EDC140 – Assignment 2

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Curtin University *

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Sociology

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Apr 3, 2024

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EDC140 – Assignment 2 Caroline Reed 21067840 PART 1: Synthesis Learner diversity Diversity amongst the student population in Australia is generally increasing, reflecting the greater levels of diversity being experienced across broader Australian society. Australian schools now typically teach students from a range of different ethnic, cultural, socio- demographic and religious backgrounds. Learner diversity studies some of these differences that are identifiable in children and young people, and how the practices of schools and educators can exclude, normalise and disadvantage some students (Gowlett, 2017, p.353). It is argued by Gowlett (2017, p. 354) that in some instances formal schooling can further disadvantage and marginalise students who are not meeting educational success in Australia. Gowlett uses the completion of year 12 as a key example of educational success. As outlined in his chapter, Gowlett, (2017 p. 354) identifies large discrepancies in the completion of year 12 rates based on contributing factors such as gender, location, social class, language background and indigenous status. Based on Gowlett’s (2017, p.355) research, an indigenous male located in a rural area has a significantly lower chance of completing year 12 than a female student located in Victoria. From this, it can be seen how crucial it is for a teacher to understand these factors and more importantly, be able to identify practices in their teaching which may have these negative effects. Another study, by Hayes (2013, p. 1) explores the reasons why some students achieve consistently better results in school than their peers. In her study, Hayes discusses learning diversities and explores how students who endure hardships or other marginalisation in society are more likely to perform worse than more affluent students. One of the reasons for this, as highlighted by Hayes (2013, p. 11) is that most teachers are members of the middle class, based on their qualifications and income. This results in most schools embedding middle class values and practices. As a result, students who are also a part of the middle class, are more likely to feel comfortable in school, giving them a better opportunity for educational success than students from a working-class background. By contrast, students from a working-class background generally feel less accustomed to the education they are receiving and therefore perform worse than their peers. This study highlights the importance of teachers being able to recognise learning diversities in their classroom, particularly given how much influence their response has on their student’s ability to learn and by consequence, their futures in adult life. Socio-economic disadvantage and the virtual schoolbag Socio-economic disadvantage and the virtual schoolbag explore the past of school education in Australia and its connection to socio-economic and educational imbalance. As previously noted, students from low-paid areas, or who are underprivileged, generally struggle to gain the benefits from education in contrast to students from mid to higher socio-demographic backgrounds (McGregor, 2017, p. 373). A major global issue today is social and economic disadvantage, particularly in the schooling system. McGregor (2017, p. 375) identifies the reasons for educational inequality and how factors such as social status in students, including their family’s wealth, parent's occupation and where they are located, affect educational outcomes. McGregor (2017, p. 375) discusses how the factors which result in students experiencing schooling disengagement strongly relate to their social-economic status. If a student is experiencing lack of interest in their learning and participation in school to the point where they will leave the system, it is more likely they come from an unstable, low economic or neglectful background. In her research, McGregor (2017, p. 384) looks at what the Australian educational systems and educators do to assist disadvantaged students. She explains how teachers must look closely and use each child's 'virtual school bag'; the constructive elements (skills, knowledge, experiences, expertise) which a child brings with

