Is Australia an Inclusive Society Essay

Reports from the Australian power of Statistics ( two hundred3a, 2003b, as cited in Ashman & Elkins, 2009, p. 7) show 25% of the Australian nation is currently make up of migrants from around 200 countries. This fact demonstrates Australia, on the whole, has a tolerant and inclusive alliance. A society give the bounce be identified as a collection of throng who live together in a relatively ordered biotic community (Ashman & Elkins, 2009, p. 7). It could be said, Australia has wizard of the intimately inclusive societies on the planet however, this was non eternally the case.Net overseas migration has doubled from 146,800 in 2005-6 to 298,900 in 2008-9 (Australian Bureau of Statistics ABS, 2011). Migrants born overseas account for a quarter of the total population with 50% having direct links with relatives born overseas. Nearly 2. 5 trillion Australians speak a language other than English at lieu (ABS, 2003a, as cited in Ashman & Elkins, 2009, p. 7). These facts show how much multiculturalism is now an intrinsic neighborhood of Australian society. precisely about traditional migrant countries, much(prenominal) as the UK, nevertheless remain dominant in the proportion of race arriving onto Australian shores however, more than recently, a larger percentage of migrants from Asian countries befuddle started to show in census statistics (De department of Foreign Affairs and Trade DFAT, 2008). Today migrants tail assembly be erect in all levels of society and the workforce. Employers are bound by the Racial inconsistency stage 1975 non to exclude every somebodys on the understructure of nationality, hie, colour, descent or ethnic origin however, this was non always the case.The White Australia Policy (forming the basis of the Immigration Restriction Act 1901) from 1901 to 1973 was introduced originally to pr purget Pacific Islanders from being employed as cheap motor in the vast sugar plantations in the Northern part of the untaught (DFAT, 2008) . The polity was gradually abolished after the Second World War, besides the accent on European immigration remained until 1966, when the government allowed the migration of distinguished non-Europeans. The last vestiges of the policy were discarded in 1973. From 1901 to the early 1970s, policies towards newcomers were based on assimilation.The preference for British migrants remained, and all others were expected to shed their existing cultural identities, including their native languages, to come along their rapid absorption into the host population. (DFAT, 2008, p. 2) A lively debate would go after to decide if Australia could be seen as inclusive during this period of history. Even with the bridal of Whites there were still racial undertones in the nicknames of migrants from certain countries. Wogs from Italy, D pasts from Spain, Poms from England (origin has non been verified, scarcely several theories remain), to name but a few.In conclusion with such a large migrant population from so many different countries, Australia has succeeded in becoming an inclusive society. Migrants lead continue to arrive onto this prominent br avow land and play a major part in shaping the country in centuries to come. Stereotypes. Collins Cobuild English Dictionary (1995, p. 1635) defines stomp as an a fixed general image or punctuate of characteristics that a lot of people believe represent a position type of person or thing. This is a thought that is conceived without actual basis or factual content.Stereotypes can come in many forms. unremarkably it is a belief that whitethorn welcome been subliminally imparted by peers, parents or the media. Stereotyping can cross all assemblys, genders, races, religions or even animals. It is possible social fundamental interaction or experience can lead to stereotyping especially if a disallow experience is involved. People whitethorn all be at fault in some form of stereotyping, although not in a der ogatory sense. Some common examples are, left handed people are creative, Asians are onerous workers, blondes have more fun, fat people are jolly.A forbid consequence of stereotyping is what Sanderson (2010, p. 349) calls stereotype threat. Minority group members experience an apprehension that they may behave in a manner that confirms existing cultural stereotypes. sexual urge stereotypes are one of the most common encountered on a day by day basis. The infamous Glass Ceiling still exists in many areas of the nonrecreational world, restricting valid promotions simply based on gender. This type of apprehension can be verified by looking at comparative weekly wages of other victors in a variety of industries. more or less people will generally see female dominated occupations, such as nurse, teacher and secretary as requiring feminine personality traits and sensible attributes for success whereas male dominated occupations such as doctor, lawyer, and business decision mak er are seen to require male personality traits for success (Sanderson, 2010, p. 344). Racism The Cambridge Dictionaries Online (2011) defines racial discrimination as the belief that peoples qualities are influenced by their race and that the members of other races are not as good as the members of your own, or the resulting unfair treatment of members of other races.In recent history extensive wars, resulting in countless lives lost, have been waged simply over not be to the right or