Do Australian schools deal well with diversity and difference? In your discussion make sure you refer to educational policies and real life referenced examples to support your point of view?
Statistics has shown that more than 40 % of the Australians are born or at least their parents are born overseas. People in Australia are coming from more than 200 countries who speak almost 300 different types of languages. It includes the 50 indigenous languages that have brought diversity in the religious practices, customs and languages. The school and colleges in Australia reflect the growing religious and linguistic diversity that has been reflected by the nation. The students attending the same school and coming from the same neighborhood will come to school with different needs and their cultural back ground will be different (Australiancurriculum.edu.au, 2013). In this essay I will argue about the influence of the habits of the students and the teachers on the success of the students. I will also highlight on the ways in which the anti discriminatory practices of the teachers can influence the behavior of the students. The social reproduction theory has been used to explain the cultural diversity of the country. I will focus on the influence of ethnicity on the life of the students in Australia. The Australian schools reflect racism. Racism is seen in the schools and colleges in Australia in terms of racist abuse, discrimination and harassment (Ramesh, 2013).
Life chances are the theory presented in social science that reflects on the opportunities of the individual in order to improve their quality of life. The concept is probabilistic in nature. There are certain factors that will influence the life of an individual and turn it in a certain manner. The socio economic status of an individual has positive correlation with the life chances of the individual. In this context I have to mention that gender and class are the most sensitive concepts of the social theory (Walder, Li & Treiman, 2000). The picture of the theory of life chances can be explained that is held by the people residing in Australia. The Australians value the ways in which the government has proposed to maintain the health and well being of the people which is shared with the educational achievement of the individual. But it has been reported that more than four fifth of the children coming from the low income families in Australia (belonging below the age of seven) have failed to achieve good grades in English and Mathematics (Svallfors, 2005). This reflects the inequality that is faced by the children. This highlights the extent to which the life chances of the poor children are determined in the primary schools in Australia. Differences are noticed in the results of the rich and the poor children in the Australian schools. The theory of life chances is applicable to explain the social injustice towards the aboriginals in Australia (Yang et al., 2007).
Social injustice is reflected in the Australian schools. The Australian aboriginal group suffers from extreme social injustice. They suffer from social injustice in absolute terms as well as in comparison with the non Aboriginal society (Stevenson, 2007). The concept of race has no biological basis in it but it is a social construct. The biological inferiority of a particular group of individuals has resulted in social injustice towards them. It has been stated the indigenous people in Australia are the most socially disadvantaged group. They are the most vulnerable towards the discriminatory practices (Keddie, 2005). They are subjected to racism. The theory explaining the social injustice towards the indigenous Australian group is the critical race theory. It focuses on the application of the critical theory for the examination of the culture that persists in the society and the intersection of the law, race and power in the society. The controversial issues that are involved in the pursuit of the inequality issues in Australia have been explained via this theory (Jacobsen, 2007).
I have observed personal cultural bias in the Australian schools. The education system in Australia is subjected to cultural bias and this is reflected as more and more multiculturalism is noticed as a result of the diversity in the races, culture, values and language. I have noticed the impact of the cultural biasness in the performance of the indigenous and non indigenous group in the schools in Australia. The proportion of the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait islanders in the schools is increasing. But I have noticed that the teaching profile in the schools and colleges is dominated by the non indigenous population. There is need for the development of intercultural arrangements in the Australian schools. The personal cultural bias of the teacher has resulted in adverse impact on the students. It is evident from the difference of the indigenous population and the non indigenous population that the cultural bias has resulted in the variation of the academic performance of this group (Hicklingâ€ÂHudson & Ahlquist, 2003). The cultural bias towards the indigenous students in the Australian schools can be explained by the critical race theory. It explains the effect of racism on the Aboriginal population. It also highlights the need of professional development of the white teachers for meeting the need of the Aboriginal students as well as the non indigenous students (Durey, 2010).
