Today, issues regarding multiculturalism, or the entire subject matter of
multiculturalism, are constantly all over news headlines. It is thought that we
as Australians, being in Australia, a country surrounded by multiculturalism
and built upon the ignition of these cultural influences, would have no issues
with this mundane feature of our nation. I have discovered that this view is
both true and unfortunately false – only to some extent - as the treatment of
multiculturalism and the education provided in schools about living in a culturally
diverse nation, are constantly fluctuating and been constantly revised and
developed over time.
Poster - 'Multiculturalism, Our Nation Was Built On It',
circa 1987-1995, http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/items/1143769/poster-multiculturalism-our-nation-was-built-on-it-circa-1987-1995
Australia has
come a long way since the official abolition of the ‘white Australia’ policy in
1973. Ives (2011) states in his article in the Sydney Morning Herald that “Australia's multicultural policy has
changed these preconceived attitudes forever. "White" Australia's
culture has evolved…Even the most ignorant among us have been unable to resist
adopting some of the customs, turns of phrase, etiquette and fashion of our
immigrant Australians. This by-product of our multicultural policy is what's
unique.”
In 2011, an article by
Bruce McDougall highlighted the first ever time schools would actually train
their students “in "cultural
competency" during classes as part of the Gillard Government's plan to
boost support for multiculturalism and outlaw negative attitudes.” Learning to
cope and live in a multicultural society was now officially apart of the school
curriculum. This is evidence of Australians constantly attempting to peacefully
live amongst the cultural diversity. In an Lifestyle’s article in 2013, it is
mentioned by that it is "mostly young
people" who have developed an educated, civilized approach towards
multiculturalism proving that learning to acquire this skill in school is
effective. Ho (2011) states that people are constantly
communicating with different cultural beings, especially in schools. Ho (2011) dubs this educated view of
adapting to Australian multiculturalism as ‘everyday multiculturalism’ where individual’s
continuously encounter others with cultural differences on an daily basis and
engage with them in a fluid and rational manner. It enables
Australians to “transcend cultural
boundaries”. (Wise and Velayutham 2009, Butcher and Harris 2010; cited in Ho,
2011).
In Lifestyle’s article written in 2013, it appropriately states “MOST Australians think multiculturalism works well, with only occasional
problems.” This view of multiculturalism states that although Australia is a
fine multicultural nation, there have been some issues regarding the
relationships amongst the wide range of cultures. These unfortunate, negative approaches towards multiculturalism include; ‘home-grown terrorism’,
racial riots, ethnic gangs, and so forth. These are times where some have not properly learnt to cope or adapt to this range of
cultures. However,
Ho (2011) argues that what is broadcasted on popular media is generally mostly,
or only, focused on the catastrophic
situations and moments of unease and anxiety surrounding this cultural
diversity. Christina Ho (2011) has researched migration, multiculturalism and
cultural citizenship in Australia and she has explored the ways in which
Australians and their youth in schools have come to educate themselves in
relation to dealing with multiculturalism and have learned to adapt to a nation
with cultural diversity as they are constantly surrounded by others with
different cultures and cultural influences in everyday life at school.
I believe every
individual learns to deal with multiculturalism differently and as everyday
passes, Australians learn to deal with multiculturalism in a much more civilised
manner.
References:
Butcher, M. and Harris,
A. 2010. Pedestrian crossings: young people and everyday multiculturalism.
Journal of intercultural studies, 31 (5), 449_453.
Ho, C.
(2011). Respecting the Presence of Others: School Micropublics and
Everyday Multiculturalism, Journal of Intercultural Studies, 32:6, 603-619
Ives, M. February 17, 2011, Everyday Australians make multiculturalism work, http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/everyday-australians-make-multiculturalism-work-20110217-1axoj.html#ixzz2gocAM04M.
Lifestyle, January 24,
2013, “Galaxy poll shows most
Australians think multiculturalism works well” http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/galaxy-poll-shows-most-australians-think-multiculturalism-works-well/story-fneszs56-1226560409721
McDougall,
B. September 05, 2011,“Australian school curriculum to force acceptance of multiculturalism”, http://www.news.com.au/national-news/textbook-approach-to-multiculturalism/story-e6frfkvr-1226129336796
Wise, A. and Velayutham,
S. eds. 2009. Everyday multiculturalism. London: Palgrave Macmillan
Hi Jennifer! You’re perspective on dealing with Multiculturalism is very intriguing. I definitely agree when you say that “every individual learns to deal with Multiculturalism differently”. This is true since everyone has their own distinctive perception of the meaning of Multiculturalism. Each person is bought up to respond to the notion of Multiculturalism in a particular way, and this way may differ from another person. I was educated in a Private Catholic girls high-school where students came from many different cultures so I was forced to learn about their different ethnicities and would observe their everyday behaviours even if I did not agree with them. However, I was not exposed to any other religions other than Christianity so the school had compensated for this lack of cultural knowledge through studies on other religions such as Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. As stated in your post above, this allowed me to “deal with multiculturalism in a much more civilized manner”.
ReplyDeleteIn your blog post, you mentioned that the article by Bruce McDougall (2011) talked about the first ever time schools that would actually train their students “in “cultural competency” during classes as part of the Gillard Governments plan”. I believe that although this is a great attempt to “boost support for multiculturalism and outlaw negative attitudes”, some schools are restricted to a particular culture such as Lebanese Schools or Muslim Schools where students all share the same ethnicity – according to Wells, Lopez, Scott and Holme, “the goals and purposes of education in some communities may be more about creating schools that reflect a particular cultural heritage”(1999, pp.174-75). I think the students in these types of schools are definitely able to acquire some skills to view other cultures in a positive light, but are more limited in learning compared to schools where multiculturalism is more prominent in the student and teacher population.
This was a very insightful post and I really enjoyed reading it! :)
References:
•Wells, A. Lopez, A. Scott, J & Holme, J. 1999. Charter schools as postmodern paradox: Rethinking social stratification in an age of deregulated. Harvard Educational Review, 69(2), 172-204.