{"id":19448,"date":"2023-08-28T16:25:46","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T05:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.educationperfect.com\/?post_type=article&p=19448"},"modified":"2023-08-28T16:30:07","modified_gmt":"2023-08-28T05:30:07","slug":"privilege-is-not-a-dirty-word","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.educationperfect.com\/article\/privilege-is-not-a-dirty-word\/","title":{"rendered":"Privilege is not a dirty word."},"content":{"rendered":"
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The move towards Mana \u014crite m\u014d te m\u0101tauranga M\u0101ori.<\/h2>\n

Recognising the need to move towards Mana \u014crite m\u014d te m\u0101tauranga M\u0101ori is a long awaited step in the right direction for education in Aotearoa. It\u2019s exciting, and for many people – myself included – it is scary. Why? Because for many teachers, their experience of education in New Zealand – both as students, and as teachers – has been fundamentally \u2018white\u2019. We are good teachers, who want to do the best for our students, but because of New Zealand\u2019s history of privileging the \u2018white\u2019 experience, there is a significant gap in our knowledge around te ao M\u0101ori.<\/p>\n

The anxiety is real.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

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The lack of knowledge is a reflection of our privilege.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For white educators in Aotearoa, our own knowledge and experience has – up until recently – been reflected daily in our educational reality. We didn\u2019t notice because it fit within our own narrative. Even when we ventured out into the unknown in an effort to be inclusive and take risks, we were still able to return to the safety of what we knew because it was the norm.<\/p>\n

This is privilege – it is not a dirty word – it is just the truth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

While the focus on te ao M\u0101ori within education is a positive step, this is only one part of the k\u014drero that is needed to ensure equity for M\u0101ori and other non-white learners.<\/p>\n

White privilege has been ingrained in our education system since its very existence in Aotearoa and as educators and school leaders, we need to be addressing the systemic \u2018whiteness\u2019 that is prevalent, irrespective of the anxiety it may cause.<\/p>\n

The Oxford dictionary defines privilege as: a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group. It is no surprise that up until recently, education has consistently privileged the \u2018culture and experience\u2019 of \u2018white middle-class students and their families (Angus, 2012) and in doing so, silenced the voices and experiences of the indigenous people of New Zealand – tangata whenua (Alton-Lee, 2017). As\u00a0 Choules (2007) highlights, \u2018the key point about privilege is that it is \u2018unearned\u2019 and \u2018arbitrary\u2019; \u2018an accident of birth (p. 472)\u2019 – yet it still plays a dominant role in education today.<\/p>\n

Why is it that we need to acknowledge this?<\/span><\/p>\n

Because the problem with privilege is that those who have it and have benefited from it, tend to not understand the power of it. In fact, so \u2018normalised\u2019 have the structures and experiences of those with privilege become, that they are ignorant of the disadvantages faced by those without it (Angus, 2012) – going so far as to becoming resistant to accepting that there is a \u2018structural advantage to being part of the dominant group (Choules, 2007)\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Within an educational context, often the structural advantages afforded to the dominant power are so well hidden that advantages within the system are seen to be reflections of merit and effort rather than acknowledging they are a by-product of white privilege. As Angus highlights, \u2018the attitudes, behaviours and characteristics of the [white] middle class have been allowed to define the norm,\u2019 and this is particularly noticeable in education today.<\/p>\n

While Choules (2007) acknowledges that those who have privilege, \u2018do not act with the intention of maintaining systems of injustice (p 461),\u2019 it cannot be ignored that \u2018privilege exists in a symbiotic relationship with oppression (Angus, 2012),\u2019 thereby having a detrimental effect on those who do not benefit.<\/p>\n

Reports from the Ministry have suggested that schools adopt more culturally responsive practices yet they have acknoweldged that, \u2018many principals were not implementing these practices widely,\u2019 demonstrating that white settler colonialism remains present in schools across Aotearoa (Wylie et al, 2017). According to the OECD report (2016), just over 86% of school leaders identified as white, while the student population is becoming more diverse – resulting in a \u2018significant cultural gap between school leaders and their students (Shiller, 2020)\u2019.<\/p>\n

