TERNZ Conference 2009 Proposal

Roannie Ng Shiu, Doctoral Research Fellow, Social & Community Health, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Auckland.

Title:  Bringing the outside in to the Classroom:  The cultural identity and liminality of tertiary students’

What is it about:

This workshop is about exploring and understanding how social and cultural contexts both constrain and enable learning processes and practices.   

Why is it important?

Learning is embodied and contextualized.  Students and educators don’t leave their social and cultural identities at the door once they enter the classroom, these are very much a part of how we teach and learn.  However, many students experience themselves being minoritised in the classroom as they feel themselves being made acutely aware of their differences whilst paradoxically feeling that what makes them different is ignored.  For example, Pacific learners describe feeling as though they have to prove themselves because of their skin colour whilst also talking about their sense of isolation in the classroom, and at the same time struggling to negotiate the competing demands of tertiary study and family commitments. 

Two concepts that are useful for understanding the experiences of Pacific learners in tertiary classrooms are liminality and social constructivsm theory of education.  Liminality describes the social transitions an individual’s life, as a condition or state of being ‘betwixt and between’.    Vygotsky’s social constructivism theory for education (Dimitriadis and Kamberelis, 2006), places culture in learning by arguing that learning is socially and culturally specific (Moll, 1990). 

A better understanding of the experiences of Pacific learners in classrooms may inform teaching practices and processes to improve achievement levels of Pacific and other minoritised students. 

How the session will be run:

We will begin with a brief presentation using current PhD research in progress on the experiences of Pacific learners in tertiary learning environments drawing on liminality and social constructivism theory of education. 

The second part will discuss the following two ideas:

·       reflecting on what taken-for-granted aspects of culture and social identity might exist in our teaching and learning practices and classroom contexts.   

·       understanding of the relationship between social and cultural identities and learning experiences might inform practices and processes of teaching and learning and improve the learning experiences of a more diverse range of tertiary learners.

References:

Dimitriadis, G. and G. Kamberelis (2006). Theory for Education. New York, Routledge.

Moll, L. C. (1990). Vygotsky and Education. New York, Cambridge University Press.

Roannie Ng Shiu
 
I am of Samoan and Chinese descent born in Auckland but spent my early childhood in Samoa before moving to New Zealand with my family.  In 2004 I graduated with a Bachelors of Commerce and Bachelors of Arts conjoint degree.  I then went on complete my Masters in Geography in 2006 from the University of Auckland with a Pacific Masters scholarship from the Health Research Council of New Zealand. In 2007 I was awarded the Health Research Council Pacific Doctoral Scholarship and am currently completing my doctoral research in Pacific Health Workforce Development.  
 
Whilst studying at the University of Auckland I have been a Geography mentor for the Tuakana (Maori and Pacific peer-mentoring) program as well as a teaching assistant for the Tertiary Foundation Certificate program.  My research interests are in Pacific communities, Pacific education, population and health geography, migration and economic development.