Barriers we face

In New Zealand special schools, there are several barriers to building strong cultural capabilities. One main challenge is a lack of cultural understanding among staff. Some teachers may not be confident in using Māori language (te reo Māori) or following Māori customs (tikanga), which are important in New Zealand's education system. Without training and support, it can be hard for staff to include cultural practices in everyday learning.

Another barrier is communication. Students in special schools often have diverse needs, and it can be difficult to match teaching methods with both their learning needs and cultural background. Some students come from Māori or Pacific Island families, and their cultural values may be different from what schools usually focus on.

Lastly, resources can be a problem. We do not have enough staff, time, or cultural materials to fully support every student's identity.

To improve, we need more training, support, and strong partnerships with local communities. This will help create a learning environment where all cultures are welcomed and respected, this is trying to happen at Sommerville but it is a big job. 

Looking at these barriers I have come up with 3 hypotheses/ hunches;

They are, if I can support oversea trained teachers to gain more knowledge in te reo then they will be more confident in using it in their classes. If we are collaborative in our cultural practices it will create more engagement with our learners and if I create plans for teachers it will increase confidence for teachers to teach te reo and NZSL. We are wanting to create an inclusive and cohesive cultural school and this can only be done if all adults are on the same page, this is why my hunches are so. 

Next I am going to be looking into what the research says and how through this I can create an intervention for our school.