Critical Thinking and Culturally-Sustaining Teaching: Developing the Historical Literacy of Māori and Pasifika Undergraduates in Aotearoa/New Zealand

In this paper, we explore critical thinking in the context of developing culturally-sustaining historical literacy in Māori and Pasifika students at a large, multicultural university in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Critical thinking and culturally-sustaining historical literacy might seem like an odd couple insofar as critical thinking tends to be associated with liberal Western (academic) culture. Students can resist developing their critical thinking, not least because culturally-sustaining ‘critical being’ is a threshold concept, requiring a flexible, yet clearly structured pedagogical approach. But the development of critical being is vital to culturally-sustaining teaching because of the role the associated skills and dispositions play in supporting cultural autonomy and voice. We talked with nineteen teachers of a range of ethnicities from across the historical disciplines at the University of Auckland to document the pedagogical strategies they used to develop the critical thinking skills of their Māori and Pasifika students in a culturally-sustaining way: fostering peer dialogue that draws on personal experience; practising perspective-taking; drawing on popular culture for its contemporary and cultural relevance; drawing on one’s culture in choosing relevant topics; and creating learning spaces conducive to critical being.We are grateful to the New Zealand Council for Educational Research for Teaching and Learning Research Initiatives funding, which enabled research for this article.November, N.; Sturm, S.; Wolfgramm-Foliaki, '. (2020). Critical Thinking and Culturally-Sustaining Teaching: Developing the Historical Literacy of Māori and Pasifika Undergraduates in Aotearoa/New Zealand. En 6th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'20). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. (30-05-2020):949-957. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd20.2020.11179OCS94995730-05-202

The potential of student narratives to enhance quality in higher education

University policies are increasingly developed with reference to students’ learning experiences, with a focus on the concept of the ‘student voice’. Yet the ‘student voice’ is difficult to define and emphasis is often placed on numerical performance indicators. A diverse student population has wide-ranging educational experiences, which may not be easily captured within the broad categories provided by traditional survey tools, which can drown out the rich, varied and gradual processes of individual development. There is no single tool that can be used to measure students’ experiences. This paper draws on findings from four narrative inquiry studies, carried out in the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, to illustrate how a narrative approach could be used to complement performance indicators. This provides a richer context for educators’ understanding of students’ experiences and for supporting and setting institutional agendas

The potential of student narratives to enhance quality in higher education

-University policies are increasingly developed with reference to students’ learning experiences, with a focus on the concept of the ‘student voice’. Yet the ‘student voice’ is difficult to define and emphasis is often placed on numerical performance indicators. A diverse student population has wide-ranging educational experiences, which may not be easily captured within the broad categories provided by traditional survey tools, which can drown out the rich, varied and gradual processes of individual development. There is no single tool that can be used to measure students’ experiences. This paper draws on findings from four narrative inquiry studies, carried out in the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, to illustrate how a narrative approach could be used to complement performance indicators. This provides a richer context for educators’ understanding of students’ experiences and for supporting and setting institutional agendas