Teaching stories - Student engagement
Find out ways that students can guide what happens in the classroom. These videos show strong examples of student voices expressing their needs and aspirations in a way that can help teachers sit up and take notice.
About this resource
This resource is part of the Tapasā series. It contains videos that explore how student voice can successfully guide what happens in the classroom and the importance of student-teacher relationships.
Teaching stories: Student engagement
These videos are stories of effective Pacific pedagogies. Student engagement includes how student-teacher relationships and taking a holistic view of the learner can develop a greater sense of worth and belonging that leads to increased engagement and success.
Members of the Pacific community and the profession have come together to tell these stories and help support teachers in developing the knowledge to empower their Pacific learners. See how other teachers have put the Tapasā framework to use in their schools and get inspired for your own journey.
In this video, Pacific learners discuss what it means to be a leader.
Relevant turu: Turu 1
In this video, Pacific learners discuss what it means to be a leader. They explain that leadership is important to their families and talk about the importance of being a good role model for younger generations.
Reflections for individual teachers
As you watch this video, think of your role as a teacher working within a Pacific context.
- How do you encourage and value leadership in your classroom?
- What leadership opportunities do you offer to your Pacific students?
- How can you support your Pacific learners to develop skills and competencies that they can draw on in leadership roles?
Reflections for staff or departments
If you watch this video as a staff member or member of a department team, think of effective leadership in Pacific cultural practice.
- How do you encourage and value leadership at your school or centre?
- What leadership opportunities do you offer to your Pacific students?
- How can you support your Pacific learners to develop skills and competencies that they can draw on in leadership roles?
This video shares the dreams and aspirations of Pacific parents, learners, and leaders.
Relevant turu: Turu 3
This video shares the dreams and aspirations of Pacific parents, learners, and leaders. A recurring message throughout the video is the importance of getting a good education and seizing opportunities. Other aspirations include the development of culturally significant values such as respect, empathy, and kindness. Leadership skills are also highly valued.
Reflections for individual teachers
As you watch this video, think about your role as a teacher working within a Pacific context.
- What conversations have you had with your Pacific learners, parents, families, and communities about their dreams and aspirations?
- How can you build closer relationships with your Pacific learners and their families to learn more about what they want from their child’s learning environment? How can you make them feel empowered to share their perspectives and aspirations with you?
Reflections for staff or departments
The New Zealand Curriculum encourages schools to seek out and listen to the ideas of students, parents, families, whānau, and the wider community when designing their local curriculum (The 2007 New Zealand Curriculum, p. 37.)
- How do you seek out and listen to the voices of your Pacific learners, their parents, families, and communities?
- How can you strengthen your relationships with your Pacific learners and their parents and families so that you can find out more about their dreams and aspirations?
- How can you use this information to design a local curriculum that is responsive to these dreams and aspirations?
This video encourages educators to take a holistic view of Pacific learners.
Relevant turu: Turu 2
This video encourages educators to take a holistic view of Pacific learners and recognise their values, life experiences, and strong family connections. The video describes the home lives of two Pacific students to illustrate ways that their lives differ from the lives of the teachers and other students. A key message is for teachers to take time to value and understand the diversity and cultural capital of their Pacific learners.
Reflections for individual teachers
As you watch this video, think about your role as a teacher working within a Pacific context.
- The video calls for teachers to take a holistic view of their Pacific learners. How well do you know your Pacific learners as people rather than just as students?
- What conversations have you had with your Pacific learners to learn more about their lives?
- How might you build closer relationships with your Pacific learners to learn more about them? How can you make them feel comfortable enough to share their life experiences, values, perspectives, and aspirations with you?
Reflections for staff or departments
If you watch this video as a staff member or member of a department team, think about effective leadership practices in Pacific cultures.
- Consider ways that you can connect and build relationships with your Pacific families so that you can learn more about your Pacific learners.
- How can your early learning service or school better understand and build on the cultural capital that your learners bring?
- What short, medium, and long-term goals can you set for your team to get to know your Pacific learners more?
This video is about the importance of student-teacher relationships.
Relevant turu: Turu 2
This video is about the importance of student-teacher relationships. The video describes the value of whanaungatanga, encouraging teachers to actively engage in respectful, working relationships with Pacific learners. Through whanaungatanga, learners will develop a greater sense of worth and belonging, which leads to increased engagement and success.
Reflections for individual teachers
As you watch this video, think of your role as a teacher working within a Pacific context.
In groups, discuss the following questions:
- Turu 2 in Tapasā (pp. 12-13) is about building collaborative and respectful relationships between teachers, students, parents, families, and communities. How do the messages in this video support the Turu 2 indicators in Tapasā?
