Multiculturalism in schools

Schools should be multicultural as it is a suitable environment for young people to learn about cultural diversity. In a Sydney Morning Herald article ‘1600 students, 69 languages, one school’ it mentions that schools in Sydney’s west or south west have the highest percentage of students with a language background other than English. For example, in Bankstown Public School, 99.1 per cent of students speak another language other than English while Cabramatta Public School has 95.9 per cent of students who fall into the same category (LBOTE). Having schools with students who come from different ethnic background is positive as according to Professor Hugo “schools are an important way for families to settle into a local community, so that’s a positive sign.” Furthermore, multiculturalism is also important in schools as it is a way to teach students the concept of diversity. When students are forced to face students from different cultural backgrounds, they will gradually learn how each culture has their own belief systems, norms, rituals and overall, way of life. This can result in students at a young age learning how to accept and tolerate difference and therefore, when they leave high school, and progress into different environments such as the workforce, they will not be faced with culture shock. Furthermore, schools are a place where individuals experience bullying, racism and unfairness hence, by having more schools multicultural; it is a method of campaigning against racism.

 So what has the education system been doing in regards to multiculturalism? In the article ‘Australian school curriculum to force acceptance of multiculturalism’ by Bruce McDougall, it mentions how school students have been forced to accept multiculturalism by embedding it in the national curriculum. Students are being trained in “cultural competency” during class as a method to support multiculturalism and to get rid of negative attitudes. In Christina Ho’s ‘Respecting the Presence of Others: School Micropublics and Everyday Multiculturalism’ she mentions that schools are an example of a ‘micropublic’ as people from different cultural backgrounds have to engage with each other and share a common social space. Ho questions if Australian schools are a good candidate for micropublics of cross-cultural encounters and in my opinion, schools are a good candidate as within a school system, there are rules and discipline therefore, it is a safe and appropriate environment for cross-cultural encounters because students will ultimately need to behave in a certain manner. Consequently, multiculturalism is important in schools as it promotes cultural understanding and social cohesion. Multiculturalism helps to campaign against racism as students learn about cultural diversity and therefore, multiculturalism is beneficial in schools.

 

References

Ho, C., (2011) Respecting the Presence of Others: School Micropublics and Everyday Multiculturalism’ Journal of Intercultural Studies, 32.6, 604-619.

McDougall, B., ‘Australian school curriculum to force acceptance of multiculturalism’ news.com.au, Last Updated September 5 2011, Retrieved from http://www.news.com.au/national-news-2/textbook-approach-to-multiculturalism/story-e6frfkvr-1226129336796