The dominant discourses are prevalent in the Australian schools. The non indigenous population in the Australian schools has a tendency of dominating the indigenous population. The non indigenous white population of the Australian schools considers the ethnic group as the most myriad group of population (Ryan & Huyton, 2002). The indigenous students in the Australian schools experience racism that range from harmful assumptions by the non indigenous population, paternalism and prejudices towards the group of people. The indigenous populations are also subjected to violence by the non indigenous group. The dominant culture in Australian exercises their power over the non indigenous population. The pedagogies that are used by the teachers are disempowering for the students. The dominance of the non indigenous population towards the indigenous group of people can be explained in terms of the social reproduction theory. It put emphasis on the structure and activities that transmit social inequality from one generation to the next generation. The social inequality can be explained in terms of cultural capital that promotes the dominance of the particular section of the society in terms of non financial social assets (Catana, 2014).
The dominance by the non indigenous population on the Aboriginals population is prevalent in the Australian schools. The non indigenous Australian population would discriminate the indigenous Australians in the schools when they are sitting adjacent to them by passing heinous comments. The indigenous population faces discrimination in the public transport and also at work place. This has marked the increase of absenteeism among the indigenous population. This has affected the academic achievement of the Indigenous students. The indigenous students have poorer access to the resources which has hindered the path of their academic growth. The schools have to develop their intercultural understanding in order to bridge the gap between the indigenous and non indigenous population. The Australian schools have to develop a broad curriculum provision. There should be a shared vision in the school community with high expectations for the success of the students as well as the staff members. The school must create a learning environment that is responsive to the individual need of the students. The teachers must proactively include ways in which there is continuous improvement in the ways of treatment towards the indigenous group. This can be achieved by introducing quality career education in the schools (YATES & COLLINS, 2010).
The theoretical framework that can explain the power that is operating in the non indigenous population towards the indigenous group is the cultural capital theory. The framework promotes social mobility in various sectors which includes the education sector and other social aspects. It emphasizes on analyzing the difference in the outcome of the children as a result of inequality and racism. The social capital aspect of the cultural capital theory focuses on the resource that is based on group membership and the relationship amongst the group members. It highlights the command of a particular section of the society on the minority group. Inequality persists in the Australian school. The non indigenous students adopt a dominant position in the schools. The white teachers tend to have a biased approach towards the indigenous population. The cultural capital theory can well describe the dominance on the indigenous Australian population. The non indigenous population of the society enjoys a higher status in the society in terms of resources of knowledge, education and skills available to them. It is evident from the example provided in the previous paragraph that the indigenous populations are subjected to dominance by the non indigenous Australians. Thus power imbalance is evident in the society.
The New South Wales Department of Education and Communities is committed towards improving the outcome of education of the indigenous population in Australia, This is done in order to provide academic resources to the indigenous population so that the students can excel their academic performance. On fulfillment of the goals set by the committee the Aboriginal population will be able to gain better outcomes amongst the broader student’s population. The department is committed towards increasing the knowledge and understanding of the Aboriginals considering them as the first peoples of Australia. The department is committed towards providing cultural education to all the staff members and students so that they can value the culture of the Aboriginals. The Australian Government provides funding to the schools run by the Government and the non Government institutions to promote the education to the indigenous population. They are considered as an integral part of the society and their knowledge and expertise is valuable for the economic development of the country. The Government has recognized the importance of teacher quality in the school. It is an influencing factor for the engagement of the students and achievement of the students. The policies have been quite effective in eradicating the issue of discrimination towards the indigenous population. But the issue has not been resolved to the full extent (Rowse, 2015).
The policies devised by the Government showcase the exhibition of power to promote the equality in the Australian schools in order to eradicate discrimination. The theory that can explain the power exercised by the Government is the cultural capital theory. They are focused towards promoting the well being of the indigenous students in almost all the schools in Australia (Taylor, 2014). The economic capital can be relatively converted into the cultural capital that is required by the students to value and accredit. The lack of the cultural capital results in educational failure. The power exercised by the Government to raise the cultural capital of the school by providing the adequate resources is evident from the increase in the literacy rate of the indigenous population. The social background of the individual and the highest level of education achieved have become very strong. In this context the power exercised by the Government has become very important. The Government has taken a strong position in order to address to the inequality issues faced by the indigenous population in the Australian schools (Davidson, 2011) ; (Yosso *, 2005).
