Contemporary Issues in Education !

This article discusses contemporary issues in education, including social realities such as class, cultural capital, and equity, educating students from refugee backgrounds, gender and education, and teaching standards. The article highlights the impact of inequality, cultural capital, and gender on the quality of education. It also provides suggestions for teachers and educational instructors to create a cultural environment that fosters effective learning.

Running head: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN EDUCATION
Contemporary Issues in Education
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Topic 5: Social realities: Class, cultural capital and equity
As opined by Bok (2010), the notion of equality has gained a substantial amount of
prominence within the cannon of the contemporary educational system and is mainly
concerned with the quality of education which is being offered to the students. I personal
believe that the problem of inequality which has dominated the different aspects of the world
since the traditional times is one of the most important problems, which is affecting the
quality of education which is being imparted to the individuals. For example, it is seen that
even in the 21st century unequal treatment is being meted to the children from cultural or
ethnic backgrounds within the various classrooms.
The concept of cultural capital articulated by Pierre Bourdieu is an important to note
in this regard. The construct of cultural capital is mainly concerned with the manner in which
culture or the social status affects the process of acquisition of knowledge or intelligence by
them (Frohard-Dourlent 2009, p. 42). I personally believe the kind of discrimination or
inequality which is being meted out to the children within the contemporary educational
setting adversely affects their learning process. For example, it is seen that because of the
inequality that the students from different ethical backgrounds like aboriginals, Torres Strait
Islander and others the students are not being able to grasp the concepts which are being
taught to them. This in turn adversely affects their growth prospects as well as professional
development in the latter part of their lives since the future prospects of an individual
depends to a great extent on the kind of education that they had received in the early part of
their lives.
The notion of equality also needs to be followed within the kind of curriculum which
is being followed within the educational system and also its contents (Kenway 2013, p. 301).
It is precisely here that the menace of inequality which is dominating the contemporary

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educational system becomes an important one to resolve. I believe that effective resolution of
this menace is important not only from the perspective of the mitigation of inequality as well
as discrimination within the contemporary world but also from the perspective of the quality
of education that is being imparted to the different individuals.
Topic 6: Social realities: Educating students from refugee backgrounds
Pugh, Every and Hattam (2012) are of the viewpoint that even in the 21st century the
notion of race and ethnicity dominates the contemporary Australian society and to a large
extent affects the working of the Australian society. More importantly, the adverse effects of
the construct of race and racism are manifested within the framework of the educational
system of the concerned nation as well (Edgeworth 2014, p. 361). I am of the viewpoint that
although the national authorities in the recent times have taken the initiative to educate these
refugee children yet the quality of education which is being offered to them is below par.
The factor that surprised me the most regarding the nature of the education that is
being offered to the children from refugee backgrounds is the fact that they are being made to
study the syllabus which has been designed primarily for the mainland Australian students
(Walton et al. 2014, p. 119). This acts as a disadvantage for them because of their lack of
familiarity with the culture as well as the traditions followed by the Australian people. I
personally believe that the major area of concern in this regard is the lack of content or
materials with which these children can relate themselves with these syllabus not only deters
them from taking an active interest in the things that are being taught to them but also study
these contents in an effective manner. Thus, the educational authorities in order to foster an
active interest within the studies regarding the things that are being taught to them in an
effective manner needs to integrate the themes as well as themes with which they are relate
and also the ones that are of interest to them.

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The role of teachers or the instructors who are imparting the desired education to
these students need to modify the approach that they normally take for the same. For
example, the teachers or instructors need to develop cultural competencies or a working
knowledge regarding the culture and also the tradition of the children who are a part of the
classroom (Pugh, Every & Hattam 2012, p. 140). Having a working knowledge of these
concepts would help them to not only adopt the kind of teaching methods which are more
likely to yield better results with the children from refugee backgrounds but at the same time
improve the quality of education which is being offered to these children (Walton et al. 2014,
p. 119). This has obvious links with the earlier notions of curriculum and education that has
been taught to me in the earlier weeks. Thus, I would like to conclude by saying that in order
to provide better quality education to these children from refugee backgrounds the
educational authorities not only need to modify the curriculum that they are following but
also develop cultural competency as well.
Topic 9: Social realities: Gender and education
As stated by Renold and Allan (2006), the notion has formed an integral part of the
lives of human beings since the traditional times and to a great extent has influenced the
identity of the human beings. More importantly, even in the 21st century society the notion of
gender wields a significant influence through the machineries of feminism, women
empowerment and others (Tait 2013). I personally believe that the results of these aspects of
gender and gender inequality are being manifested within the contemporary educational
framework as well. For example, within the framework of the contemporary educational
framework it is seen that the curriculum which is being followed has been formulated in such
a manner that that they incorporate the contents related to these topics in an effective manner

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(Reay 2002, p. 231). In this regard, it can be said that the contemporary educational system to
a great extent has been feminised.
I am of the viewpoint that there are various positive as well as negative aspects of this
feminisation of the contemporary educational system. For example, since the traditional times
the educational system has been the curriculum has been designed keeping into effective
consideration the needs of the male gender and thus this used to give rise to gender inequality
within the educational system. However, the feminisation of the educational system and also
the integration of feministic elements within its framework had mitigated the adverse effects
of this gender inequality in a substantial manner (Tait 2013). More importantly, this at the
same time, is offering equal kind of opportunities to both the male and also female members
of the society wherein they can not only compete with each other in an effective manner but
at the same time learn in a better manner as well (Reay 2002, p. 231). On the other hand, I
would like to say that this has at the same time enhanced the gender inequality within the
contemporary educational system rather than obliterating it. Thus, it can be said that the
various authorities needs to take initiatives to obliterate the gender inequality which forms an
integral aspect of the contemporary educational system and offer equal kind of opportunities
to both the men and women.
Topic 10: Overview and Teaching Standards
Pugh, Every and Hattam (2012) are of the viewpoint that the notion of adequate
teaching standards has gained a significant amount of prominence within the cannon of the
contemporary educational system. I personally believe that this can be attributed to the
prominence as well as the benefits that the framework of education offers to the individuals.
In this regard, mention needs to be made of the fact that the machinery of education offers the
kind of skills as well as equipments to the individuals which are likely to help them to attain

