Closing the gap - Why cultural safety matters in promoting mental health, equity, inclusion, and resilient minds in education settings? - Unpacking culturally responsive teaching and trauma-informed care.

Balaji Somasundaram and Meera Balaji – We are husband and wife and were lawyers for 20 years in India in our past lives with a focus on children’s rights and family law. Currently, we are registered teachers/specialist educators in Aotearoa New Zealand and working as Learning Support Coordinators across 12 schools and 13 Early Childhood Centres in Wellington, the capital city of Aotearoa, New Zealand in an area of significant socioeconomic deprivation.

We believe we are in a distinctive position to recognize our students and their families' perspectives, narratives, and ongoing challenges as we strive to provide appropriate support services through timely actions to heal trauma and buffer its negative effects. We are passionate advocates for social justice, inclusion, and diversity both in our personal and professional lives. As educators from a minority culture in New Zealand, we firmly believe our children need to experience relationships around them with unconditional care, compassion, and commitment which will help to re-work their internal working models of themselves and the world around them. Despite barriers in different forms, the welfare of children has always been our utmost priority. Culturally responsive pedagogies and the work of Dr. Stephen Porges, the creator of Polyvagal Theory, underpins and is the foremost of the work we continue to do with the advocacy for our vulnerable children and young people who are at high risk.

We have a Bachelors in Law, Masters in Educational Psychology, and another Masters in Specialist Teaching with a specialty in Autism Spectrum Disorder. We recently completed the one-year graduate Applied Educational Neuroscience program under Dr. Lori Desautels from Butler University, Indianapolis, and also completed Neurosequential Model in Education with Dr. Bruce Perry’s Child Trauma Academy. We are also trained in evidence-based interventions and frameworks for autism - like TEACCH from the University of North Carolina, SCERTS, Early Start Denver Model, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), Hanen’s Four ‘Is’ to socialize, which are widely used in New Zealand to support the needs of children and young people with autism. We both are also qualified in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with Beck Institute, Philadelphia, and trained teachers in Dyslexia.

We have also been part of many advisory and research groups in New Zealand for culturally responsive pedagogies and recently were part of the advisory group for the new guidelines for minimizing physical restraints in New Zealand, which is a work in progress. Over the years, we have been working with and alongside neurodivergent learners, particularly autistic individuals, and are continuing to advocate/support their unique needs by embracing their strengths, voices, and perspectives both in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and India.

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