Multicultural Education Policy in Australia: A Critique

This essay analyzes the multicultural education policy in Australia, its background, implementation, and critique. It also reflects on the policy's effectiveness in promoting national harmony.

Running head: EDUCATION POLICY
Education policy
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Executive summary
Various countries have used different policies to improve their educational performance in the
country. The type of the policy the state implements depends on the aim of education.
Considering the case of Australia, it is made up of multicultural groups who seem divided
because of difference in the way of life. Basing on the diversity, the government opted for
multicultural education policy to bring the community together. The policy has several
objectives which include making the student understand why it is important to mingle with other
people regardless of where they come from in the country. Apart from that, there is the issue of
reflecting national outlook using the education. However, the policy faces some challenges. For
instance, minority group feel that their culture is not included in government programs. The
government have various strategies to solve such case. The below solution would analyze the
policy based on learning materials.

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Critique of multicultural education policy in Australia
Introduction
Every country has different ways of improving their education system according to
Forrest, Lean & Dunn, (2016). Coming up with education policy is one of the ways to improve
the method of education. In this essay, it is going to analyze multicultural education policy in
Australia. In the analysis, it is going to contain the background of the policy, the reason for
implementing the policy, a critique of the policy and the reflection of the policy based on the
learning outcomes.
Brief description multicultural policy
Hartas, (2015) argues that multicultural policy is a directive from the government that
require schools in Australia to appreciate the cultural diversity in the country. By recognizing the
difference in culture, the schools should revise their academic programs to incorporate lessons
that lessons that will consider every community’s way of life. When every community feel
appreciated in school syllabus, there is harmony within the society as everybody thinks that he or
she part of the community. Apart from recognizing the culture of the community, the policy also
aims at accommodating the refugees who come to Australia according to Manning, Baruth &
Lee, (2017). The Australian authority notes that many people who find their ways to the country
do not know how to express themselves in English. Most of these families feel segregated from
the rest of the nation. The policy would like to bring the families to feel they are part of the
society by teaching them English language.
Apart from the above aims of the policy, Spring, (2016) argues that multicultural policy also
would ensure that students understand and appreciate other cultural practices through the

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programs they learn in school. After understanding the issue of cultural diversity, the Australian
student not only get easy time to mingle with their fellow citizens but also the international
students according to Spodek & Saracho, (2014). The multicultural policy will combine all the
staff members in NSW government and public schools, all the state offices and educational
services. Consequently, the students who attend NSW government schools must also adhere to
the policy according to Scarino, (2014).
The government of Australia measures the outcome of this policy through what the
students show to the society, school communities and the staff members. From government
research, it is evident that about one-third of the students who learn in government schools are
not used to English. It is their second language; they mostly use their local language to
communicate with others in society. Besides that, there are over two hundred languages in
Australia and it the expectation of the government that these students fall in either of these
languages.
Another critical issue is the implementation of the multicultural policy. The government
would rely on deputy secretaries in schools to ensure that the system receives full backup.
However, school principals would contribute to the more significant amount in providing the
implementation of the policy. The first issue during deployment is the change in school programs
to incorporate other subjects which ensure that the government achieves the harmonization of
society. Secondly, the school principals must propose plans to produce whatever in the policy.
Every school have a system of evaluation to measure the proficiency of the students. They
should advance in English and other subjects that come with the plan.
Every school has a different composition of the students; therefore, therefore the method of
evaluation differs for every school. Consequently, there is a leader that coordinates how the

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evaluation process takes place for every school. After the evaluation, the leader of the evaluation
will come up with the report to show what the school have been doing and where they need to
improve in reference to Tsolidis, (2015).
Contextual factors leading up to and influencing the implementation of multicultural
educational policy.
There are several reasons why the government of Australia adopted the multicultural
policy. The first main reason is to bring harmony in the society. From research, the Australian
nation is made up of various cultural groups. Many communities feel they are left out in the
country’s development if no one recognizes them. However, the multicultural education policy
acknowledges the existence of various cultures in the nation. The policy has created school
programs that would enable the student to learn other cultures and appreciate why they exist. The
other reason for the adoption of this directive is the existence of many people who do not know
how to express themselves in English. Apart from the refugees who come to the country, other
local communities are used to their local dialect and speaking English is a challenge to them.
With the implementation of multicultural educational policy, the learning process would start
from what they know moving to what they do not understand well. From there, every child will
have a quality understanding of the new language.
On the other hand, the issue of communication is a huge challenge for many students in
Australian schools. The reason for the difficulty in communication may be due to the lack of
English knowledge to boost their understanding. However, with the multicultural education
policy, every student will be able to communicate effectively with both teachers and fellow
students. Another critical issue is to put Australian student at the same level with students from
other nations. For instance, many countries have revised their school programs to ensure that

