Australia
prides itself on being a tolerant, multicultural nation. I personally think
that this statement is true; there are few cases of racial fuelled violence or
civil unrest. The key to Australia’s multicultural success lies within its
public education system which acts as a melting pot for the wide varieties of
cultures that make up the Australian people.
Ho raises
the point that schools are important micropublics as students spend large
amounts of their day at school, and therefore in contact with other students of
different cultures (Ho, 2011), and this is the case in the majority of
Australian public schools as there are very few areas in Sydney which could be
classified as having a singular culture. Students at school have little choice
but to interact with each other and as a result learn that they share a lot in
common and can be great friends regardless of their appearance, culture,
religion, and so on.
Ho’s article
cites the Vinson report, which states that public education has ‘‘aspired to be
a force for social cohesion, for building mutual understanding between people
of different ethnic, religious, vocational and socioeconomic backgrounds’’ and
has made the claim that this has contributed to the ‘‘peaceful coexistence of
different groups and the maintenance of social arrangements and communal
services that help to preserve the dignity of all Australians’’ (Vinson cited,
2011).
It is fairly
clear based on the cohesion of the Australian people that the public education
system has been succeeding in its stated goal.
However,
there has been a rise in violence, distrust and civil unrest surrounding non-Anglo-Saxon
Australian citizens and foreigners, such as the attacks on Indian exchange students
[1] and the more Muslim protests which turned violent [2].
Are these
events a sign that the Australian Education system is failing to foster a
healthy respect amongst the many cultures of our nation?
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References:
Ho, C.
(2011). Respecting the presence of others: School micropublics and everyday
multiculturalism. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 32(6), 603-619.
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