P.A
Physical Activity In Primary Schools
HERE TO HELP YOU GET KIDS
INVOLVED
IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY!
CULTURAL DIVERSITY
BEING CULTURALY RESPONSIVE AND INCLUSIVE
How a teacher can be culturally responsive and inclusive of all students in Physical Activity:
Being culturally responsive and inclusive enables students to appreciate and engage with diverse cultures in schools through the teacher’s development of communication and interpersonal skills that reflect cultural understanding, empathy and respect of their students. Embracing the beauty of other cultures allows students to develop a multicultural understanding as they learn to value their own culture’s languages and beliefs as well as those of others. Students come to understand how personal, group and national identities are shaped and the variable and changing nature of culture.
Teachers need to respond to the diversity of their students and ensure that each culture counts. They need to ensure that students contribute effectively into intervention programmes and achieve success. Therefore, an effective teacher should demonstrate some knowledge and understanding of the different cultural backgrounds that students bring into the learning environment. Teachers need to practice and be aware of the interests, knowledge, beliefs and skills that each student brings into their learning. This way, students can appreciate their unique culture and are more likely to be non–judgemental of other cultures. Learning should be reciprocal between the teacher and student when learning that student’s culture, which then helps teachers to adopt the teaching method. A teacher planning an activity needs to be culturally responsive and inclusive of all cultures and create an activity that is appropriate for all the students in the classroom.
This page will look at the Maori and Indian cultures. From my own experiences during practicum, I have noticed that these cultures are often ignored within the curriculum. Therefore, to include these students into the physical activity education, I have incorporated activities and resources for teachers to help accommodate the needs of a student who belongs to the Maori or Indian culture. Teachers can use these activities, such as Maori and Indian games or Indian classical/Bollywood dance that are culturally appropriate and can be integrated into physical activity to make the lesson fun, creative and interactive.
CULTURAL DIVERSITY - MAORI
Māori are the tangata whenua–the indigenous people of the land–of New Zealand and their culture is an integral part of New Zealand life. Teachers should engage with students and learn about the unique personal experiences and knowledge the Maori students bring into the classroom to create a safe and supportive learning environment for all of them. Incorporating Maori games from traditional Maori culture allows students to understand the cultural diversity that we have in our schools and compare the differences everyone has through exploring the role of games in the past and present. Students need support from teachers to help them make connections with Maori culture and traditions by engaging them with the different types of games played in their culture. By having students relating to their own experiences and to the experiences of the others, they gain a better understanding of what makes other cultures different.
This section of the website will give you insights into traditional Māori games that can be incorporated into the Health and physical education curriculum specifically looking at key areas of learning ‘physical activity’ in schools. Teachers can use these resources to encourage students to develop the movement, personal and interpersonal skills, knowledge and understanding of the other cultures and acceptance of cultural diversity, as well as to provide equal access and opportunities to the students.
HERE ARE SOME TRADITIONAL MAORI GAMES TO CONSIDER:
Click on this image to view a PDF of some Traditional Maori games that link specifically to the NZ curriculum.
Sourced from sport waikato NZ
Click on this image to view a PDF of some more Maori games you can try in your class room.
TE AO KORI
Te ao kori (the world of movement) is a Māori celebration of life through movement and its many expressions.
Throughout history, Māori have developed ways to sharpen mental and physical agility, hand-eye coordination, and a sense of well-being. The environment has inspired a wide range of movements, games, competitions, dance, song, fun, and enjoyment – a celebration of life. The activities may be stimulating and challenging or peaceful and reflective to settle the spirit. They include individual and group activities, language, tikanga and cultural expression. Te ao kori is the unifying concept that can embrace all aspects of identity – personal, family, tribal, regional, and national.
Te ao kori embodies many cultural expressions unique to Aotearoa New Zealand and has benefits for our country in the twenty-first century – we can all learn to appreciate, enjoy, and understand these aspects that often identify us in world settings (MoE, 2007).
EMBRACING INDIAN CULTURE INTO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Kabaddi is a game played between two teams of seven players, in which individuals take turns to chase and try to touch members of the opposing team without being captured by them.
Kabaddi is one of the most popular sports in rural India and it is a recreational form of combat training. India has taken part in four Asian Games in kabaddi and won gold in all of them.
INDIAN DANCE AS AN INCLUSION
New Zealand is a multicultural society with a growing community of Indians. Teachers can be inclusive of students who are from an Indian decent by incorporating physical activities into the Health and Physical Education curriculum so that students are able to learn about the culture. Teachers can reinforce the beauty of Indian dancing into the physical activity because in the New Zealand Curriculum, dancing is one of the movement skills for physical competence, enjoyment, a sense of self-worth, and an active lifestyle.
I have grown up in an Indian culture where clothing are both a major concern and restriction to physical education activities. To show respect in my culture, women must cover their legs and shoulders at all times. I have always worn something long that covers my legs. One of the reasons I was not part of the physical activity is because I did not have the appropriate clothing. A short skirt, dress or pants were acceptable clothing for physical activity, but I was not allowed to wear them because it was against my religion and I was excluded from playing the games and activities during the physical education lessons. Because I have my own experience with the Indian culture, I can understand it and what students can bring into the learning environment as unique individuals. Families in India restrict girls from being part of physical activity because they believe girls should not be part of it because they are games that a man plays. As a result, female students are discouraged, do not engage and do not take an interest in physical activity education activities. Therefore, it is the responsibility of a culturally responsive teacher to accommodate to the individual needs of students.
Teachers can create an inclusive physical activity by incorporating Indian. The Indian dance is an expression of life involving the body as well as a person’s emotions that is based on the text of Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language. Today, art is an important part of the education system and dance has been used purely as a creative art form as part of the Arts curriculum. In some schools, teachers integrate dance into physical activity to provide students with a range of activities to choose from that are culturally appropriate for an Indian culture.
When thinking of participation in physical activity, it is important for the teacher to plan activities that involves all the students. Mamta, one of the students, is physically fit, but due to the cultural restrictions she has in physical activity, she cannot take part in the key learning area, physical education. When her class takes part in physical activity, she has to sit and watch and misses out on the opportunity to learn. Mamta’s teacher is culturally responsive and inclusive and recognises the cultural difference her student faces. Therefore, the teacher has recognised that to actively involve Mamta in what she enjoys and what is culturally appropriate for her as an Indian, dance has been integrated into physical activity education.
The teacher gained knowledge and understanding by building a working relationship with the students, parents, families and the Indian community. This helped to gain support for when Mamta’s sister comes to the school and can teach students classical/Bollywood dance as part of the physical activity that is fun, creative and interactive for all the students. The teacher has provided students with a range of activities to choose from during physical activity so students are actively involved with the physical education activity.
Try teaching your students how to dance BOLLYWOOD STYLE!