Cultural sensitivity and indigenous learners

Cultural sensitivity and indigenous learners

Laurie’s Flexible learning: September 2012

 

From my perspective, nursing as a profession is under-represented by Māori, Pacifica, Asian and other minority groups. I have no idea what the breakdown of ethnicities in our School is currently, but I would be surprised if it comes anywhere near representing the ethnic breakdown of NZ society. However, Otago does not have a high percentage of minority groups in the population to call on. BUT  given that not all our students come or will continue to live in the Otago region, we as a School, should be preparing our students to be able to provide good, culturally safe nursing practice to all the clients/patients (and now called consumers) in the health arena.

 

The last census was taken in 2006 and the following graph shows the ethnic breakdown of Dunedin and NZ (NZ Statistics, 2006)

                                                                            

Ethnic Groups in Dunedin City, 2006 Census
	Male (%)	Female (%)
European	77.4	80.1
Māori	6.7	6.2
Pacific peoples	2.4	2.1
Asian	5.1	5.6
Middle Eastern/Latin American/African	0.8	0.6
Other ethnicity
New Zealander	14.6	12.5
Other ethnicity–other	0.0	0.0
Total	14.6	12.5

 

Ethnic Groups in New Zealand, 2006 Census
	Male (%)	Female (%)
European	66.7	68.4
Māori	14.6	14.7
Pacific peoples	7.0	6.8
Asian	9.0	9.4
Middle Eastern/Latin American/African	1.0	0.8
Other ethnicity
New Zealander	11.8	10.4
Other ethnicity–other	0.0	0.0
Total	11.9	10.5

Professor Mason Durie (2009) stated that tertiary or higher education, has changed over the last decade and instead of isolating and excluding Māori , the sector is now in a position where they/we should promote social cohesion and prepare Māori  students to be potential leaders and role models. He said that although there are still significant gaps in the education outcomes for Māori , curriculum’s are more inclusive of Māori  issues, with more Māori  students enrolled in tertiary education, and there is more research being completed by and for Māori .

“There has been a deliberate attempt to build on those indigenous foundations that have continuing relevance for new generations of Māori living in urban situations, and to reshape higher educational institutions as places where Māori culture, learning and aspirations can flourish.” ( Durie, 2009; p.3).

Durie is one of the most influential researchers/academics advocating for Māori and other minority groups in NZ. He lays down a challenge for the tertiary education sector to reduce barriers for Māori, and  claims that they need to reduce socio-economic barriers for students and for the sector to embrace indigenous worldviews in order for “pedagogies, research methodologies, campus facilities, and the academic staff can endorse cultural identity and inspire students” ( Durie, 2009; p. 4).

This is the challenge for nursing to aim to meet. I believe that both these factors can be met by the institutions themselves by providing subsidies and scholarships for indigenous students and to ensure that the pedagogies are inclusive rather than mono-cultural. The latter is close to the heart of the School of Nursing curricula and it is up to individual lecturers to embrace the various worldviews. I do this by ensuring that models of Māori  health (Whare Tapu Wha) are included in lectures on family violence and in the primary health tutorials that I give, and by role modelling sound culturally sensitive practice. An example of the latter is that recently I have been working with 1^st year students in the clinical laboratories, and I noticed that the students have become very lax in not ensuring good standards of cultural safety. For instance as a new lecturer in the labs, many of the students don’t know me and were sitting on tables and the beds, and I have been able to change the culture to ensure they are respectful and set more professional rules of behaviour in the labs.

The Māori Tertiary Education Framework (MTEF) (2003) is a strategic document that guides the direction for the tertiary education sector and provides a resource for Education. There are three tiers to guide the sector with the first tier providing general advice on how the framework can be applied. The second tier commences by quoting Durie’s vision for the sector as:

·         “To live as Māori

·         To actively participate as citizens of the world

·         To enjoy a high standard of living and good health” (Ministry of education, 2003, p. 14)

The third tier provides the 5 guiding principles for this document, these are;

·         Ngā Kawenga or responsibilities where the sector is accountable for and to Māori

·         Tino Rangatiratanga or authority/self determination by supporting Māori  to make their own decisions

·         Toi Te Mana or  ability to influence and empower Māori  to have an influence on the curriculum

·         Mana Tiriti /Ahu Kāwanatanga or contribution/partnership to have a shared vision

·         Whakanui or respect and inclusiveness in the education sector.

Following this the Ministry of Education identifies 7 key priority areas for the tertiary education sector to aim for; these are Māori  advancement, leadership, sustainability, Kuapapa services, inclusive learning environments, life-long learning pathways and Māori -centred learning. I will discuss only one of these areas, that being inclusive learning environments. I bleive all these priority areas are part of OP’s vision. I have attended several Treaty of Waitangi and Tikanga workshops over the years and always find them inspiring. I try to ensure that I pronounce names and te Reo words as accurately as possible and I encourage students to be familiar with the various models of health like Whare Tapu Wha. I am aware that I need to continually upskill my knowledge in order to pass this on to my students and to ensure that my teaching and nursing practice is culturally safe.

References:

Durie, M. (2009). Towards social cohesion: The indigenisation of higher education in New Zealand.  Presentation to Vice Chancellor’s forum. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Retrieved from: http://www.universitiesnz.ac.nz/files/aper_for_ACU_Forum_-_Towards_Social_Cohesion.pdf.

Ministry of Education. (2003). Māori Tertiary Education Framework: A report by the Māori Tertiary Education reference group. Ministry of Education; Wellington, New Zealand

http://www.minedu.govt.nz/~/media/MinEdu/Files/EducationSectors/TertiaryEducation/MaoriTertiaryEducationFrameworkPDF.pdf

 

New Zealand Statistics. (2006). Quick statistics about Dunedin City. Retrieved from http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2006CensusHomePage/QuickStats/AboutAPlace/SnapShot.aspx?type=ta&ParentID=1000014&tab=Culturaldiversity&id=2000071