Understanding Ourselves and Others

    A significant role of the teacher is being aware of how students are beginning to understand themselves in emotional, social, and personal realms. Aotearoa New Zealand has a richly diverse population that holds a multitude of values, beliefs, abilities, and needs.

"Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini—My strength is not mine alone, it comes from the collective group"

I believe that it is vital that our kaiako hold the appropriate attitudes to respect and validate these differences and be able to display this in their teaching practice. 

Although there are many aspects of children’s development for teachers to consider—I will outline three significant elements that impact tamariki’s social and academic growth below. 

Sense of self:

Our students are constantly developing their sense of self and we as teachers need to be aware of how our classroom environment can impact students' knowledge, ideas, attitudes, and beliefs. Children are vulnerable and easily influenced by their environment so it is vital that our interactions with our tamariki reflect a positive and accepting nature (Duschesne & McMaugh, 2019). This includes:

• Recognising that students are constantly comparing their abilities to their peers and building their sense of self esteem. This multidimensional structure has a significant impact on students academic performance and social interactions—including self efficacy (Duschesne & McMaugh, 2019).

• Being a role model that values diversity, individuality, participation, and pride.

• Having conversations with children that allow them to realise their potential and uniqueness as an individual learner.

• Not comparing students' academic abilities in the classroom.

• Teaching children that their overall wellbeing influences their social and academic lives.

Emotional development: 

It is interesting to consider the mental and psychological states of our tamariki that are constantly changing and developing over time. It is vital that teachers acknowledge and validate students' thoughts, feelings, and behaviours—as well as what might be causing them. As teachers, I believe it is important to consider different approaches that influence emotional development (Duschesne & McMaugh, 2019).

• A functionalist perspective conveys that emotions are closely connected and are a way of organising thoughts—behaviours and emotions help children to make sense of their environment and what is / is not appropriate (Barrett, 1998). 

• The social constructivist theory states that the social environment is the most pressing contributing factor to emotional competence—through their sociocultural environment, children will develop self-conscious emotions and emotional independence (Duschesne & McMaugh, 2019).

Social development: 

Throughout schooling, students are developing their social and individual identities. I think it is a vital role of the teacher to support students to understand themselves through their emotions, behaviours, actions, and general wellbeing. Some responsibilities include understanding how children develop their social skills, their moral compass, and their values (Duschesne & McMaugh, 2019).

• Erikson’s Theory of Social Development states that there is a comprehensive relationship between a child’s psychological development and the sociocultural environment they are exposed to. This means teachers have a genuine responsibility to create and sustain a fair and accepting classroom environment. 

• Teachers have a vital role in children’s moral development and must be able to provide a safe environment for children to explore concepts such as justice, fairness, human rights, and cultural values (Duschesne & McMaugh, 2019). 

• It is critical that teachers are able to generate and maintain a pertinent ethical environment—this includes upholding the NZC and teaching under Māori values and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, as well as promoting respect for individual values and a sense of cultural identity.

    Above all, I believe t is vital that teachers are responsive to the needs of their tamariki and their growth and development over time. We have a significant responsibility to understand our students in all dimensions of their social and academic growth. 

References

Barrett, K. C. (1998). A Functionalist Perspective to the Development of Emotions. What Develops in Emotional Development?, 109–133. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1939-7_5

Duschesne, S., & McMaugh, A. (2019). Behavioural Views of Learning. In Educational pscyhology: for learning and teaching (pp. 219–248). Cengage Learning Australia.