EDC140 – Assignment 2 Caroline Reed 21067840 them to school from their home and community background and their previous experience. In doing so, this embraces the term ‘meaningful learning’ which helps teachers to assist their students in planning a virtual school bag of what knowledge, skills and aspirations they can bring to their own learning experience in the classroom as well as preparation for that student’s next stages of life (McGregor, 2017, p. 384). It is acknowledged by Windle (2017, p. 177) that students who come from a low socio-economic status do not gain the benefits of education that students who come from a high socio-economic status background. Windle (2017, p. 177) states that the education received by a student plays a vital role in a student’s future of employment prospects, earnings, wellbeing and health. Therefore, students who are from marginalised and disadvantaged groups largely experience less success at school and have a lower chance of achieving economic success in the future. As a result, the role of a teacher is extremely important especially when assisting a student in developing their virtual backpack and can be the difference between a student feeling encouraged or feeling completely out of place. Gender, sexuality and popular culture Gender and sexuality can influence the way teachers educate in the classroom, and how such methods may be based on stereotypes and cause a disadvantage to some learners (Pearce, 2017, p.195). The same is similar with consumerism and popular culture. Consumerism and popular culture actively affect who people are, as individuals, and these also frame who people become and who people see others becoming (McGraw, 2017 p. 244). This would also affect the way a teacher creates their curriculum. There is no broad consensus for the definition of the term ‘curriculum’ and as argued by Pearce (2017, p. 199) the curriculum is in no way impartial because official curriculum always reflects the creator’s own viewpoint. This includes the decisions educators make about how to organise their educational plan, especially when it comes to teacher's attitudes and ideas about sex, gender and sexuality. It can be assumed that if for example a teacher has grown up believing males have specific roles in the workforce that differ from female role opportunities then it is more likely they will base their curriculum around this belief. However, according to Pearce, (2017, p. 199) schools and teachers can take mindful measures to introduce some ideas that might enable children and young people to think differently about stereotypes. This can be done through redesigning an appropriate curriculum and promoting an understanding that by “accepting stereotypes unthinkingly, we limit our understanding of the complexity of human beings and their social relationships” (Pearce, 2017, p. 200). Whether consciously or not, teachers and schools play a major role in how differences such as gender or sexuality are perceived as well as re-establishing beliefs about students who do not fit the accepted standards. Ultimately, teachers must think more cautiously about which practices will be most positive and productive for learners. Australia’s history and Indigenous Education Justice There is a strong need for educators to recognise the cultural diversity that occurs in the learning setting, and to create cultural competence based on Australia's long and intricate history and its cultures (Rudolph, 2017 p. 289). Rudolph (2017, p 289) also makes the point that teachers should focus on issues relating to Australian Indigenous Education that were created by colonialism. Education (and society) need to work towards educational justice for Indigenous peoples. As mentioned a few times, one key approach to addressing issues of social diversity is to examine the norms and stereotypes that exist about ethnic and cultural groups. As suggested by Rudolph (2017, p.292) it would be beneficial for teachers to develop their knowledge of various social groups, including the history and lived experiences of these groups, enabling them to share this learning of different languages and cultures with their students. This generates a more welcoming learning setting for all students.

EDC140 – Assignment 2 Caroline Reed 21067840 In Adam’s (2019) article she discusses the concern of early learning centres having a lack of culturally diverse books, stating that out of the five centres she studied only 5% of books contained social diversity. This issue Adam (2019) raises in her article is that the lack of books containing cultural diversity creates children from minority groups to feel isolated. This is due to the fact that the majority of books they are reading contain mostly white culture stories and characters. Adam makes a call to have more culturally diverse books in schools and early learning centres to help combat this issue. The importance of teachers engaging more with Australia’s past history, especially in indigenous culture and the huge need for more culturally diverse books in the classroom offers the opportunity for beneficial change in the curriculum, classrooms and relationships, ensuring educational success for all learners. Curriculum, planning and assessment As now known, the term ‘curriculum’ is quite ambiguous. There is no set definition to the word, as people/ organisations/governments/employers interpret it differently pending the context and purpose (Fleet, 2017, p.421). Choices about the curriculum and key components of learning in both primary and secondary schooling—such as planning, learning approaches and assessment—are often made by the educator (Walker, 2017, p. 454). It is stated in Walker (2017. P. 454) that when a teacher is deciding the design of their curriculum, student characteristics such as gender or ability contribute to this decision making. Therefore it cannot be over emphasised of how important it is for educators to receive a thorough, comprehensive education about cultural diversities as it largely impacts the design of their curriculum and the learnings they teach in the classroom. PART 2: Story When I was a child, I went to Primary School with a family called the Smiths. The Smith family were friends with my family, their parents knew my parents and each of my siblings were friends with their children. The father, John, worked for the United Nations, assisting the people of East Timor during the civil war which was ongoing at the time. My Primary School was a catholic school, located in an affluent inner-city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria and most of the children who attended the school were of Anglo-Saxon ancestry. One day we had a special assembly, where our principal introduced students to Ecku, a 10- year-old boy from East Timor. The information given to us at the assembly was that John Smith had met Ecku and his family through his work in East Timor. Ecku was the eldest child in his family and wanted to receive an education in Australia, with the aim of going back and helping his family. John Smith was able to organise for Ecku to come to Australia and he would stay with their family while he studied. Everyone at school was fascinated by Ecku. He was much taller than most of the students, he had dark skin and thick curly hair. I remember first meeting him on the playground, he had a deep voice for a 10-year-old and he barely spoke English. My older brother and him were the same age and in the same class. My brother would constantly come home and tell us stories about him and we soon found out that he had been through some extremely traumatic experiences in East Timor. His country was in civil war and his community had been overtaken by militia with many civilians killed in the process. At school, Ecku was two years older than me and I can remember a time when his classroom teacher brough him into our class and asked if he could sit with us. At the time everyone was excited, however I later became aware that the reason was that the teacher did not know how to teach someone who spoke limited english. The teacher thought putting Ecku into a