our race. Most people would agree the concept of disliking somebody simply because they look different and belong to another race, is pure ignorance. To verify that because a person has dark skin that they will respond or behave in a certain manner is again ignorant. For most people it is hard to believe that less than twenty years ago Apartheid was still a reality in South Africa. The word apartheid is derived from the Afrikaans language and is directly translated as separateness (P.Mason-Jones, p ers. comm. , 1998).Its basis was racial separationism for contrabands, Whites, Coloureds and Indians. The Coloureds in South Africa are from mixed race families, predominately White males procreating with obtuse females. The Indians were mainly from colonial Indian descent sent to South Africa as slaves. The concept of black South Africans not allowed on the same man bus as Whites is hard to grasp. A greater issue for the Black people during apartheid was the fact they were not allowed to vote and decide on their own future in a land they had lived in for centuries beforehand.Modern racial discrimination can be described as someones electronegative feelings towards an out-group member, which is not based specifically on their group membership (e. g. , race, gender) but rather generalisations of their moral values (Sanderson, 2010, p. 337). This creates the conception that all Black people do not work hard enough and expect handouts and so are discriminated against for that ins tead of having dark skin. prepossess The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1982, p. 809) defines Prejudice as a pre-conceived opinion, bias (against, or in favour of, person or thing). The word itself can be split into two components, pre- before and jud- judging.Forming an opinion of someone before there is a chance to colloquy to them or even meet them for the first time is ignorant. Prejudice can come in many forms however, it is usually associated with negative or unlike feelings about a person or persons simply based on their belonging to a group. Some popular social examples are, people who burst hats while driving are bad drivers, and, older men who have long beards and ride Harley Davidson motorbikes are dangerous.Similarly, pre-judging all the clean, head dressed and impeccably groomed students to be the most well behaved members of the group would not be substantiated. In the same vein, pre-judging the scruffy un-kempt student to be the most hard member of the group could b e a terrible mistake for the teacher. get by this scenario Stephen Hawking is observed crossing the road at a alert intersection while an separate is travelling in the opposite direction. The individual will have no idea who he is or perceive his name mentioned in any context.Some people may accept sympathy with his plight, some may ignore him completely, some may even offer assistance. Yet how many would come to the conclusion he is one of the greatest minds on the planet? People may be guilty of pre-judging his condition, abilities or even intellect. Educational retorts to alteration Under Section 22 of the state of matter balk Discrimination Act 1992, an statemental ascendence is not allowed to discriminate against a person on the grounds of the persons hindrance (DD Act, 1992).Education Queensland increaseed a statement in response to this section of the Act, called The Inclusive Education separatement 2005. This statement is now part of 11 pieces of legislation and policies (Education Queensland, 2011). These policies and legislative pieces comprise of Commonwealth and State Acts. The Commonwealth Acts include, Age Discrimination Act 2004, Disability Discrimination Act 1992, Disability Standards for Education 2005, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Act 1986, Privacy Act 1988, Racial Discrimination Act 1975 and the Sex Discrimination Act 1984.State legislation includes the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991, Child Protection Act 1999, Disability go Act 2006 and the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006. (Education Queensland, 2011). Education in Australia is a underlying human right however, the learning journey conveys to be fair, amentiferous and include everyone regardless of race, gender, cultural background or hinderance. Inclusive education is a process of responding to the uniqueness of individuals, increasing their sense of participation and attainment in a learning society (Hyde, 2010, p. 11).Education Queensland (2011) requires their staff to advert processes and procedures in the Inclusive Education Statement 2005, to achieve learning outcomes and develop skills to work and live productively and respectfully with others from a range of backgrounds, abilities and cultures. This political orientation will help to produce accepting, tolerant, co-operative and productive citizens. In the clubroom teachers require to address the huge variety of differences in their students. They should be adaptable and pliable to address criteria in curriculum while still following policies and procedures that composition from individual civilizes up to state level.Curriculum, pedagogy and assessment are line up and meet the needs of diverse student groups (EQIS, 2005). A teacher, or any member of an educational facility, can be prosecuted if they harass a student, or future student, who has a disability, about the disability (Disability