DIVERSITY, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND LEARNING – ASSESSMENT TASK 1 – QUESTION 1– ETHAN SAIS

INTERSECTIONS OF RACE, ETHNICITY AND CLASS

Australian schools are extremely diverse considering that 23% of students are from a

language background other than English (LBOTE) and 4% are of an Indigenous background

(Hartsuyker, 2007 cited in Bassit and Santoro, 2011). In response to this diversity many governing

bodies have often striven to inforce policies and programs that instil a greater equity amongst

students from diverse backgrounds. Despite this it is still evident that inequity exists and permeates

throughout the Australian education system. Students who are predominantly impacted upon by

inequity often fall into categories that identify them through their ethnic, socioeconomic or racial

difference. These are contrasted to the dominant norms that permeate throughout our social and

political spheres, usually expressing inequity that impacts upon individuals who intersect between

several of these categories. As a discourse culture, can be very broadly defined concept (Watkins,

2011). However, for this essay we will look at culture as source of economic, ethnic, racial, sexual or

social difference to the dominant norm experienced throughout modern Australia and its influences

and implications on education. This essay will look at the social justice issues faced by students that

find themselves either identifying as or perceived as the “other” (Watkins, 2015, p.147) to the

dominant norm and how teachers are equipped to help enhance these student’s opportunities and

provide them with greater life chances.

The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA, 2008)

identified that Australian schools need to make substantial enhancements to the education of

Indigenous Australians and improve the outcomes of students from low socio-economic

backgrounds. (MCEETYA, 2008) In order to achieve these improvements the declaration outlines two

goals; the first being the promotion of equity and excellence in our schools focussing on ensuring

schools are free from discrimination, that all students meet the same learning outcomes of more

privileged students particularly that of indigenous students, as well as ensuring that socio-economic

disadvantage does not limit students educational outcomes by facilitating diverse and open-minded

school communities. (MCEETYA. 2008) The second furthers this notion of equity by aiming to ensure

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that all students become “successful learners”, “confident and creative individuals” and “active and

informed citizens” (MCEETYA, 2008, p.7). The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting

Authority (ACARA) based the Australian curriculum on progressing towards meeting the goals and

ideologies set out in the Melbourne Declaration. These include the implementation of ‘general

capabilities’ tackling many areas of significance, however the most relevant of which to student

inequity is that of “Intercultural understanding” (ACARA, 2013, p.17). This capability ensures

students have the capacity to value their own culture, languages and beliefs and in turn learn to

values those of others (ACARA, 2013). Watkins argues this approach is far more beneficial for

students than multicultural education as it draws from many interrelated factors of culture and

identity that go well beyond the ethnic focus consistently seen in multicultural discourse. (Watkins,

2015)

Furthermore, the Australian curriculum has also attempted to meet the Melbourne

Declaration’s educational goals through the use of cross-curriculum priorities (CCP) which were

developed in an attempt to deliver a contemporary, relevant and engaging curriculum that

addressed issues of significance to students and society. These include; “Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander histories and cultures, Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia, and Sustainability”

(ACARA, 2013, p,18). The idea behind these CCPs is to address these under represented issues in our

schools by weaving them throughout all learning areas and activities. Providing students with a

discourse around these issues while developing their “knowledge, understanding and skills” (ACARA,

2013, p,18). This is far beyond the tokenistic coverage that has often transpired through

multicultural education. Burnett and McArdle (2011) suggest that multiculturalism as a core federal

policy has served to achieve economic and political ends rather than social ones and is often seen

used to manage diversity rather than foster it (Watkins, 2015). Watkins suggests that multicultural

education in the Australian context denotes a sense of exclusion as those who differ from the

cultural norm of the “Anglo mainstream” are cast and viewed as the binary “other” (Watkins, 2015,

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p.147). It is clear that in its attempts to do so multicultural policies, practices and education tend to

tokenise and “essentialise” (Ang cited in Watkins, 2015, p.149) ethnicity as the most significant

element of a person’s identity discounting other factors like class, gender, education, and sexuality

that can contribute to the construct of one’s identity (Ang, cited in Watkins, 2015).