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EDC140 – Assignment 2 Caroline Reed 21067840 more rudimentary class would be the best solution for him. In hindsight, I recall sensing Ecku feeling out of place and embarrassed, having to learn with children who were two years younger than him. Other students in my class would laugh when Ecku would have difficulty reading and it clearly had a detrimental affect on his self-esteem. My brother told us that his classroom teacher would sometimes get frustrated with Ecku because he could not communicate properly. The teacher would avoid asking Ecku questions and would not pay much attention to him. As a result, Ecku was not receiving the education he required, something that was extremely saddening given all he had sacrificed to move to Australia. In retrospect, our school did not cater well for students with cultural differences. A lot of the teachers were tied to their rigid curriculum and found it hard to broaden their teachings to include different cultural aspects. This lack of cultural knowledge was then reflected in the behaviour of students at the school as well. A lot of the students did not understand why Ecku spoke differently from us and couldn’t comprehend or empathise with the world in which he came from. I imagine a lot of the schools in Melbourne during this period would have been similar for students of different cultural backgrounds. During the early 2000’s in Melbourne, teaching of other cultures within the education system was poor by modern standards, particularly in affluent and more homogenous suburbs. It makes me sad to think about the way Ecku was treated. His experience was predominantly due to the absence of understanding social diversities in the educational system. Today, I believe that teachers and schools are far more accepting of cultural differences. Initiatives such as ‘culture days’ take places at schools and there is far more awareness and understanding of social diversities. The educational system still has room for further improvement, however I believe the experience of students with diverse cultural backgrounds, such as Ecku would be significantly better than the past. PART 3: Connection I based my narrative on the topic of Australia’s history and Indigenous Education Justice. Although my narrative was not based on any indigenous people, it explores issues faced by students of culturally diverse backgrounds, similar to what may be experienced by indigenous students. My narrative explores topics consistent with the research of Rudolph (2017, p.292), which highlights the benefits of teachers developing their knowledge of various social groups, including the history and lived experiences of these groups. Increased knowledge enables teachers to share their learnings of different languages and cultures with their students and generates a more welcoming learning setting for all students. As a teacher, I would hope all my students received the best possible education and it is up to me ensure I understand where each of my students come from and use this to enhance their learning. References Adam, H.J. (2019). Five tips to make school bookshelves more diverse and five books to get you started. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/five-tips-to-make-school- bookshelves-more-diverse-and-five-books-to-get-you-started-110718 Fleet, A. (2017). Planning, programming and embedding curriculum. in B. Gobby & R. Walker (Eds.), Powers of curriculum: Sociological perspectives on education (pp. 421-444). Oxford University Press.

EDC140 – Assignment 2 Caroline Reed 21067840 Gowlett, C. & Niesche, R. (2017). Learner diversity and school practices. In B. Gobby & R. Walker (Eds.), Powers of Curriculum: Sociological perspectives on education (pp. 353- 372). Oxford University Press. Hayes, D. (2013). Young people and schools. In R. Connell, A. Welch, M. Vickers, et al. (Eds.), Education, change and society (pp. 1-15). Oxford University Press. McGregor, G. & Mills, M. (2017). The virtual schoolbag and pedagogies of engagement. In B. Gobby & R. Walker. (Eds.), Powers of curriculum: Sociological perspectives on education (pp. 372-392). Oxford University Press. McGraw, K. (2017). Identity formation: Consumerism and popular culture. In B. Gobby & R. Walker (Eds.), Powers of Curriculum: Sociological perspectives on education (pp. 242-264). Oxford University Press. Pearce, J. (2017). The trap of binary thinking: Problematising gender and social disadvantage. In B. Gobby & R. Walker (Eds.), Powers of curriculum: Sociological perspectives on education (pp. 194-214). Oxford University Press. Rudolph, S. & Brown, L. (2017). Understanding the techniques of colonialism: Indigenous educational justice. In B. Gobby & R. Walker (Eds.), Powers of curriculum: Sociological perspectives on education (pp. 288-320). Oxford University Press. Walker, R. (2017). Student-centred approaches to planning in primary and secondary schools. In Gobby & R. Walker (Eds.), Powers of curriculum: Sociological perspectives on education (pp. 445-470). Oxford University Press. Windle, J. (2017). The education system and SES: Mapping disadvantage. In B. Gobby & R. Walker (Eds.), Powers of curriculum: Sociological perspectives on education (pp. 169-192).

EDC140 – Assignment 2

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