers need to build on a child’s cultural and linguistic experience in the home as it is the foundation of future learning. By having more than one language a child has a greater understanding of how language works.
Jackson, 25 - additive bilingualism – acquiring one language while maintaining another
HB, 77 - well-balanced bilinguals may have advantages over monolinguals in thinking and in academic achievement. By learning another language a child has more than one way of naming objects and thinking about them. It is important to give nonnative speakers the opportunity of reaching their full academic potential in English without sacrificing their mother tongue
HB, 77 - It is also important that parents are aware of the advantages of having their children maintain their mother tongue at home; they may feel pressure to expose their children as much as possible to the school language to learn it more quickly.
HB, 78 - Language is very emotive and is central to one’s identity: using and developing a child’s home language makes his personality blossom and more complete. Respect is a key to a child’s confi dence; thus, respecting a child’s culture is of great importance. There is a wealth of languages to be discovered. There is a complex relationship between language, culture and identity. Language is not simply a tool; it is part of the social experience of a culture, a way of thinking and feeling.
HB, 78 - Breaking the link that connects children to their language may affect them deeply.
- It is important for children, indeed it is their right, to use in school the language with which they identify alongside the second language so that they can reach their potential in the academic world and in later life.
Madrinan, 53 - Research suggests that the first language should not be banned in the second-language classroom but that neither should its use be constantly encouraged, otherwise the mother tongue may replace the target language rather than support it.
Language is central to one's identity
Baker, 337 - Yet language is one of the strongest symbols and boundary markers in having a group, regional, cultural or national identity.
Baker, 337 - Our identity is conveyed in our language, in our expressions and engagements, predilections and preferences. Language is a symbol of our identity, conveying our preferred distinctiveness and allegiance (e.g. Irish). However, language does not by itself define us.
H&K, 5 - Contrary to what is generally believed by educators, preventing children from using their home language does not improve their educational performance, but rather has harmful social and emotional effects.
Language-based exclusion
H&K, 6 - suppression of home languages, at best, is internalised due to the persistent belief that ‘forgetting’ one’s mother tongue and speaking the dominant language is the only way to achieve economic and social success. At worst, it is a manifestation of contemporary colonialism. In all cases, it is a form of discrimination. Children’s rights to education, identity and language on the basis of non-discrimination and equality are protected under multiple international instruments.
H&K, 7 - Decades of academic research across continents support findings that multilingual programmes that encourage the development of students’ mother tongue as part of their learning experience improves their well-being as well as their academic performance.
- H&R, 12 - Students who are allowed to learn through their mother tongue in multilingual education programmes better understand academic concepts, possess greater confidence, and have improved learning outcomes.
Hurwitz & Kambel, 2020
Article 29C - ‘respect for the child’s parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she may originate, and for civilisations different from his or her own’
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/crc-1989/article-29?activeTab=undefined
H&K, 6 - In every part of the world, children belonging to indigenous groups, linguistic minorities and migrant communities have been and continue to be prohibited from and punished for using their mother tongue in classes or on school grounds.
- we have PUNISHMENT in our POLICY
H&K, 19 - Rationalisation of excluding mother tongue: competition between languages and continuing to use the mother tongue language in school or at home reduces students’ exposure to the school language.
H&K, 20 - there also is little awareness among teachers and school administrators that such incursions of the rights of students and their parents may inflict harm. Many teachers are genuinely convinced that they are acting in the best interests of the child.
H&K, 21 - Language-based exclusion has a long history. It is deeply rooted in colonialism and nation building on the basis of notions of class and racial superiority.
F7F, 204 - Increasingly in international schools, the children entering have little or no knowledge of the language of instruction, and schools recognize their obligation to make the transition from Mother Tongue to English as gently and effectively as possible.
- describes SCI
F&F, 205 - The penalties of abandoning the development of the first language, or abandoning it altogether, have been widely bruited and educators in international schools need to be very aware of them
- F&F, 207 - Research indicates that students who are learning in a language other than their mother tongue develop proficiency in the language of instruction more quickly and effectively if they maintain and develop proficiency in their first language.
Parents as Partners
F&F, 205 - It is vital therefore that parents become partners with educators in their children’s learning. In this way they can jointly support the learning in the child’s first language and become an essential link between the child’s family and the school.
H&K, 12 - Policies behind language exclusion are not necessarily motivated by an intent to annihilate cultural identity. The policy is often pursued in the purported best interests of the child. There is a persistent belief among educators, policy makers, as well as many parents, that immersion in the dominant language and ‘forgetting’ one’s mother tongue is the only way to achieve economic and social success.
- speaks to SCI's policy
Cummins, 16 - Whether we do it intentionally or inadvertently, when we destroy children’s language and rupture their relationship with parents and grandparents, we are contradicting the very essence of education.
Cummins, 17 - Bilingualism has positive effects on children’s linguistic and educational development. When children continue to develop their abilities in two or more languages throughout their primary school years, they gain a deeper understanding of language and how to use it effectively.
