High Teacher Expectations, Cultural Responsiveness, and Family-School Partnerships: Models of Effective Teaching for Māori

• In Event: Part 1 – Recent Advancement in Sociocultural Influences on Motivation and Learning: Big Theories Revisited

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the current paper was to explore links between expectation theory and culturally responsive models of teaching for Māori students.

Theoretical framework: High expectation teachers (those whose expectations are high for all students) ensure that all students are challenged and supported to learn at high levels. They provide a variety of learning experiences for all students, encourage students to work collaboratively in mixed ability groupings, foster strong relationships with students and set clear learning goals. Culturally responsive theoretical models that have been developed within New Zealand appear to emphasize values that align with the practices of high expectation teachers yet any synergies between culturally responsive models and high expectation teaching have not been explored in the literature. Further, the role of family and community has been posited as critical to raising Māori student achievement but, again, has generally not been included in the teacher expectation or culturally responsive models.

Modes of inquiry: The current study developed a model of culturally responsive teaching based on models advanced by Macfarlane (2004) and Bishop and Berryman (2006). It then examined the key elements of high expectation teaching and the degree to which the theory of high expectation teaching cohered with the model of culturally responsive teaching. The perspectives of successful Māori students were also taken into account as a further test of the new model being developed. Finally, the evidence for the role of a school-family-community partnership in strengthening Māori student success was explored.

Data sources: Empirical and theoretical studies related to high expectation teaching, culturally responsive models and school-family-community relationships were used as the data sources for this study. In addition, the voices of successful Maori students were also included in order to examine the degree to which their views supported the theoretical model being developed.

Results: Based on an exploration of the literature and findings from empirical studies, Figure 1 was developed. This theoretical model shows the integration of culturally responsive values, high expectations and a school partnership with the broader community and the proposition is that when the components of the model are present in classrooms, increased Māori engagement and achievement is much more likely.

Scholarly significance: This study shows the importance of considering culturally responsive models alongside more traditional western models of effective teaching. Unless western views of high expectation teaching integrated with aspects of culturally responsive pedagogy and mutually respectful home-school partnerships they are unlikely to lift the achievement of Maori students. Further, it may be that the model developed in the current study would also apply to other indigenous and minority group students.

Authors

• Christine Margaret Rubie-Davies, University of Auckland

• Melinda Webber, The University of Auckland

• Hana B Turner, The University of Auckland