Discrimination Act 1992 s. 37). A successful teacher is required to have a posi tive family with all of their students, while still following policy and procedure so that they can build bridges from the knowledge and skills that students bring from their homes and communities to the knowledge and skills they need for success in schooling (EQIS, 2005, p. ).Schools are required to provide professional learning opportunities to enhance considering of the recognition of difference and the factors that contribute to educational disadvantage, especially an appreciation of factors such as poverty gender disability cultural and linguistic diversity and sexuality (EQIS, 2005). Such professional development opportunities will allow teachers with many years experience to fully understand the changing environment they now live in. People with a disability have the same human rights as other members of society (Disability Discrimination Act 1992, Part 2, Division 19, s. ).Teachers essential adapt their classroom provision in response to this statement. Simple methods o f inclusion on a carnal level will include table and chair arrangement, or dislodge of the teachers desk to provide easy access if required however, it is the schools responsibility to allow wheelchair access to classrooms. Teachers who believe that they are the most important factor in improving student outcomes are more likely to deliver a connected curriculum, with high intellectual grapheme and high levels of student engagement (EQIS, 2005).While such policies and statement may seem difficult to implement, the outcome of a successful student who is well versed and learny to stand up in society and see the workforce should be the driving factor teachers strive for. Personal responses to diversity A teachers positive attitude towards their students can have a profound effect on their learning ability. Consideration must be taken into account if the student(s) come from a low socio frugal background or disruptive domestic environments. The school community may well be the onl y positive aspect of their lives.Students who have this riddle of background ofttimes require more support and nurturing. A teachers positive attitude towards this student may well vent-hole their inhibitions and personal defences. at once the teacher has broken down these barriers the student is more likely to participate, be co-operative and be more productive in the classroom. A negative attitude directed at the same student is more likely to sustain the barrier he or she has towards adults, or authority figures in general, and remain disruptive and uncooperative.An example of this negative attitude is provided by Munro. 2008, p. 99). Ted Brown saw himself as a good literacy teacher. Many of his students made great progress and achieved high-level outcomes. Each year, however, there was a low group of students in the class who did not progress as he expected. Ted noted, These students do not get involved or stay focused. They just did not seem to be interested. I guess there will always be low achievers. Not everyone can learn to take aim. His observations were accurate. In his classes, these children did not get involved or stay focused, were not interested and remained low achievers.A replacement teacher, Sally Green, taught Teds class for a term. She talked with the underachieving readers and noticed that they had rich imagery knowledge of the topics they discussed but often needed time to put their images into words. She helped them practice doing this. Before they began to read a narrative, she had them do this. Sally also had them talk in sentences about the pictures in the narratives and recall vocabulary. The students began to achieve as readers using their existing knowledge to read and to anticipate the ideas in a text.They learnt to paraphrase and visualise as they read, and to refreshen each paragraph. Ted came back to school from long-service leave and noticed that the small group of students had improved in their reading. Because he did not understand the conditions under which they had improved, he was unable to scaffold their learning. Soon some of the students plateaued in their reading and Ted was original that this was, again, because of their lack of interest. It can be seen from the above text that Ted simply could not be bothered with the small group of low achievers.He did not provide any inclusive activities therefore, he was not able to cause the most out of this group. Sally should have discussed this issue with the Head of subdivision or Principal during her contracted time. Bringing this issue to their attention may have directed the HOD/Principal to discuss with Ted some alternative teaching options, or offer some personal development in this area. Once the issue had been raised, discussed and acted upon it is reasonable to assume that the students and subsequent low achievers would have gained more out of Teds classes and develop their learning journey accordingly.According to Conway (2010, p. 2 9), ancestry teachers will need to make an extra effort because his research found that the majority felt ill-prepared to teach students with ESL, disabilities or from dysfunctional backgrounds. This particular black market is highlighting the need for future teachers to recognise, appreciate and implement positive strategies for a variety of students with diverse backgrounds, cultures and abilities.