Cummins, 2001
Cummins, 17 - The level of development of children’s mother tongue is a strong predictor of their second language development. Children who come to school with a solid foundation in their mother tongue develop stronger literacy abilities in the school language.
- 18 - both languages nurture each other when the educational environment permits children access to both languages.
Cummins, 18 - Bilingual children perform better in school when the school effectively teaches the mother tongue and, where appropriate, develops literacy in that language. By contrast, when children’s mother tongue is encouraged to atrophy and its development stagnates, children’s personal and conceptual foundation for learning is undermined.
Cummins, 18 - well-implemented bilingual programs can promote literacy and subject matter knowledge in a minority language without any negative effects on children’s development in the majority language
Cummins, 19 - educators are often much less aware about how quickly children can lose their ability to use their mother tongues, even in the home context. The extent and rapidity of language loss will vary according to the concentration of families from a particular linguistic group in the school and neighborhood. Where the mother tongue is used extensively in the community outside the school, then language loss among young children will be less.
- applies to SCI
Cummins, 19 - To reduce the extent of language loss, parents should establish a strong home language policy and provide ample opportunities for children to expand the functions for which they use the mother tongue
Cummins, 19 - Teachers can also help children retain and develop their mother tongues by communicating to them strong affirmative messages about the value of knowing additional languages and the fact that bilingualism is an important linguistic and intellectual accomplishment.
Cummins, 20 - When the message, implicit or explicit, communicated to children in the school is “Leave your language and culture at the schoolhouse door”, children also leave a central part of who they are - their identities - at the school-....house door. When they feel this rejection, they are much less likely to participate actively and confidently in classroom instruction.
Cummins, 20 - It is not enough for teachers to be passively accepting of children’s linguistic and cultural diversity in the school. They must be proactive and take the initiative to affirm children’s linguistic identity by having posters in the various languages of the community around the school, encouraging children to write in their mother tongues in addition to the majority school language (e.g. write and publish pupil-authored bilingual books), and generally create an instructional climate where the linguistic and cultural experience of the whole child is actively accepted and validated.
Cummins, 20 - When educators within a school develop language policies and organize their curriculum and instruction in such a way that the linguistic and cultural capital of children and communities is strongly affirmed in all the interactions of the school, then the school is rejecting the negative attitudes and ignorance about diversity that exist in the wider society. In challenging coercive relations of power, the school is holding a mirror up to bilingual children of who they are and who they can become within this society.
Cummins, 20 - children’s cultural and linguistic experience in the home is the foundation of their future learning and we must build on that foundation rather than undermine it
Milo, 251 - lack of sufficient knowledge of their mother tongue impacts their development of literacy and their academic achievement in general.
Milo, 252 - While they attempt to become proficient in English, the mother tongue development of many students becomes neglected. This is unfortunate because for students who are not native English speakers, it is equally important to master the new language of instruction as it is to maintain their mother tongue. Only if they continue to have opportunities to develop their first language skills in secondary school will they become fully bilingual.
Milo, 252 - Acquiring and becoming proficient in another language is a complex and difficult process that takes many years.
Why we need a Mother Tongue program:
Milo, 253 - There is a strong correlation between mother tongue development and second-language acquisition.
- 253 - That means that second-language acquisition could be hindered by a lack of development of the mother tongue.
Milo, 253 - Students whose mother tongue is not developed will most likely lack competence in the second language.
Milo, 253 - In situations where students come from a language background that is different from the language of instruction, they will need help to reach proficiency in their mother tongue as well as in English.
- SCI context
Milo, 253 - Therefore, promoting the mother tongue should become a priority in international schools.
Milo, 258 - The perception of inferiority of their mother tongue led to a long-term devaluation of their cultural identity and language outside of school.
Milo, 260 - In order to be successful in their studies, students need to be proficient in academic language. For students who are enrolled in international education at a very early age, maintaining their mother tongue is the key for developing a second language. These two languages are interdependent. Students use a second language to continue the conceptual development that they started in their mother tongue. It is no surprise that children who have a solid foundation in their mother tongue develop stronger literacy skills in their second language.
Milo, 260 - In cases when there is no adequate mother tongue support, parents perceive the mother tongue as an obstacle to their children’s second-language development....Parents transfer those beliefs to their children and by doing so they place value neither on their culture nor language.
Milo, 260 - Being proficient in a language means being able to speak, read, and write on a variety of academic topics. Therefore, schools need to provide programs that not only support basic competency in the mother tongue, but instruction that is age-appropriate and at the level carried out for native speakers in their national educational system. Developing a mother tongue program would require employing different mother tongue teachers and establishing practices that would allow sufficient time for students to achieve age-appropriate competence in their mother tongue.
Carder, 25 - It is now accepted that in order to assure cognitive and academic success in the second language, the students’ first language – oral and written – must be developed to a high cognitive level.
Baker, 337 - The reciprocal relationship between language and identity is complex.