Diversity, Social Justice and Learning 102083: Assignment One

By Rachel Foster 17439190

Choose one contemporary social justice issue currently being focused upon in the
media (sexuality) and discuss how Australian schools are meeting the challenge of
equity and access for minority groups.
Sexuality is by no means a new issue in Australian society; it has been over the years
a more predominant and widely spoken about issue over the last decade. Students who
identify as gay, lesbian, transgender and so on face many different equality and equity
challenges within society, which can make school and life in general more difficult. It
is a personal belief that all students believe they have equal life chances; however
through certain challenges they face, diminishes these beliefs. Australia is still stuck
in a very functionalist view of mechanical solidarity along with other social theories
that interact with other ideas of inequality and equity such as gender and religious
views, alongside sexuality. Throughout this essay I endeavor to unpack and discuss
the issues faced by students who do not identify with the heteronormative ideals of
society by looking at social theories such as functionalism, intersectionality,
reflexivity, heteronormativity, post-modernism and gender. Firstly school based
sexual education will be discussed in regards to the challenges it presents to those that
are sexually different against dominant social values.

Equity means treating students fairly based on their individual needs, students who do
not associate with the dominant discourse of preferred sexuality face inequity and
inequality. An example of the inequality is seen through the school based sexual
education, the current curriculum is disconnected from the Australian changes in
societal patterns. Sexual education should focus on ideas of sexual rights and social
justice in order to combat heteronormativity and the changing landscape of Australian
society (Simovska and Kane, 2015). The absence of these ideas of sexuality in sexual

education takes away the autonomous choices an adolescent can make in regards to
their own sexuality, which in turn can lead to disassociation from others around them
and from school itself. Therefore it can be seen why adolescence that are gay, lesbian,
transgender and other can feel they are either misrepresented or ignored in the
Australian social landscape, as they are not the preferred norm within society. This
particular idea can be explained by functionalism as it imposes the idea that certain
systems need to be upheld so that the society can function effectively and efficiently,
and disruption to these functions are met with dissatisfaction.

In further discussion of the ideas of normal societal functions it is known that

sexuality that challenges the dominant discourses have been seen as taboo for many
years, and are often subjects people shy away from. However the exclusion of these
individuals, their rights and freedom can leave students disassociating themselves
with others around them and leaving school (Souza, 2016). Sexual diversity is an
issue being ignored by many schools and therefore in turn reinforcing ideas of
heteronormativity. Moreover heteronormativity and the attitudes alongside this idea
can damage a students or individuals ideas of worth and well being, seeing as success
in modern society is marked by inherent social and cultural values and morals;
individuals who choose to oppose these norms are socially shunned and
misrepresented in society. It is clear in many Australian schools that students who
identify as sexually different are not given access to many supportive groups or
individuals to help them understand the changes they wish to make. It is especially
present within Catholic High schools whom have very dominant religious values and
morals that are incorporated within the school curriculum and ideologies; where

students who are considered sexually different are sent to see religious members of
the society to discuss their indifferences (Insight, 2015).

Moreover it is evident that our dominant cultural and social discourses on sexuality
are enforced through school policies and ideologies. An attitude of homophobia and
discrimination in turn normalizes these behaviors; and are then cemented into the
school environment. A personal experience I can draw upon happened to my sister, we
both attended an all girl Catholic High School in the Western Suburbs of Sydney and
occurred before my sisters year twelve formal. Her boyfriend had broken his leg and
was not able to attend therefore my sister wanted to bring her best friend instead to
share the occasion with. When my sister approached her year coordinator she was sent
to have a meeting with our current school principal and was to explain the exact
nature as to why she was bringing another girl, and was to explicitly tell everyone that
they were going as friends which they were anyway. At that current time I did not
fully understand the complexities behind the actions the principal had taken, it is only
now that I realize the discrimination and injustice that can be placed on students who
do wish to bring same sex partners to school functions and activities without having to
hide the fact that they are together. The intersection between sexuality and religion is
a large contributing factor into why many students would face inequalities. The power
relations in place on the basis of religion are tightly coerced into these kinds of
schools and it is clear how some students who do have same sex partners would feel
excluded and judged at a religious high school.

On another aspect, there are many dominant discourses within Australia that effect
issues of sexuality such as marriage laws, social media orientation, bathrooms, school

change rooms, sport teams and so on. Firstly the absence of same sex marriage laws
within Australia displays a very powerful and dominant message to society, it leaves
questions lingering and is largely due to the strong habitus of religious history
cemented in Australian culture. However if Ireland who is a stronger religious
Catholic society can make a positive change towards equity, then it leaves large holes
of political agenda within our Australian landscape. Moreover social media is the
largest platform for sharing globally and majority of these sites such as Facebook,
Twitter and Instagram still ask for people to determine if they are male or female, this
small exclusion of those who not identify with a specific sexual orientation needs to
be adjusted for reflexive thinking. Furthermore there is an ideology that sexual
orientation is a choice rather than a personal attribute and strong gender stereotypes
also feed into the inequalities many gay, lesbian and transgender individuals face in
society. In addition these prejudices marginalize students significantly through taking
away choice and freedom of things such as bathroom options, sporting teams and
curriculum. Schools are dominant power holders within society and through exclusion
can suppress and ignore certain issues that may disrupt their ideologies and values.

