Relationships

Ngā – plural, more than one, communal, shared co-operation.

The 'ngā' in raranga emphasises the importance of togetherness. It reminds us of the cooperative nature of learning. Strong relationships, based on respect, reciprocity, and trust, are essential to effective review.

The richness of diverse perspectives and views within each learning community has the potential to challenge current practice through review. It also provides opportunities to explore new and innovative approaches to practice.

Relationships are a source of learning, empowerment, and identity for all of us. This is reflected in the concept of whanaungatanga. Paul Hirini (1997) describes whanaungatanga as “a value, which reinforces the commitment whānau members have to each other” (page 44). Such commitment is expressed through a process of caring, sharing, respecting, helping, assisting, relieving, reciprocating, balancing, nurturing, and guardianship. Hirini goes on to suggest that involvement through whanaungatanga “generates observable behavioural processes through which whānau functioning is promoted and enhanced”. Whakawhanaungatanga, building a collaborative learning community, establishes an environment of trust and reciprocity as an essential base for effective review.

Capacity framework

Mason Durie's capacity framework is a way of exploring the strength of our relationships that contribute to effective review:

Capacity to care

The capacity to care invites us to ask, “How do we care for one another in review?”

Capacity to share

The capacity to share is about looking at our review process and asking, “How do we share the responsibility for review with everyone in our service?"

Capacity for guardianship

The capacity for guardianship invites us to ask, “How effectively does our leadership in review reflect community aspirations, professional insights, the role of tangata whenua, and our collective priorities for children's learning?”

Capacity to empower

The capacity to empower is about looking at our expectations for involvement in review and the way we communicate these. Our question may be “What messages do we give to our community about their role in review?”

Capacity to plan

The capacity to plan ahead is concerned with the attention we are able to give to the future of our service, and the extent to which our aspirations are reflected in review. We could ask “How do we know that our service priorities are shared by everyone? What if they are not?”

Capacity to promote culture

The capacity to promote culture challenges us to understand, respect and acknowledge the cultural values and practices of our community. We could ask “In what ways do we promote culture through review?”

Durie, 2001, pages 200 to 202

Central to whakawhanaungatanga is the way we treat others. In effective review, we take the time to draw together the ideas of all members of our learning community. We recognise that there is a wide range of information sources and ways of analysing information that have the potential to generate evidence in review and to assist us in making wise judgments about our practice.

Taking the time to listen and respond, rather than persuade and coerce others to see things in the same way as we do, enriches the effectiveness of review.