Becoming an ally: Decolonising a New Zealand classroom

In this article, Holly Bodman shares the journey she embarked on as a fourth-generation middle-class Pākehā to decolonise her practice. Bodman began by reading the work of local scholars and educators to discover her unconscious bias, which led to deepening cultural relationships with her students, their whānau, and the community. Armed with a new level of conscientisation, Bodman transformed her practice within the context of her social studies classroom. Bodman acknowledges that this is a journey, not a destination, and shares her journey in the hope that it may resonate with other tauiwi educators.