Tool: On Culturally Responsive Practice: a Case Study
The Legend of Awarua and Rereroa
Abstract
The arts have the potential to make a powerful contribution to notions of cultural
responsiveness. This paper investigates the impact of an inter-disciplinary arts project in which
teachers, students, parents and specialist arts facilitators collaborated to explore and improve
culturally responsive practice in the classroom. Core values of the Whare Tapere1 formed a
focal point of reference throughout the research. A number of variables determining the value
of culturally responsive pedagogy through the arts were identified. These related to leadership
style, quality, nature and extent of relationships, and adopting an inter-disciplinary approach to
the arts. The project highlighted the transformative value of arts education and the importance
of developing collaborative relationships in furthering culturally responsive practice.
1. Objectives
The purpose of the project was to create a platform for teachers, students and parents of a local
primary school in Plimmerton (New Zealand) enabling them to:

Deepen their understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy;

Trial these newly identified understandings in classroom applications;

Use the arts-in-collaboration as a model for the implementation of culturally responsive
pedagogies in the classroom;

Create a performance, incorporating cultural knowledge, and involving the collaborative
participation of students, teachers, parents and a number of specialist arts experts.
2. Theoretical framework: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP)
Few nations today are mono-cultural. Yet, in most countries, the majority of students continue
to attend so-called “mainstream” mono-cultural schools that reflect the historical traditions and,
often, colonial histories of the region, not the diverse multi-ethnic composition of their
contemporary school populations. Penetito (2009) discusses the complexities of so-called
mainstream culture within highly pluralistic modern nations such as Australia, Canada, Britain,
and the United States. In such nations, the situation is further complicated by the fact that the
ethnic and cultural identity of the majority of school leaders and teachers also typically
represent a dominant culture. This situation generally provides a context of unstated privilege
for students whose background matches the dominant culture and a cultural mismatch for all
others (Sleeter & Grant, 2009). Educational disparity takes on different forms depending upon
the context.
1
Whare Tapere: pre-European Māori performing arts
How do teachers develop the skills to mediate their pedagogy within today’s schools for
students whose culture is not privileged in their schools? This is a crucial issue for teachers
who are themselves members of the dominant culture of the school and whose background and
teacher education may not have equipped them adequately with cultural knowledge and
understandings beyond their own life histories. According to Ginsberg (2005), cultural
inclusion is established in our classrooms by using values and practices that contribute to a
learning environment in which students and teachers feel respected and connected to one
another. And Turinui (2004) recommends that strategies, such as establishing a safe,
respectful learning environment, knowing the students and developing meaningful
relationships with them, co-constructing the curriculum based on their interests, aspirations
and goals, facilitating reciprocal learning amongst classmates, and positively reinforcing good
work will contribute to a culturally responsive, multi-level classroom.
Culturally responsive pedagogies through the arts
Anderson (1996) asserts that the “nature of the arts and their relationship to culture are
foundational to their importance in multicultural education” (p. 57). In her comprehensive
review of trends in arts education Gadsen (2008) describes a number of major epistemological
issues in the arts, such as “the arts as cultural knowledge” (p. 43), and the potential of the arts
to engage youth through popular culture that can cross class, race, and gender. She points out
that, despite a steady increase in conceptual and theoretical discussions of the place of the arts
in schooling and curricula, “...the body of empirical research on the arts is relatively small” (p.
34). Most of the academic literature in the field of arts education continues to comprise
descriptions, recommendations, and guidelines, rather than empirical work.
3. Mode of Inquiry: Performative Research
This research project employed a Performative Research mode of inquiry setting out to explore
and influence culturally responsive practice through the arts. Haseman (2006) presents a
compelling argument to acknowledge Performative Research as an autonomous third research
paradigm, a methodology with its own approaches to designing, conducting and reporting
research, distinct from Quantitative and Qualitative Research. He claims that we are at a pivotal
moment in the development of research in which “the approved approaches [of Qualitative and
Quantitative research] fail to meet the needs of an increasing number of practice-led
researchers, especially in the arts, media and design” (p. 99). The Performative Research
paradigm heralds a radical shift from research on practice (practice as an object of study) to
practice as (a method of) research. A central aspect to the world of practice is, according to
Schön (1983), a sense of “complexity, uncertainty, instability, uniqueness and value conflicts”
(p. 14).
Performative Research strategies include: the artist journal (embracing reflection-in-action and
reflection-on-action); participant research; participatory research; collaborative inquiry; and
action research. Haseman (2006) asserts that such strategies reinterpret the aim and scope of
academic research:
Rather than contribute to the intellectual or conceptual architecture of a discipline,
these research enterprises are concerned with the improvement of practice, and new
epistemologies of practice distilled from the insider’s understandings of action in
context (p. 100, our italics).
4. Indigenous Perspectives: Core Values of the Whare Tapere
Throughout the research the core values of the Whare Tapere were used as a focal point of
reference. Royal (1998) identifies these values as: manaakitanga, rangatiratanga,
whanaungatanga, tohungatanga, ūkaipō, and kotahitanga (pp. 215-216). See the supporting
document ‘Te Whare Tapere’ for a further explanation of these six values.
5. Project Overview (Data Sources)
The fieldwork took place over a five month period (August – December 2010). Initially a
number of staff sessions were held, focusing on CRP literature reviews, practical workshops
relating to Māori contexts for learning in the arts, and the collaborative planning of an arts
intensive week. It was agreed to use the legend of Awarua (a local taniwha2) and Rereroa (the
albatross) as the point of departure for a devised performance. The story relates how Awarua
asks Rereroa to teach him how to fly, and during his efforts crashes into the land, creating some
of the geographic features of the area.
During the art intensive five arts facilitators ran specialist workshops with teachers, students
and parents with the following topics:

