Social'injustices'issues'impacting'students'learning'

By'Sarah'Hammoud'17356637'
!
I!will!be!elaborating!on!the!statement!that!to!better!match!beliefs!about!diversity!with!
practice,!also!examine!how!our!own!intercultural!sensitivities!about!difference!and!diversity!
might!impact!upon!students!learning.!Its!a!challenge!for!schools!to!help!achieve!a!greater!
understanding!of!cultural!diversity!among!teachers!and!students.!We!are!still!passing!along!
with!our!teaching!methods!being!primarily!Anglo>!Australian!even!though!our!population!
diversity!is!increasing.!Over!recent!years!educational!policies!have!approached!the!issue!for!
teachers!to!understand!and!help!students!with!different!factors!such!as!race,!and!ethnicity.!
But!as!Allard!mentions!students!with!a!non>English!speaking!background!are!considered!
their!educationally!at!risk.!!Most!students!will!not!receive!similar!grades!as!peers!since!
standardised!testing!is!aimed!for!students!with!English!speaking!backgrounds.!Theses!
problems!need!to!be!addressed!where!teachers!have!to!work!with!students!together!in!a!
diverse!based!education.!Teachers!should!be!trained!to!meet!the!needs!of!all!students!with!
different!race!and!ethnicity!to!help!Australias!economic!future.!Will!be!focusing!on!the!
issue!about!students!shouldnt!feel!marginalised!because!of!their!race!and!ethnicity.!All!
students!should!have!equality!and!equity!through!out!their!school!years.!Functionalism,!
conflict!theory!and!symbolic!interactionism!are!theories!that!I!will!be!discussing!that!affect!
diversity!among!schools!around!the!issue!of!race!and!ethnicity.!
!
!equity!should!ensure!that!differences!in!educational!outcomes!are!not!the!result!of!
differences!in!wealth,!income,!power!or!possessions!is!a!definition!the!review!panel!of!
School!funding!inquiry!created!after!the!review!(!(Cobbold,!2011).!They!chose!to!do!so!after!
finding!that!educational!equity!was!a!significant!issue!in!its!review.!I!do!agree!with!the!
panel,!however!the!social!justice!issue,!race!and!ethnicity!should!also!be!included.!Teachers!
should!have!intercultural!sensitivities!towards!about!diversity!especially!the!social!justice!
issue!of!race!and!ethnicity!because!it!correlates!to!the!students!learning.!The!article!
discusses!how!historically!equity!in!education!has!generally!concentrated!that!each!student!
has!the!right!of!equal!resources!and!funding.!Over!the!past!few!years!it!has!come!to!
realisation!that!each!student!is!receiving!lower!outcomes!than!other!students!even!though!
they!are!receiving!the!same!input!of!resources.!The!article!emphasises!the!point!of!students!
coming!from!different!ethnicity!or!race!are!receiving!lower!averages!than!other!groups.!
Therefore,!understanding!that!each!student!has!a!different!social!environment,!educational!
needs!and!finally!the!social!justice!issue!will!be!focusing!on!is!race!and!ethnicity.!!
!
The!social!injustice!issues,!race!and!ethnicity!can!impact!many!students!leaning!experience!
if!teachers!dont!recognise!that!education!in!Australia!needs!to!be!diversity!based!and!they!
need!to!have!intercultural!sensitivities.!As!future!teachers!we!need!to!beware!and!critically!
analyse!our!own!racial!socialisation!and!perception!on!students!educational!capabilities.!
Self!awareness!and!sympathising!of!students!experiences!will!help!teachers!to!look!past!
stereotype!expectation!and!focus!of!practices!to!help!build!each!individuals!learning!
experience.!The!critical!race!theory!is!supposedly!a!outline!to!help!schools!with!the!
curriculum,!examination,!teaching!attitudes!and!methods.!However,!there!is!still!