Forrest Lean and Dunn highlight that Australia is a “post-colonial immigrant society” (2015,

p.633) stuck in a binary that sees multicultural values coexisting with the dominance of white

Australian culture. These values are constructed and normalised by teachers and society often

pitting the binary notion of white against non-white and norm against other (Forrest, Lean and

Dunn, 2015). A postcolonial perspective on multiculturalism highlights the pervasive legacy of

Australia’s colonial past and its persistence into modern discourses of “self and national identity”

and “white domination” (Watkins, 2015, p.151). Furthermore, applying a structuralist approach to

multiculturalism highlights the “social constructedness” of multiculturalism in creating a binary

between the dominant culture and the ethnic other often expressed through experiences “inclusion

and exclusion” (Watkins, 2015, p.152). Brubaker suggests that notions of “ethnicity, race and

nationhood” (Brubaker cited in Watkins, 2015, p.153) only exist through and are shaped by the

social interpretations and interactions of the world. This informs Bhabha notion of “hybrid

identities” a space that sees culture intersect to form one’s identity. Maher (2010) also discusses

how dominant cultures often pit foreign cultures as the other due to the dominant cultures inability

to recognise the pervasiveness and existence their own culture. Maher (2010) discusses the

implications of a program that unites two schools from different countries having them connect with

each other and discuss their own cultures. Providing students with ample opportunity to recognise

that not only do they themselves have culture but that culture is subjective and continually

changing. Maher also found that many students started to inhabit a constructivist view of their

cultural identity. As they considered themselves to have “dual cultural identities” (Maher, 2010,

p.15). As a future educator, I have come to understand that multicultural education is not robust

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enough to compensate for the inherent inequities embedded in our post-colonial society. I now

recognise that I must reflect on my own perceptions of culture particularly recognising the

intersections of hybrid identities in order to foster a more equitable classroom for diverse students.

Despite the diversity of our schools, teaching as a profession remains predominantly “Anglo-

Celtic” and “monolingual” in nature (Mckenzie et al., 2008, cited in Bassit and Santoro, 2011, p.37).

This is clearly reflected in the Australian education system, particularly in relation to the topics that

the Australian Curriculum enforces and the assessment standards and content covered by the

National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). It is clear that the Anglo-centric

domination over the education system clearly asserts the power and control that the dominant

culture has in establishing knowledge and societal norms it deems to be important. This clearly

draws from Foucault’s notion of “governmentality” (Creagh, 2013, p.259). Creagh (2013) uses this

Foucauldian lens to explore the issues of standardised testing and its impact upon students in using

statistical data to establish the norm versus other binary within the Australian context. Foucault

theory of “governmentality” (Creagh, 2013, p.259) informs us of how power functions within society.

That knowledge is shaped by power and is often seen from a western perspective which reinforces

western culture as dominant (Creagh, 2013). NAPLAN is a true example of governmentality, this is

evidenced by its focus on statistically monitoring and reporting the academic achievement of

students thereby establishing the power of surveillance. This consequently, asserts dominance over

not only students but also teachers based on the implications of the monitoring process executed

through the ‘My School’ website. Therefore, reinforcing Wu and Hornsby’s (2012) argument that the

NAPLAN is used as tool for deducing the strengths and weaknesses of teachers and schools where

they can assert power and control over the level of achievement students reach.

The Australian Curriculum and the NAPLAN’s emphasis on “teaching the basics” (Creagh,

2013, p,169) reinforces the current distribution of power and knowledge that effectively maintains

the status quo and has enormous benefits for the governing culture/class. The Melbourne

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Declaration indicates that assessment should be based upon the National curriculum (MCEETYA,

2008, p.14) hence the development of the NAPLAN. Wu and Hornsby argue that achievement should

go beyond the abilities of numeracy and literacy and include aspects like creativity and critical

thinking (2012). Therefore, the notion of a standardised national literacy and numeracy test is highly

provocative, as it permits political and economic influences to dictate the legitimacy or importance

of certain types of intelligences and knowledge as well as dictate the expectations thrusted upon

students who are disadvantaged by their socio-economic, ethnic or LBOTE status. This inequity has

recently been thrown into the spot light with the new Literacy and Numeracy standards that

students regardless of their back ground must achieve in order to receive a HSC. (Raper and Gerathy,

