Creating an inclusive learning environment in philosophy
Students are more likely to achieve in philosophy when they see their concerns and ideas taken seriously and their cultures valued in subject content and learning contexts.
By recognising that students have a cultural identity and inviting them to share their cultural knowledge in learning contexts, teachers promote, a teaching–learning relationship in which the teacher also learns from the student (ako).
For the teacher, ako involves acknowledging, respecting, and valuing who students are and where they come from and, through deliberate and reflective practice, building on what they bring with them to the learning setting. People of all cultures have skills, knowledge, and qualities that can be built on.
Principles of a kaupapa Māori pedagogy
New Zealand’s foundations are bicultural, so tikanga Māori should be at the centre of learning and all teaching should be informed by the kaupapa Māori principles identified by Russell Bishop and Ted Glynn.
- Tino rangitiratanga – the right to determine one’s own destiny. Parents and children are involved in decision-making processes.
- Taonga tuku iho – the treasures from the ancestors, providing a set of principles by which to live our lives.
- Ako – a mutual teaching and learning relationship in which the educator is also learning from the student.
- Kia piki ake i ngā raruraru o te kāinga – reaches into Māori homes and brings parents and families into the activities of the school.
- Whānau – the development of connections with the community to support learning.
- Kaupapa – acknowledging and valuing the language and culture in the classroom and chosen contexts.
Some suggested contexts
- Different cosmologies; for example, Christian, traditional Māori, Buddhist
- On what is our identity based (turangawaewae, etc)?
- Individualism and collectivism
- Education and control
- Sovereignty
- Origins of the universe
- Land: kaitiakitanga versus utilitarian values, Hobbes/Locke, etc
- Māori approaches to issues, relationships, group functioning
- Aroha, kawanatanga, tino rangitiratanga
Opportunities could be sought for whānau involvement in philosophical discourse.
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Last updated October 24, 2011
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