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national reconciliation and harmony is within the student. When these students go out, they have
the spirit of promoting unity regardless of where the individual comes from in the world. The
multicultural would instill the capacity to recognize and appreciate other cultural practice
different from where the individual comes from in the society in reference to Cushner, (2014).
Apart from the above issues, another push for the implementation of multicultural
education policy is the increasing diversity of the Australian nation. For instance, a report that
the government released in the year 1977 showed that Australia is a multicultural society and
there is need to come up with a policy that will accommodate the multicultural communities in
the nation according to Henson, (2015). As time went by, many people were coming to Australia
either as refugees or seeking jobs. These people have a different way of doing things as
compared to the ordinary Australian operation. When their children go to school, they feel
neglected because they do not understand what the school is teaching at the moment. However,
the introduction of the policy would see every school coming up with programs that touch on
culture. Every student would learn why other religions exist and why they need to accept every
individual regardless of his or her way of doing things. Many leaders have also been fighting for
the country to have a multicultural curriculum. For example, the Australian prime minister while
addressing citizens recognized the diversity in the country and needed to address it.
Critique of the multicultural education policy in Australia
Even though the multicultural education policy would promote harmony in Australia,
there is some weakness of the policy. The first issue is that the full implementation of the policy
would take long. For instance, a child coming from a refugee camp would take a lot of time to
learn what the new environment requires him or her to do in reference to Lim & Apple, (2016).
Apart from that, the choice of program for the school to introduce its syllabus is another issue. If

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the government do not pick the programs carefully other communities would still feel that they
are not part of the program. The second issue is that some teachers do not employ the
multicultural diversity in the nation, they always look down at the minority groups while
teaching the new programs in the new school syllabus.
On the other hand, the citizens are not fully aware of the new programs. For instance, the
minority groups feel that their way of life is getting absorbed by the new programs that the
government have introduced. Feeling that other communities are influencing their method of
operation have made the minorities not to participate in the school programs fully. Another issue
is that the policy did not look into the issue of language before implementing the multicultural
education policy. Australia is made up of many cultural groups who speak different languages.
Teaching students who do not understand the language the teacher is using to communicate.
Furthermore, some of the students come from places where English is not their first
language. The government would have strategized on how to make every student understand the
English language, and from there they can teach them the cultural diversity in the country.
However, the government have assumed that the children followed the word and started
implementing the policy. There is also a challenge of resources, before the implementation of
special programs that accommodate every culture in the nation, every school need resource such
as books. However, the government implemented the policy without considering such resources.
The teachers should understand the culture they are teaching in reference to Spring, (2017). What
the government could have done before the implementation of the directive. Secondly, the
teachers should undergo some training to ensure they are also able to appreciate the diversity in
culture in reference to Miškolci, Armstrong & Spandagou, (2016). No teacher should exercise

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some bias while teaching children from various cultures. It is therefore essential for the
government to look into the issues despite implementing the policy some time ago.
Reflection on the policy
The multicultural education policy is an effective directive to improve the education
system. Education aims to improve the knowledge of the students. Education is one of the ways
to improve national unity. Including the programs that recognize different cultural group is right
to ensure harmony in the country according to Banks, (2014). However, many people may not
understand the aim of the government in this directive. It is necessary for the authority to come
out and teach the citizens why they are implementing the policy and any challenge the country
may face during the implementation of the system
Resistance is a common challenge to all government policies not only education policy.
There are instances where other communities feel that the authority of Australia has neglected
them during the implementation of the system. To avoid such cases, it would be important for the
government to elaborate to create awareness in all communities whatever the policy contains and
how it will improve the status of the society. Apart from that, when comparing how other
countries implemented education, all the stakeholders are always given the opportunity to
provide their comments on how the policy is working and where the state can improve on in
reference to Shapiro, & Stefkovich, (2016). In this case of the multicultural system in Australia,
the students are the primary stakeholders, but there is no place the government have created for
the students to give their comments regarding the directive. However, apart from the school
principals who will be providing annual reports concerning the policy, parents and children
should also have a say in the matter.

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On the other hand, there is the issue of the methodology of implementing the policy. For
example, the government should have started the program in few schools to confirm whether the
system is bearing fruits as education is concerned before rolling it down to other places in
reference to Rubin, (2018). The above methodology works well because the authority would be
able to identify areas they can improve they make it a national issue. Consequently,
implementing the directive once in the whole country may end up failing its objective of
promoting cultural diversity and harmony. However, the fact that the government had rolled the
policy countrywide the best thing is to find ways to ensure the policy do not fail its objective.
They should give resources such as more educational books, experience literature teachers
among others to assist the school in pushing for the national agenda.
In summary, multicultural education policy is an excellent way to promote national
harmony. The implementation of the policy gives the students from the cultural divide to learn
the way of life of other communities and appreciate their culture. However, the implementation
of the policy needs resources, strategies and the involvement of all stakeholders. The government
may experience resistance from other people because they do not recognize what the policy is all
about according to Watkins, Lean & Noble, (2016). They think that their culture would fade
because of different dominant culture. However, this is an opportunity for the government to
teach them that the directive is not having a negative aim but to bring harmony in the country.

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References
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of Education, 194(3), 1-12.
Cushner, K. (2014). Human diversity in education. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Forrest, J., Lean, G., & Dunn, K. (2016). Challenging racism through schools: teacher attitudes
to cultural diversity and multicultural education in Sydney, Australia. Race Ethnicity and
Education, 19(3), 618-638.
Hartas, D. (Ed.). (2015). Educational research and inquiry: Qualitative and quantitative
approaches. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Henson, K. T. (2015). Curriculum planning: Integrating multiculturalism, constructivism, and
education reform. Waveland Press.
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