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success in the latter part of their lives. More importantly, the entire course work also
introduced us to some important concepts like inequality, the effect of gender of the
contemporary educational system, cultural capital and others which are also important from
the perspective of the contemporary educational system (Reay 2002, p. 231).
I would like to say that I have never taught a student like Filipe like the one in “Our
Boys: Episode 1 Filipe”. In this regard, I would say that none of the teachers understand
Filipe in an effective manner and this is one of the main reasons for the problems that they
face related to him. Thus, in order to solve this issue the teachers need to take various steps to
understand him. For example, they can begin by interacting with him and try to understand
the things that are going on in his life and also the factors that have shaped his life. Having an
interaction with his parents would also help the teachers in a significant manner.
Furthermore, I personally believe that the six weeks course is likely to help Filipe in a
significant manner to improve his school performance and also his attitude towards
education. The major benefit of the program offered by Rosemount is the fact that it offers
the opportunity to the teachers and also the teachers to know each other and the factors that
are likely to motivate the students in an effective manner to perform better. In addition to this,
the teachers can also get to know the personal problems that the students are facing and
would also provide the clarity to students regarding the things that they need to achieve in
life. However, the major challenge associated with the process is the fact that the students
might miss-utilize this opportunity and can take this as an opportunity to waste their time. I
would like to suggest the alternate strategy of field trips with teachers and social events
wherein the students and the teachers would participate and thereby get to know and
understand each other.
I personally believe that there are various factors which affect the quality as well as
the nature of education which is being imparted to the individuals like the inequality, cultural

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capital, role of gender and others. For example, the menace of inequality which prevails
within the contemporary educational system not only affects the quality of educational
system but at the same time its understanding by the students as well. In this regard, it needs
to be said that even in the 21st century the various ethic as well as cultural groups face
discrimination within the framework of diverse educational institutions. I personally believe
that this becomes especially important when the education which is being imparted to the
children from refugee backgrounds is being taken into consideration. The education which is
being offered to the children from refugee backgrounds is primarily formulated with the
intention of integrating them within the culture which is being followed within the mainland
of the nation. This actually acts as a disadvantage for the students since in the majority cases
it is seen that the students are not being able to relate to the contents which are being taught
to them in the educational institutions. Thus, the entire education which is being offered to
them becomes a mere facade.
As opined by Walton et al. (2014), the teachers as well as the educational instructors
are increasingly playing an important and active role within the framework of the
contemporary educational system. For example, they are imbued with the responsibility of
explaining as well as making the students understand the things that are a part of the
curriculum. In this regard, the teachers and also the educational instructors are required to
follow certain basic standards for the education that they impart to the students within the
setting of the modern classroom. The teachers are required to follow the ethical standards of
profession of teaching as per which they are not to indulge in any kind of unethical
behaviour, display favouritism and or indulge in other kind of actions which might affect the
normal learning process or the growth of the students. More importantly, the teachers are also
required to have cultural intelligence so that they are not only being able to understand the
students from the different educational backgrounds but at the same time teach them in an

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effective manner. In addition to this, I personally believe that one of the most important job
roles of the teachers or the educational instructors is to create or foster the kind of cultural
environment within the setting of classroom wherein effective learning is possible. Moreover,
the teachers are also are also required to encourage the students from different cultural
backgrounds to interact with other children and also learn in a collaborative manner.

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References
Bok, J 2010, ‘The capacity to aspire to higher education: ‘It’s like making them do a play
without a script’, Critical Studies in Education, Vol. 51, No. 2.
Edgeworth, K 2014, ‘Black bodies, White rural spaces: disturbing practices of unbelonging
for ‘refugee’ students, Critical Studies in Education, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 351 – 365.
Frohard-Dourlent, H 2009, ‘Why the school system fails to equalize: the influence of
socioeconomic background on children’s achievement in school, Sojourners: Undergraduate
Journal of Sociology, vol. 1, pp 37-45.
Kenway, J 2013, ‘challenging inequality in Australian schools: Gonski and
beyond’, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 286-308.
Pugh, K, Every, D & Hattam, R 2012, Inclusive education for students with refugee
experience: whole school reform in a South Australian primary school, Australian
Educational Researcher, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 125-141.
Reay, D 2002, ‘Shaun’s Story: troubling discourses of white working-class
masculinities’, Gender and Education, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 221-234.
Renold, E & Allan, A 2006, Bright and Beautiful: High achieving girls, ambivalent
femininities and the feminization of success in the primary school, Discourse: studies in the
cultural politics of education, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 457-473.
Tait, G 2013, ‘Gender’, in Making Sense of Mass Education, Cambridge University Press,
Port Melbourne.

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Walton, J, Priest, N, Kowal, E, White, F, Brickwood, K, Fox, B, & Paradies, Y 2014,
‘Talking culture? Egalitarianism, color-blindness and racism in Australian elementary
schools’, Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 39, pp. 112 – 122.