standardising!testing!which!goes!against!the!theory.!The!standardised!testing!is!created!for!
English!speaking!background!students!which!marginalises!non>English!speaking!students.!In!
the!article!written!by!Burridge!and!Chodkiewicz!arise!the!issue!that!our!primary!education!is!
Anglo>Australian!based!and!indicate!a!report!by!a!Victorian!parliamentary!education!and!
training!committee!recommending!that!teachers!should!be!trained!for!a!diverse!population!
(Chodkiewicz,!2008).!With!the!increase!of!migrants!and!refugee!students,!ESL!should!be!
compulsory!for!all!teachers!so!the!curriculum!and!testing!should!be!changed!to!allow!
diversity.!Students!with!a!non>English!speaking!background!will!and!do!feel!marginalised!
when!they!witness!other!peers!with!English!speaking!backgrounds!outcomes!higher.!The!
social!injustice!issues,!race!and!ethnicity!should!be!part!of!education!and!teaching!practices!
for!all!students!learning!experience,!to!help!teach!all!students!and!teachers!to!respect!and!
accept!individuals!with!different!race!and!ethnicity.!Issues!such!as!racism!will!continue!to!
rise!if!we!dont!make!these!social!injustice!issues!significant!to!be!part!of!teaching!practices!
and!learning!experience!for!students.!
!!
Racism!is!a!dominant!discourse!in!Australia!that!has!been!for!years!which!has!affected!many!
students!learning!experiences.!An!example!of!racism!that!has!made!history!was!the!Cronulla!
riots!in!2005.!New!South!Wales!Board!of!Studies!defined!respect!as!!having!regards!for!
yourself!and!others,!lawful!and!just!authority!and!diversity!within!Australian!society!and!
accepting!the!rights!of!others!to!hold!different!or!opposing!views!(Refshauge,!2004).!
Premier!Morris!Iemma!created!programs!for!students!to!emphasise!the!importance!of!of!
respect!of!others!with!the!2006!program!called!Respect!and!Responsibilities.!Cronulla!riots!
made!the!awareness!of!racism!really!exist!in!our!much!diverse!community.!Racism!overtime!
will!harm!the!Australian!society!overall!including!students!of!different!race!and!ethnicity.!
This!is!also!illustrates!the!theory!Functionalism,!where!discriminating!against!minority!and!
holding!racists!view!to!give!benefits!to!those!who!want!to!deny!rights!of!the!minorities!
because!of!their!race!and!ethnicity!(Durkheim,!1982).!If!there!was!more!education!giving!to!
students!at!a!younger!age!and!was!consistently!experiencing!teaching!practice!based!
around!respecting!others!from!different!race!and!ethnicity.!Australia!may!have!not!witness!
such!a!terrible!event.!Students!of!the!same!race!or!ethnicity!of!the!minority!being!
discriminated!against!in!the!Cronulla!riots!will!feel!out!of!place!or!no!sense!of!belonging.!
This!also!may!have!caused!students!and!teachers!to!be!more!aware!of!the!minorities!and!
follow!the!dominant!whiteness!group!to!fit!in.!This!discourse!can!cause!a!great!ripple!effect!
if!the!issues!werent!addressed.!Even!though!the!Cronulla!riots!did!have!a!great!impact!on!
Australian!image!and!society!but!it!also!gave!awareness!to!the!social!injustice!issues!of!race!
and!ethnicity.!Cultural!awareness!programs!and!diversity!celebrations!were!introduced!and!
emphasised!in!schools.!These!programs!will!help!Australian!society!in!the!future!and!not!
allow!such!an!event!to!happen!again.!!
!
Symbolic!interaction!theory!emphasises!on!social!interaction!in!school!classrooms,!among!
pupils!and!teachers!and!other!school!venues.!Social!interaction!affects!the!teachers!
expectations!of!students!ability!which!affects!students!performances.!Race!and!ethnicity!
are!symbols!to!show!the!individuals!identity.!Racism!is!formed!when!there!is!interaction!
among!dominant!social!groups!with!racist!views.!All!these!interactions!can!affect!students!
learning!(!Ballantine!&!Hammack,!2012).!Students!who!are!in!environment!where!they!are!
discriminated!against!and!the!teacher!poses!similar!views!can!extremely!affect!the!students!
socially!and!ability.!When!teachers!are!uneducated!with!any!understanding!of!different!race!