ABC News, 2016) The standardised nature of NAPLAN is also seen by May and Dooley to present test

items that are “underpinned by linguistic and contextual assumptions” (2013, p.4) derived from the

dominant culture. Policies like these will obviously have a huge impact on how I provide each

student regardless of their background with the same opportunities and life chances. It is also

important to recognise the added pressure that will be placed upon me as a teacher when the future

of my students’ tertiary educational prospects are hinged on meeting standards set out through a

culturally hegemonic system.

Creagh (2013) identifies that the NAPLAN’s use of a LBOTE category is too broad. This

suggests that students who are of indigenous, refugee and non-English speaking backgrounds are

likely to be grouped together and falsely represent their overall performance (Creagh, 2013). she

therefore suggests there is no way to discern and identify any aspects that could show a link

between ethnicity and performance (Creagh, 2013). Watkins argues that not only do factors like

ethnicity and a cultural background effect a student’s achievement but their socio-economic

background also has a gargantuan impact. (Watkins, 2011). Although Watkins research shows that

this is not always the case, particularly when it comes to the achievement of students from low SES

Chinese backgrounds (2011). Therefore, one can assume that cultural background, which in this case

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INTERSECTIONS OF RACE, ETHNICITY AND CLASS

indicates values surrounding education can have a huge impact on a child’s performance. For me this

notion of cultural values and its impact upon academic achievement reinforces the illegitimacy and

futility of the NAPLAN data collection process. Creagh argues that the LBOTE category has the

capacity to conceal the “educational disadvantage” (Creagh, 2016, p.253) of refugee students. In the

future, these intercultural influences will have a huge impact on how I conduct my lessons. To avoid

perpetuating the disadvantage experienced by students who are group together because they do

not fit into the dominant norm of academic achievement.

According to Boutte, Robertson and Costello Institutionalised racism refers to a set of social

structures, policies, practices, cultures, norms and customs which culminate in persistent patterns of

inequity experienced by students of colour all the while advancing white students (Boutte,

Robertson and Costello, 2011). Furthermore, they identify notions of identity and understandings of

racism are based on “lived experiences” (Boutte, et al., 2011, p.337) of racism. They recommend

that teachers need to reflect on their own notions of race and identity and how they have been

informed by their racial experiences and beliefs (Boutte et al., 2011). Evidently, they too do not

subscribe to the tokenistic approach of multicultural education that can reinforce racial

stereotyping. Instead they suggest that anti-racist ideologies and notions should be incorporated

into the curriculum itself (Boutte et al., 2011). It is clear that the Australian curriculum has tried to

incorporate a similar approach in through the use of Cross-Curriculum Priorities. This is clearly not

reflected in the inequity that students of EALD, LBOTE and indigenous backgrounds that taking the

NAPLAN tests, face in their efforts to achieve results that truly demonstrate their capabilities. Harris

suggests that options for alternative and enhanced assessments should be implemented for

students that fall into categories outside the dominant norm of student culture. (Harris cited in May

and Dooley, 2013). These policies have led me to consider that the education system does not

provide these students with the same opportunities or life chances that students from other

backgrounds are privy too.

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It is evident that the current form of standardised testing is inequitable for most student of

disadvantaged backgrounds these include Low SES, indigenous, LBOTE, Refugee and migrant

backgrounds. In fact, it can be seen that the entire education system is inequitable towards these

groups and therefore must be redeveloped to accommodate these students and provide them with

a greater opportunity for advancement and life chances than what their current circumstances

prescribe. This has developed somewhat since the 2008 Melbourne Declaration, which heralded the

introduction of intercultural understanding and CCPs. These policies have provided school

nationwide with tools to address inequity in our classrooms and promote a more accepting and

culturally aware society.

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Basit, T. N. & Santoro, N. (2011, February). Playing the role of ‘cultural expert’: teachers of ethnic
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Boutte, G. S., Robertson, J.L. & Costello, C.P. (2011, August). Moving Beyond Colorblindness in Early
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