Towards an ethic of cultural responsiveness in researching Māori and Tongan children’s learning in everyday settings

ABSTRACT

To inform a larger research programme on informal teaching and learning in everyday settings in Aotearoa New Zealand, two parallel pilot studies were conducted to determine an appropriate method for capturing the everyday learning of culturally and socio-economically diverse children. The studies took place during the six-week holiday break between school years. In one, three Māori children participated, in the other three Tongan children. This paper discusses the unanticipated issues that arose as a result of the ‘ethic of cultural responsiveness’ that the research team developed during the course of the research. These included: the insights made visible by culturally informed interpretation of unremarkable everyday activities; the effects on family dynamics of the research; and responsibilities to participants. It is argued that for Māori and Tongan children culture and family are central to everyday learning and therefore the research process and interpretation of data must be culturally informed.

KEYWORDS:

• Research ethics
• cultural responsiveness
• cultural diversity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

John O’Neill, Ph.D., is Professor of Teacher Education and Director of the Institute of Education at Massey University. His research interests include the effects of government policy on teachers’ work and learning, and teaching and learning in everyday contexts.

Margaret Forster, Ph.D., affiliates to the Rongomaiwāhine and Ngāti Kahungunu tribes of Aotearoa New Zealand. She is a senior lecturer at Te Pūtahi-a-Toi, School of Māori Arts, Knowledge and Education, and Director of BA Programmes. She teaches Māori research methodologies and researches in the area of cultural sustainability.

Lesieli Kupu MacIntyre, Ph.D., is a supervisor of postgraduate students at the Institute of Education at Massey University. Her research interests include the teaching and learning of Pacific students in New Zealand contexts, the contributions of Pacific parents to their New Zealand-born Polynesian offspring in the New Zealand education system, the writing of children’s stories for young Pacific children, and translating children’s stories into Tongan language for pre-school children.

Sarika Rona affiliates to the Te Ati Awa, Taranaki, and Maniapoto tribes of Aotearoa New Zealand. She graduated with a Masters of Education Psychology (First Class Honours) from Massey University and is a primary and secondary school teacher. Her research interests include Māori education, biliteracy learning of children, teaching and learning in everyday contexts, and learning and behaviour.

Latai Tu’ulaki Sekeni Tu’imana is a third-year Ph.D. student at Massey University. Her background is in both early childhood and adult education. Her doctoral study is entitled ‘Church as a learning context for Tongan children in New Zealand’.

Additional information

Funding

Sarika Rona’s summer internship was funded by Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga: New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence. Latai Tu’ulaki Sekeni Tu’imana’s summer scholarship was funded by the Massey University Research Fund.