There is a need for leaders to \u2018self-reflect\u2019 and \u2018question where knowledge comes from (Hohepa, 2013),\u2019 in order to truly understand the power of the dominant voice in their school – this is how they will learn to understand white privilege from an institutional perspective. As it stands, areas such as assessment, curriculum, systems and knowledge tend to prioritise a traditional (Eurocentric) way of doing things, while not acknowledging the harm that these processes have had on our non-white learners.<\/p>\n

This is not a small issue. It is also not an issue that everybody has a responsibility to remedy. As a white educator in Aotearoa, I understand that I have a role in challenging the dominant narrative that has taken up space in our schools for far too long. I share this responsibility with many educators throughout Aotearoa – the difficulty is knowing where to start.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Challenging the narrative:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

While acknowledging the impact that white privilege has had within education is important, it is wasted if we don\u2019t take steps to mitigate its impact. So how can we do this?<\/p>\n

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  1. Change the coded language we use.<\/strong>\u00a0Marginalised. Disadvantaged. Underserved. Underprivileged. All of these words have been used at schools I have worked in throughout Aotearoa to describe our \u0101konga and communities. I know that the intention was good. I know we thought we were helping. I know I was guilty of using them. As teachers, we want to do what we can to support our learners.\u00a0 However, despite having the best intentions, these words have an \u2018underlying and critical meaning (DiAngelo, 2011)\u2019 which works to reinforce racist narratives towards those who are often categorised within these groups – and often those students are not white. Racial coding is difficult to avoid in schools, but it acts as a signpost for stereotypes that have stigmatised our students for generations. This needs to change.<\/li>\n
  2. Be honest about New Zealand\u2019s history:<\/strong>\u00a0According to the Ministry\u2019s website, \u2018Aotearoa New Zealand is on a journey to ensure that all \u0101konga in our schools and kura learn how our histories have shaped our present day lives (Ministry of Education, 2023a),\u2019 and while this is a fantastic first step, a stronger effort needs to be made to ensure the past stories and experiences of M\u0101ori are acknowledged in all their truth, rather than downplaying the horrific violence and injustice that occurred. Tangible examples of this can be seen on The Ministry\u2019s School Leavers Toolkit website, where references to the impacts of colonisation are truly sanitised: \u2018When settlers arrived from Europe, many thought that they were better than the M\u0101ori already living here, and used this to justify some\u00a0pretty awful things<\/strong>. Some of these ideas still affect\u00a0Aotearoa New Zealand today\u00a0<\/strong>(Ministry of Education, 2023b).\u2019 No mention of the violence enacted toward M\u0101ori. No mention of how these inhumane acts have impacted M\u0101ori in particular today. Generational trauma and our violent colonial past have been glossed over completely. It\u2019s time for us to own our history.<\/li>\n
  3. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable:\u00a0<\/strong>White fragility. Those words are enough to make the hairs on the back of people\u2019s neck stand up. But we all know what it looks like: outward displays of emotion – argumentative, angry, disagreeable, silence or refusal to engage – when even a small amount of racial stress becomes \u2018intolerable\u2019 (DiAngelo, 2011). We need to stop this. We need to stop ignoring the complaints in the staffroom, the eye rolls, the under-our-breath commentary – and we need to listen. Dr Georgina Stewart (2020) talks about the need for white educators to get comfortable with the uncomfortable stating, \u2018An extremely common reaction by P\u0101keh\u0101 people in education is to take offense when a colleague or presenter raises uncomfortable aspects of M\u0101ori perspectives on things (p. 304).\u2019 Reacting so overtly to issues of race works to keep the spotlight on the white narrative, while undermining the stories and perspectives of others – ultimately perpetuating the dominant voice (DiAngelo, 2011).<\/li>\n
  4. Educate ourselves:\u00a0<\/strong>Dr Georgina Tuari Stewart (2020) sums this up well in her article \u2018A Typology of P\u0101keh\u0101 \u201cwhiteness\u201d\u2019 (well worth the read), when she talks about the attributes of white allies who have done the work and shown a \u2018willingness to invest the time required to read, think and expand one\u2019s horizons of knowledge (p. 307).\u2019 Teachers are all busy people. We know this. We know that the job goes well beyond timetabled classes: the sport, the hui, the planning and the wh\u0101nau connection all take time. But if we make the effort to dig deep, to critically reflect on our own experiences and learn from them, the ripple effect for our kura and our \u0101konga will be that much greater.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Privilege is not a dirty word, and we need to move away from treating it like it is one. Acknowledging the power imbalance that has occurred in education is the right thing to do and it is long overdue. While many of the necessary \u2018big picture\u2019 changes lie out of our control as educators in the classroom, there are definitely opportunities for us to challenge the narrative. Only then will we truly be able to work towards Mana \u014crite m\u014d te m\u0101tauranga M\u0101ori.<\/p>\n

