multicultralism

Beyond Cultural Identity: issues of multiculturalism and schooling 

http://www.mediate.com/articles/adler3.cfm

http://www98.griffith.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/handle/10072/13766/38847.pdf?sequence=1 (further reading)

In this blog post I am going to talk about the concepts of multicultarilsm and some issues it has with education.

The concept of ‘Multiculturalism’ rotates around the identity of the individual in relation to culture. Cultural identity is a essential symbol of a person's existence. Issues in schooling have seen this identify been damaged. In Australia multicultural education aims to promote social harmony and an understanding of Australia’s culturally diverse society.

‘Genuine multicultural individuals are rare’ (Adler 2002).  The interlinking of cultures and persons in recent years has created this shift of modernisation and economic development to be considered as priority i.e. education as an economic concern. School curriculum is moving towards a more linguistic world knowledge of things. This is because of the growing economic development and neo liberal perspective. Multiculturalism in Australian education is about other countries however disregards indigenous cultures.

“A ‘micro public’ is a space where engagement and negotiation across cultures are unavoidable, as individuals from diverse cultures find themselves having to share a common social space. Schools can be ideal micro publics as they throw together people from diverse backgrounds, compelling them to engage in the everyday negotiations of sharing a social space”. “Schools in many of the most disadvantaged areas seem to have been abandoned by the Anglo-Australian majority, while a similar but more complex logic is at work with public selective schools. This cultural polarisation should be of concern to Australian education in building social spaces or micro publics that encourage cross-cultural exchange”. ( Ho 2011:605)

In my schooling experienced I experienced many multicultural interactions many positive such as ‘multicultural day’ and ‘food day’, however education seems to put aside what is necessary for Australian education to strive with multiculturalism and that is the use social spaces and micro publics in order to achieve a non discriminatory, non racist Anglo Australian majority.

REFERENCES:

-       Lentin, A. & Titley, G. (2011). The crisis of multiculturalism: Racism in a neoliberal age. London: Zed Books. Chapter 2 ‘Let’s talk about your culture’

-       Ho, C. (2011). Respecting the presence of others: School micropublics and everyday multiculturalism. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 32(6), 603-619.

-       Dunn, K.M., Kamp, A., Shaw, W.S., Forrest, J. & Paradies, Y. (2010). Indigenous Australians’ Attitudes Towards Multiculturalism, Cultural Diversity, ‘Race’ and Racism, Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues, 13(4), 19-31.

-       Beyond Cultural Identity: Reflections on Multiculturalism by Peter Adler Originally published in Culture Learning, East-West Center Press, Richard Brislin, Editor, 1977, pp. 24-41, then republished Intercultural Communication edited by Larry Samovar and Richard Porter, Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1976, pp. 362-378. November 2002

bby manuel angelopoulos