In further explanation, a specific example that illustrates these discourses can be seen
through the sexual education curriculum, which enforces the dominant discourses in
Australia. Adolescence is often viewed as a time of sexual development and sexual
identity (Meyers, 2010), however in many public schools boys and girls are separated
for sexual education discussions again excluding those who do not identify with a
certain sex. Moreover the absence of sexual education in some schools is explained
through the idea that it is a disruption from academic study and promotes that ideas of
sexuality and the body are not important aspects of adolescences (Allen, 2007). In

addition the dominant discourse of gender and preferred sexuality is cemented in

sexual education within Australia. A reflexive ideological approach to sexual
education in schools is needed to address the changes in social and cultural world.
Lastly the curriculum of sexual education is indicative of the power relations within
society and the discourses they enforce and support.

A theoretical framework that surrounds issues of sexuality is functionalism among

many others; schools and teachers reinforce the systems and ideologies set out by the
government and by those in society who have power to maintain certain ideals and
values upon others. However when students start to challenge these frameworks and
question why certain ideals are above all else, it disrupts these functions and their
effectiveness to work. There is a mechanical element to this kind of functionalism the
idea that there is a consensus of values by all member of the society and these beliefs
are based on conformity and dependence of certain values and morals. Therefore the
inequalities and inequities for those who experience exclusion due to their sexuality
and questioning of society can lead to the breakdown of relationships with those
around them, a doubt of self worth and can effect school performance (Ward, 2010).

Lastly I believe it is important to address a positive take on the idea of sexuality and
schools. S. J Miller developed a program called the Queer Literacy Framework and
it is designed to allow students to discover their self-determination and identity; which
can in turn foster a sense of safety for students in schools. Adolescence in todays
society are even more distancing themselves from gender and sexual labels, which is
why the QLF is now more than ever important as it aims to interrupt the notions of
normativity and address the challenges faced by these adolescents (Miller, 2015).

Miller believes that programs such as these should be included in pre-service teacher
education, so as to address and prepare them to deal with these issues in their
classrooms as oppose to ignoring them. This sort of thinking relates to ideas of postmodernism and the idea of social convention and emphasis on diversity, acceptance
and change. However programs such as these place stress on pre-service teachers to
try and incorporate these social justice issues into an already tightly wound
curriculum; it is the challenge of pre-service teachers to learn how to incorporate such
ideas and learn how to effect the teacher community as a whole.

In conclusion, I decided to undertake this particular social justice issue to examine, as

it is an issue that does not affect me personally. Therefore I felt it was important to
understand the complexities of this social justice issue so that I can have reflexive and
inclusive teaching practices. I have discovered that sexuality is a very diverse and
complex issue within Australian society and that it intersects with many other social
issues such as gender and religion. Furthermore I have found that sexuality
incorporates many different theories such as functionalism, post-modernism,
intersectionality, heteronormativity, gender and reflexivity. Throughout this essay I
believe I have set forward many complex issues surrounding sexuality for the wider
community and mainly adolescence students in schools. Australian society and
schools have a long way to come in terms of creating an equitable environment for
students who are sexually different to the norms set out by society. Even though there
have been some small positive changes in schools around Australia and more
discussions are being had within society about sexuality and social justice there is still
a long way to go so as to have equality and equity for this social issue.

Reference List:
Allen, L. (2007). Denying the sexual subject: schools' regulation of student sexuality.
British Educational Research Journal, 33(2), 221-234.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01411920701208282

De Plevitz, L. (2005). Take- Home Lessons for Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and
Bisexual School Students. Altjl, 30(4), 180-182.

Insight SBS,. (2011). Gay in School. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3hTgzE7ZCo

Miller, S. (2015). A Queer Literacy Framework Promoting (A) Gender and (A)
Sexuality Self-Determination and Justice. National Council Of Teachers Of English,
104(5), 37-43.

Simovska, V. & Kane, R. (2015). Sexuality education in different contexts: limitations

and possibilities. Health Education, 115(1), 2-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/he-102014-0093

Souza, E., Espinosa, L., Silva, J., & Santos, C. (2016). Inclusion of Sexual Diversity
in Schools: Teachers' Conception. REMIE, 6(2), 152.
http://dx.doi.org/10.17583/remie.2016.2004

Ward, R. (2010). Safe Schools for All. Teacher Leadership, n/a(n/a), 1-3.

Wilkinson, L. & Pearson, J. (2013). High School Religious Context and Reports of
Same-Sex Attraction and Sexual Identity in Young Adulthood. Social Psychology
Quarterly, 76(2), 180-202. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0190272513475458