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Cultural Diversity in Australian Schools

            
             Australia is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse nations in the world with over 6 million Australian residents born overseas, 25% of the population with a language background other than English and over 75% identifying with an ancestry other than 'Australian'. (ABS, 2011) This paper will examine the issue of cultural diversity in Australian schools and assess government policy which addresses multiculturalism and its impact on students' educational experience and outcomes. To begin with this paper will outline the key points raised by Julie McLeod's article 'Educating society' and assess the extent to which Australian schooling challenges the inequalities associated with cultural diversity. The contention of this paper is that policy is being guided by an increasing awareness of the implications of a multicultural society and aims to challenge the inequalities faced by students with a diverse cultural and linguistic background. However, although the rhetoric of the policy is well intended, there continues to be a marked gap in opportunities and outcomes for students who don't identify with the 'dominant' Australian culture. In addition to this, this paper will demonstrate that there is still a long way to go in addressing the inequalities in Australian schools starting with the need for a fundamental change in attitudes toward and understanding of diversity and its implications for education, particularly at the level of curriculum development.
             Sociology of Education – Social Dimension to Education.
             In her article 'Educating Society' (2009) Julie McLeod's main focus is the sociology of education and how issues of class, race and ethnicity and gender intersect with education on a fundamental level. 'Sociological studies of education show how educational institutions are part of the social fabric and how what happens in school-scan both reflect and have consequences for social relations and social processes.


Essays Related to Cultural Diversity in Australian Schools

1. Traditional Aboriginal Art Wor

Rock art however has left rich and enduring evidence of human presence in Australia for at least 30 000 years. Aboriginal Australians believe they have been here since the Dreamtime. ... The beginning of this growth can be traced to a school building in Papunya, a remote community in the Western Desert. The cultural pride expressed at Papunya has since spread widely in Aboriginal communities across Australia. ... As with all artistic expression, Aboriginal art is shaped and determined by its social and cultural setting. ...

  • Word Count: 485
  • Approx Pages: 2

2. Study Abroad

Also Australia being so culturally diverse, you do not encounter racism. When I was at boarding school in the States, they used to call us wetbacks. ... And another advantage that diversity has is the tolerance for the many different ways of thinking." And when asked why did he chose Australia, Jesse answered: "I went to boarding school for two year at the states, then after finishing high school I spent six months backpacking through Europe. ... These multi cultural friends can show you new things and broaden your horizons. ...

  • Word Count: 1212
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Australian Identity

Drysdale traveled to and from Australia numerous times over a fourteen year period finally settling as a border at Geelong Grammar school in 1923. The majority of children that attended this school were predominantly from country regions of Australia and shared common interests in the land with Drysdale himself. ... In 1932, Drysdale attended the newly opened Shore-Bell School for about two months. ... Most of Drysdale's pieces were painted as figure in the landscapes' and he also tried his hand in photography but some of his most influential works depicted the aboriginal people ...

  • Word Count: 1671
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography

4. Issues Impacting on Teaching The Arts R-7

The encouragement of cultural diversity involves an approach to the curriculum in which due consideration is given to the knowledge that migrant children need about their new homeland and the knowledge that Australian children need about new Australians. The Asia Education Foundation (AEF) is an organisation specifically designed for Asian students in Australian schools. Their goals are to: Promote and support of the study of Asia across all curriculum in Australian schools. Develop Asia-related materials for Australian school children. ... If only there were more cultures willing ...

  • Word Count: 1614
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Austalia's Immigration Policy

We want to preserve our Australian identity. ... Australia has a responsibility to protect its bio-diversity and not allow its flora and fauna to be pushed form their habits to extinction because of population or economic pressures. ... Every migrant in Australia, must be provided with accommodation, food, transport, a job, schools, pensions, hospitals, water, electricity, roads, sewerage, universities and all the basic necessities of life. ... We are already seeing 1,000 deaths per annum from Hepatitis B and rates of TB contact in inner Sydney schools of 25%. ... EDUCATION Is the...

  • Word Count: 2083
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Grade Level: High School

6. School Curriculum - Health and Physical Education

For this reason, there is no doubt that Health and Physical Education (HPE) holds an essential and valued part to any school curriculum. ... Health and Physical Education as a program, assists students to function more successfully in all areas of the school curriculum (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2013) as opposed to just fitness and motor skills. ... The National Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) (Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 2009) Outcome 3 is "Children take increasing responsibility for their ow...

  • Word Count: 726
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. The Care and Education Dichotomy in Early Education

Introduction In her Australian Education Review, Elliott explicitly shows a divide between the knowledge of the importance of the early years to children's lives and the lack of actions taken in policy and practice in early education and care in Australia. ... - Healthy early development, and particularly school readiness, is dependent on how young children think and feel... Teachers have long said that children who attend preschool adjust better to school than those who don't. ... This would mean hand-in-hand with strong relationships are honouring and respecting individual differ...

  • Word Count: 1386
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. Aboriginal Australia: 1900-1945

As a large amount of white settlers moved into Australia they began to occupy the fertile land. ... Federation and Aboriginal Voting Rights Federation, which is often seen as a milestone in the development of Australian democracy, represented a backward step for Aboriginal Australians. ... As introduced, it would have conferred the right to vote on indigenous Australians. ... Consequently, reserves were established on which Aborigines lived, with few opportunities for education (mainly in segregated schools) and employment, without rights of citizenship and with a dependence on the Governmen...

  • Word Count: 3196
  • Approx Pages: 13
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

9. Home School Connections in Language and Literacy

Aware of this relationship between the home environment and school success, over the years multiple programs have been developed within Australia and other countries, to develop closer relationships between schools and communities in order to enhance student performance. ... Obviously there is a difference between a community's diversity and knowing how, as a teacher, to deal with it. ... The main way of minimising cultural influences is by involving parents more closely in school education. ... By breaking down the barriers of home and school, both teachers and parents are able to und...

  • Word Count: 1973
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

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