and!ethnicity!can!affect!their!delivery!and!students!learning.!For!example,!Indigenous!
Aboriginals!mostly!raised!to!give!courtesy!to!the!elders!by!not!giving!direct!eye!contact,!
most!teachers!would!not!know!this!and!would!take!offence.!Seeing!the!student!as!
misbehaving!or!disrespectable.!Hence!affect!the!relationship!between!the!student!and!
teacher.!Some!teachers!have!expectations!of!students!with!non>English!speaking!
background!are!not!as!capable!as!English!speaking!students.!These!assumptions!marginalise!
students!with!different!race!and!ethnicity.!Students!who!are!in!schools!in!regions!with!less!
cultural!diversity!are!more!prone!to!these!problems!than!schools!in!regions!with!more!
cultural!diversity.!!
!
Cultural!diversity!and!community!relation!policy!released!and!government!existing!school!
policies!in!New!South!Wales!were!revised!2005.!Even!though!these!changes!had!occurred!its!
seems!not!much!has!changed!at!the!regional!and!school!level!to!show!effort!in!following!the!
recent!policy.!In!theory!these!policies!should!help!promote!acceptance!of!race!and!ethnicity!
and!teachers!should!incorporate!cultural!diversity!in!their!teaching!practices.!Schools!where!
there!is!diversity!in!the!community!have!a!strong!culture!awareness.!However,!school!where!
there!less!cultural!diversity!in!the!region!there!isnt!much!diversity,!instead!a!more!Anglo>
Australian!based!education.!The!conflict!here!is!students!in!school!with!less!cultural!diversity!
are!prone!in!less!accepting!or!socialising!with!students!with!different!race!and!ethnicity.!
Which!affect!Australian!society!in!the!future.!The!Australian!government!should!make!it!
mandatory!each!year!to!have!a!culture!diversity!audit!to!make!sure!all!schools!are!educating!
their!students.!All!students!should!have!the!right!to!be!educated!equally!and!have!the!
knowledge!of!different!cultures!in!society.!I!agree!with!Sarra!where!school!that!empowered!
students!experience!and!learn!about!their!own!identities!and!other!different!identities,!
students!become!strong!within!themselves!(Sarra,!2003).!
!
Australian!mainstream!gives!a!negative!impression!and!stereotyping!Aboriginals!as!helpless!
and!pitiable!other!gives!them!stigma!of!being!unworthy!and!cant!reach!their!full!potential!
(Sarra,!2007).!When!a!child!at!a!young!age!is!fed!that!they!are!worthless!and!no!ability!to!be!
able!to!reach!potential!in!being!Australian!citizen!and!fulfil!their!right,!that!child!grows!up!
into!an!adult!with!these!thoughts!embedded!in!their!minds.!This!does!not!only!affect!them!
in!their!community!but!as!Australian!society.!This!also!affects!the!perception!of!non>
indigenous!students!to!Aboriginals!of!not!being!capable!of!fulfilling!their!rights!as!Australian!
citizens.!The!school!has!the!role!of!shaping!students!behaviour!and!education!which!spirals!
into!Australian!society!future.!The!schools!environment!reflects!the!dominant!culture!of!the!
school!and!the!pedagogies!subscribed!by!teachers!either!empower!or!disempower!students.!!
An!example!of!the!effect!of!disempowering!students!is!a!personal!experience!I!had!as!a!
teenager.!When!I!was!back!I!high!school,!my!English!teacher!at!the!time!kept!repeatedly!tell!
me!that!essay!writing!skills!will!not!reach!higher!than!the!class!average!because!I!came!from!
a!non>English!speaking!background.!This!was!15!years!ago!and!I!still!dont!have!the!
confidence!that!I!have!good!essay!writing!skills.!I!might!have!had!better!writing!skills!if!I!had!
the!confidence!and!kept!trying!to!improve!myself.!Since!I!gave!up!at!a!young!age,!I!never!
tried!to!improve!myself!because!its!been!embedded!in!my!mind!that!no!matter!how!much!I!
will!practice!it!wont!improve.!This!is!one!of!the!reasons!its!so!important!as!teachers!not!to!
have!perceptions!on!students!with!non>English!speaking!background!that!they!will!not!
qualify!to!improve!on!their!English!language.!
!

In!conclusion!diversity,!culture,!race,!ethnicity,!racism,!physical,!emotional,!equality,!equity,!
Functionalism,!conflict!theory!and!symbolic!interactionism,!all!show!how!they!can!make!
great!impact!on!students!learning.!They!all!interconnect!to!either!empower!or!disempower!
students!learning!experience!which!affect!them!for!the!rest!of!the!life.!Australian!needs!to!
make!it!priority!to!change!our!primary!Anglo>Australian!based!education!into!more!
culturally!diverse!based!education.!Teachers!and!future!teachers!should!stop!the!
assumption!that!non!English!speaking!background!students!will!be!educationally!at!risk.!
Teachers!should!be!trained!to!meet!the!need!of!all!students!of!different!races!and!ethnicity.!
Education!should!be!diverse!for!Australian!economic!future.!We!as!nation!have!multicultural!
environment!and!need!embrace!it!and!be!proud.!Standardised!testing!need!to!change!to!
cater!students!abilities!not!expectations.!Standardised!testing!marginalises!students!with!
non>English!background!at!risk!in!having!lower!grades.!This!discourages!students!to!improve!
within!themselves.!We!should!collectively!try!to!cater!for!all!student!without!discriminating!
them!if!theyre!from!non>!English!speaking!background.!Functionalism,!conflict!theory!and!
symbolic!interactionism!theories!help!teachers!understand!different!theories!of!race!to!
prevent!marginalising!students!in!their!classroom.!After!writing!this!essay,!it!helped!me!to!
find!different!approaches!to!prevent!students!with!different!race!and!ethnicity!being!
marginalised.!I!found!the!significance!of!teachers!impact!on!students!learning!with!affects!
them!for!the!rest!of!their!lives!that!leads!to!impacting!on!Australian!society!in!the!future!as!
a!whole.!
!

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