Researcher Dr Sonja Arndt and teachers Shahla Damoory and Kerry Petera reflect upon issues of teacher diversity and the impact that these have on teaching teams and individuals within them.
This webinar explores ways in which teachers might come together to harness the opportunities of diversity and enable teachers to know themselves and each other better, for the benefit of children and families.
To help you navigate the webinar easily, there is a list of the key topics covered in the session below, including the time each was discussed. The key ideas discussed in this webinar are also shared in a short insight article.
Topics discussed in this webinar
Times shown in minutes and seconds from the start of the video
| 1.44 | Introductions |
| 3.54 | Why is this topic of exploring relationships, participation and collaboration in diverse teaching teams important? |
| 4.49 | What do we mean by the term teacher diversity? |
| 6.54 | Barriers for effectively working together well in a team |
| 11.16 | Strategies for supporting relationship-building, collaboration and participation |
| 14.39 | How to communicate diverse values and beliefs |
| 19.51 | How to share your own culture |
| 24.35 | When culture leads to conflict or difficult behaviour |
| 32.05 | Qualities, attitudes and mindsets |
| 36.33 | How to develop open-minded discussions |
| 41.37 | Conclusions |
Questions for exploring the key ideas from this webinar
- In what contexts do you feel comfortable and confident to participate and collaborate with others? What are the features of those contexts that lead you to feel like that?
- How can you use situations that disrupt your own assumptions to help you come to understand both yourself and the teachers in your team better?
- In what ways can we seek to disrupt our own beliefs and practices? How might the diversity present in our teams support us with that?
- What does the concept of ‘sitting with uncertainty’ mean to you?
- How do you like to be valued? How do you show that you value your fellow team members?
- How might the ideas discussed in this webinar apply to your interactions and relationships with diverse families and whānau?
Further reading
Arndt, S. (2018). Early childhood teacher cultural otherness and belonging. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood Special Issue: Interrogating belonging in diverse early years settings.19(4), 392-403. Doi: 10.1177/1463949118783382
Arndt, S. (2016). Pedagogies of difference: Unknowing immigrant teachers as subjects forever in process. Journal of Pedagogy. Special issue: Naku te rourou nau te rourou ka ora ai te iwi’: New Zealand Perspectives on Early Childhood Education, 6(2), 119-132. Doi: 10.1515/jped-2015-0017
Arndt, S. (2014). Shifting realities: Immigrant teacher transitions into early childhood settings in Aotearoa New Zealand. Early Childhood Folio, Special Issue: Educational Transitions, 18(2), 28-32.