    By Jodine Hardwicke<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    References:<\/h2>\n

    \u25cf \u00a0 Alton-Lee, A (2017). \u2018Walking the Talk\u2019 matters in the use of evidence for transformative education.\u00a0 Invited paper for the International Bureau of Education – UNESCO Project:\u00a0Rethinking and repositioning curriculum in the 21st century: A global paradigm shift. Evidence, Data and Knowledge, Ministry of Education, Wellington: New Zealand<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u25cf\u00a0 \u00a0 Angus, L. (2012). Teaching within and against the circle of privilege: reforming teachers, reforming schools.\u00a0Journal of Education Policy<\/em>,\u00a027<\/em>(2), 231\u2013251.\u00a0https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/02680939.2011.598240<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

    \u25cf\u00a0 \u00a0 Choules, K. (2007). The Shifting Sands of Social Justice Discourse: From Situating the Problem with \u201cThem,\u201d to Situating it with \u201cUs.\u201d\u00a0The Review of Education\/pedagogy\/cultural Studies<\/em>,\u00a029<\/em>(5), 461\u2013481.\u00a0https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/10714410701566348<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

    \u25cf \u00a0 Hohepa, M. K. (2013). Educational Leadership and Indigeneity: Doing Things the Same, Differently.\u00a0American Journal of Education<\/em>,\u00a0119<\/em>(4), 617\u2013631.\u00a0https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1086\/670964<\/a><\/p>\n

    \u25cf\u00a0 \u00a0 Ministry of Education. (2023) Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories and Te Takanga o Te W\u0101.\u00a0Retrieved from:<\/em>\u00a0https:\/\/www.education.govt.nz\/our-work\/changes-in-education\/aotearoa-new-zealands-histories-and-te-takanga-o-te-wa\/<\/em><\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

    \u25cf\u00a0 \u00a0 Ministry of Education. (2023). Racism and other forms of Discrimination: Understanding and challenging it in our daily lives.\u00a0Retrieved from:<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/school-leavers-toolkit.education.govt.nz\/en\/taking-care-of-myself-and-others\/racism-and-other-forms-of-discrimination\/<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

    \u25cf\u00a0 \u00a0 OECD. (2016)\u00a0Improving school leadership: Country background report for New Zealand, Improving School Leadership Activity Education and Training Policy Division.\u00a0<\/em>OECD.\u00a0http:\/\/www.oecd.org\/edu\/schoolleadership.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

    \u25cf \u00a0 Shiller, J. T. (2020). Honoring the Treaty: School Leaders\u2019 Embrace of Indigenous Concepts to Practice Culturally Sustaining Leadership in Aotearoa Aotearoa is the Indigenous name for New Zealand.\u00a0Journal of School Leadership<\/em>,\u00a030<\/em>(6), 588\u2013603.\u00a0https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1052684620951735<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

    \u25cf \u00a0 Stewart, G. (2020). A typology of P\u0101keh\u0101 \u201cWhiteness\u201d in education. Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 42(4), 296-310<\/p>\n