Creating bird masks and costumes;

Creating soundscapes for different moments in the story;

Creating movement and dance;

Visual arts and actions – making masks for taniwha/albatross, creating the bodies for
the taniwha/albatross and creating the actions for the taniwha/albatross;

2
Devising theatre for different aspects of the story.
Taniwha: mythical creature often the guardian of a harbour, river or lake.
While the five-year-old students worked as one group with a dance facilitator, the other
students (aged 6 to 12) were able to participate in the workshop of their choice. This led to the
formation of groups from different classrooms and ranging in age. On the last day of the art
intensive week the students performed their work to the parents and caregivers. The initial
plan was to perform the work in the natural environment among the geographic features
explained in the story, but bad weather forced a change of plan, and ultimately the performance
was relocated to the school grounds.
During the entire project, teachers and researchers kept journals and recorded new
understandings, insights, lived experiences, highlights, critical incidents, and implications to
practice with regards to being culturally responsive. At the conclusion of the project the
researchers conducted interviews with the principal, teachers, some of the parents, and some
of the students. The journal entries and interviews were transcribed and the transcriptions
were analysed, identifying five critical factors that influenced the quality of culturally
responsive pedagogy using arts in collaboration.
6. Conclusions
At the end of the project the teachers articulated the following discoveries:

The arts provide effective tools to explore and express cultural identity and diversity;

Culture relates to the values, protocols and rituals of a certain group or community; it is
not just about ethnicity, or the use of different greetings/languages in the classroom;

To work in groups across ages, and with the school as a whole, creates a fertile ground
for the development of leadership and cooperation skills. It also encourages
understanding and appreciation of our differences.

Space for culturally responsiveness is created through an emphasis on process rather
than product (this involved: a flexible use of time; students’ contributions to inform
outcomes in unexpected ways; a shared joy and excitement of discovery between
teachers, students and parents).

Culture is about developing relationships (with students, parents, colleagues, and the
wider community).

Collaboration is a powerful tool to develop mutual respect, a sense of relatedness
(whanaungatanga), shared leadership (rangatiratanga) and an appreciation of our
differences and uniqueness.

To value culturally responsiveness is to empower the children, teachers, parents and
school community as a whole.
Through analysis of the entire spectrum of research data (journals, interviews and researchers’
reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action), five variables were identified that significantly
impacted the quality and extent of culturally responsive practice through the arts:
1. Taking on a collaborative leadership style;
2. Quality, nature and extent of relationships between teachers, students, parents and the
wider community;
3. Adopting inter-disciplinary and collaborative (devising) approaches to the arts as part
of the creative development;
4. Working in group formations across age;
5. Exploring and incorporating cultural knowledge as part of the creative process.
Students, teachers and parents mentioned on several occasions that working alongside one
another in the workshops – exploring unchartered territory and learning new skills – gave rise
to a sense of understanding, compassion, mutuality and equality in their relationships that was
not experienced before. This cultivated the ground for the values of manaakitanga,
whanaungatanga and ūkaipō to emerge strongly.
“With confidence, self-esteem, a sense of identity and [self] worth comes academic
growth. This is built on the corner stones and foundations of cultural identity. If you don’t
have this, you won’t achieve your potential. As teachers we must ensure the emotional
and cultural essence of our children is fostered and developed.
The roots must be strong for a flower to bloom.”
“I understand this now. It is [not only] about knowing and understanding some
information about the culture in your classroom, but it is truly about being it, letting the
children experience, develop, explore, understand, value and love being who they are.
[Encourage them to] express their culture out loud & being affirmed – from others, but
essentially from themselves. Get away from the traditional ‘ lets read a book about [...]’
But get out there and feel it/do it/love it. Use the voice, the body, the spirit, the essence”
Quotes from teacher interviews, 2010
7. Scholarly Significance
There is a dearth of empirical evidence regarding culturally responsive practices in the
classroom. In an effort to fill this gap in current literature, this research investigates
experiential views on what embodies culturally responsive practice, acknowledging and valuing
the teacher’s voice. The participatory nature of this research has empowered teachers to take
actions based on lived experiences and gained understandings in relation to the investigated
phenomena.
References
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Studies in Art Education, 38(1), 55-60.
Bishop, R., & Glynn, T. (1999). Culture counts: Changing power relations in education.
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Gadsen, V. L. (2008). The arts and education: Knowledge generation, pedagogy, and the
discourse of learning. Review of Research in Education, 32, 29-61.
Ginsberg, M. (2005). Cultural diversity, motivation, and differentiation. Theory into Practice,
44(3), 218-223.
Haseman, B. (2006). A manifesto for performative research. Media International Australia
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