The essay has identified the ways in which the Australian schools deal with diversity and difference. For this purpose I have provided a brief idea of the various discrimination issues faced by the indigenous population in Australia. I have highlighted the ways in which the indigenous population is barred from achieving academic excellence as a result of discrimination against them. I have highlighted the issue with respect to the critical theory, social reproduction theory and the cultural capital theory. I have provided certain examples to show the ways in which the indigenous population in Australia face discrimination. The power of the non indigenous population has been identified. I have tried to provide the education policies implemented by the Universities and the Government organizations in order to address to the inequality issues in the country. The Government has analyzed the inequality and power imbalance issues in the country. They have formulated ways in which the inequality issues can be exempted. I have provided certain measures taken the Government to address to the inequality issues in the Australian countries. The theoretical aspect of the inequality issues has been identified and explained with respect to the power exercised by the Government to eradicate the inequality issues by the Government.
References
Australiancurriculum.edu.au,. (2013). Student Diversity and the Australian Curriculum. Retrieved 18 March 2015, from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/StudentDiversity/Pdf/StudentDiversity
Catana, S. (2014). Teaching Cross-cultural Communication Issues – A Way of Successfully Integrating into the Multicultural Knowledge Society. Procedia – Social And Behavioral Sciences, 128, 343-348. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.03.168
Davidson, I. (2011). The Politics of Suffering: Indigenous Australia and the End of the Liberal Consensus by Peter Sutton. American Anthropologist, 113(1), 186-187. doi:10.1111/j.1548-1433.2010.01321_24.x
Durey, A. (2010). Reducing racism in Aboriginal health care in Australia: where does cultural education fit?. Australian And New Zealand Journal Of Public Health, 34, S87-S92. doi:10.1111/j.1753-6405.2010.00560.x
Hicklingâ€ÂHudson, A., & Ahlquist, R. (2003). Contesting the Curriculum in the Schooling of Indigenous Children in Australia and the United States: From Eurocentrism to Culturally Powerful Pedagogies.COMP EDUC REV, 47(1), 64-89. doi:10.1086/345837
Jacobsen, E. (2007). Looking Back, Looking Forward. J. Chem. Educ., 84(1), 9. doi:10.1021/ed084p9
Keddie, A. (2005). A framework for gender justice: Evaluating the transformative capacities of three key Australian schooling initiatives. Aust. Educ. Res., 32(3), 83-102. doi:10.1007/bf03216828
Ramesh, R. (2013). Poor children’s life chances are decided in primary school, report finds. the Guardian. Retrieved 18 March 2015, from https://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/oct/08/poor-children-chances-primary-school-report
Rowse, T. (2015). Indigenous Futures: Choice and Development for Aboriginal and Islander Australia.
Ryan, C., & Huyton, J. (2002). Tourists and Aboriginal people. Annals Of Tourism Research, 29(3), 631-647. doi:10.1016/s0160-7383(01)00073-1
Stevenson, R. (2007). Schooling and environmental education: contradictions in purpose and practice.Environmental Education Research, 13(2), 139-153. doi:10.1080/13504620701295726
Svallfors, S. (2005). Analyzing inequality. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press.
Taylor, R. (2014). ‘It’s All in the Context’: Indigenous Education for Pre-Service Teachers. Aust. J. Indig. Educ., 43(02), 134-143. doi:10.1017/jie.2014.16
Walder, A., Li, B., & Treiman, D. (2000). Politics and Life Chances in a State Socialist Regime: Dual Career Paths into the Urban Chinese Elite, 1949 to 1996. American Sociological Review, 65(2), 191. doi:10.2307/2657437
Yang, L., Kleinman, A., Link, B., Phelan, J., Lee, S., & Good, B. (2007). Culture and stigma: Adding moral experience to stigma theory. Social Science & Medicine, 64(7), 1524-1535. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.11.013
YATES, L., & COLLINS, C. (2010). The Absence of Knowledge in Australian Curriculum Reforms.European Journal Of Education, 45(1), 89-102. doi:10.1111/j.1465-3435.2009.01417.x
Yosso *, T. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity And Education, 8(1), 69-91. doi:10.1080/1361332052000341006
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