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Engaging teamwork through transformative learning

New Zealand is a country that is increasingly becoming diverse in cultures,


values, traditions and faiths; with this taking place in our society; our schools and
teachers need more than ever before reflect the principles and values of the New
Zealand Curriculum of inclusion and equity (Ministry of Education, 2007). Noyes
and Turner (2009) acknowledge that teaching has become an interesting and
complexed process with all the vast educational, political and social contexts. A
classroom is likely to contain several ethnic origins with a range of cultural
expectations and belief systems; be it a mix of boys and girlsfrom family
backgrounds with differing views on value and purpose of education(and)
differences in financial status (p. 204). An as a result a teacher faces the
challenge of supporting their students who may require many different kinds of
support (Noyes &Turner). Interestingly Bell (2011) states that, teaching is
embedded in the cultural contexts of a society, and can only be understood by
understanding if those contexts are taken into account (p. 40). She also shares
that, as teachers our own cultures will inform the way we teach and the culture
of our students will be informed in our teaching; to be responsive teachers we
must not become ethnic-blind and ignore the culture and ethnicity or stereotype
and use deficit theorising about the differences of achievements and
expectations of our students ethnicities within our schools and classrooms.
So in light of all this school communities need to become culturally responsive to
transformative learning process to meet the diversities within their school. The
(PB4L) Positive Behaviour for Learning helps achieve this. Its programmes and
initiatives are designed to help parents, teachers and schools to improve
childrens wellbeing and education, not just within the school its self but within
the homes and communities the children are raised in. The principles that are
applied are fundamental to any school as it reaches across all sub-cultures within
New Zealand culture. The process begins with the principal and heads of the
school promoting participation and ownership to staff, students and their families
having a common purpose and approach to discipline and positive behaviour
expectations. The school identifies three to five values and behavioural
expectations that are collaboratively developed by the school community; these
are then actively taught and staff and students promote these behaviours to
their peers. The positive behaviour is reinforced and consistent consequences
are developed to discourage unwanted behaviour and decisions collaboratively
made when behaviours are becoming a problem (Ministry of Education, 2013).
Bethlehem College has started a similar approach by developing a common
value that all the staff, students and families are to engage in within the school
community. The value is: Manaakitanga Community of care; this value reaches
across the whole college and the many cultural diversities the college may have.
Although it is a Maori word, every person knows that it means to be cared for
and to care for others holistically; and when Manaakitanga is not shown within
the school community either restorative practices take place or discipline proses
begins to happen. I have first handily seen how this value has transformed an
entire classroom that was being discriminating to one another, and restorative
practice with Manaakitanga as the goal changed bulling issues. It is time

schools/teachers become effective in the values they create to celebrate and


enjoy the multicultural atmosphere and diversities they will have (Whyte, 2012).

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