- What do you do in your everyday practice to strengthen relationships with your Pacific learners?
- What is one action or strategy that you can adopt today to enhance the student-teacher relationship with your Pacific learners? Use the Turu 2 indicators on pages 12 and 13 of Tapasā for ideas.
Reflections for staff or departments
If you watch this video as a staff member or member of a department team, think about effective leadership practices in Pacific cultures.
- Whanaungatanga is one of the cultural competencies for teachers of Māori learners, as described on pages 6 and 7 of Tātaiako (2011). What messages about whanaungatanga are communicated in the video, and how can whanaungatanga meet the needs of Pacific learners?
- Read through the behavioural indicators and outcomes for whanaungatanga on pages 6 and 7 of Tātaiako and consider how these ideas can be transferred and adapted for your Pacific learners.
- What are the similarities and differences between the messages around whanaungatanga in Tātaiako and Turu 1 and 2 in Tapasā?
- How do you reflect the importance of relationships and whanaungatanga in your charter, strategic plans, and curriculum?
In this video, Pacific learners share what they want their teachers to know about them.
Relevant turu: Turu 3
In this video, Pacific learners share what they want their teachers to know about them. Students urge their teachers to move beyond cultural stereotypes and engage with and respond to their distinctive identities, values, cultures, and life experiences. Building strong teacher-student relationships and deepening cultural knowledge are key messages.
Reflections for individual teachers
As you watch this video, think about your role as a teacher working within a Pacific context.
Tapasā (p.7) states that:
“... teachers need to create relationships for learning with learners who have cultural knowledge, languages, and experiences different to theirs. Knowing yourself is not only about identity and self-reflection; it is to also understand one’s own biases, prejudices, and actions of privileging.”
In pairs,:
- discuss the biases and prejudices experienced by the Pacific learners in the video. Have you experienced biases and prejudices based on your ethnicity?
- How might your understanding of your “own biases, prejudices, and actions of privileging” help you become a better teacher?
- Work collaboratively to identify a range of actions and practices you can use to create relationships for learning with learners who have cultural knowledge, languages, and experiences different from yours.
Reflections for staff or departments
If you watch this video as a staff member or member of a department team, think about effective leadership in Pacific cultural practice.
- Work with your staff to help them understand their own identities and cultures and how they influence the way they think and behave as teachers. Encourage them to consider their own upbringing, their relationships with people from different cultures, the cultural stereotypes they have been exposed to, and the biases they have.
- What knowledge do you and your team have about the values, customs, and cultures of the different Pacific nations represented in your student community? Where are your gaps in knowledge?
- Find out what groups or initiatives that support and develop our diverse Pacific languages and cultures are in your community. Consider ways that you can connect with and build relationships with these groups so that you may draw on their expertise.
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Tapasā proverbs
This resource contains a set of proverb cards to support kaiako conversations and reflections on their practice.
1 of 10Exploring Tapasā
Tapasā is a cultural competencies framework for teachers. In this resource, explore the history of Tapasā, the Pasifika Success Compass and why you should work with Tapasā.
2 of 10Tapasā values
This resource explores values that support the Tapasā framework, including Pacific values, being culturally responsive, and engaging with parents, families, and communities.
3 of 10Teaching stories - Parent and whānau engagement
Find out ways that parents and whānau can guide what happens in the classroom. These narratives show the aspirations and expectations of Pacific parents and explore how whānau can help guide teachers into better understandings and practices.
4 of 10Teaching stories - Community engagement
Find out ways that Pacific communities in Aotearoa have led teachers and schools to levels of greater understanding and involvement with Pacific students and how you could successfully connect in your own context.
5 of 10Teaching stories - Where am I?
An exploration of the local context. Who is in your school community? Which Pacific group/s do they connect with? How are your students connected to their community?
6 of 10Pacific cultural competency workbook
This workbook complements the Tapasā framework and is designed to help you embrace cultural diversity and make a difference in each child’s educational success.
7 of 10Teaching stories - Who am I?
An exploration of a teacher's own identity and an inquiry into the Pacific identities of students and the place culture plays in their lives.
8 of 10Key messages from Tapasā
In this resource, explore key messages of Tapasā: foundations of cultural responsiveness, knowing yourself, and the bigger picture—links to the curriculum, codes and standards, and Tātaiako.
9 of 10Tapasā framework
This resource explores the Tapasā framework and ngā turu, the competencies, that describe behaviours and understandings at the different stages of the teaching journey.
10 of 10
