Cultural Awareness and Inclusion in Australian Society: A Study

This homework assignment addresses the cultural understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within modern Australian society. It explores various aspects, including strategies to mitigate initial difficulties in understanding, the impact of colonization, and the importance of elders in decision-making. The assignment delves into cultural differences reflected in non-verbal communication, the significance of diverse cultural activities for children, and methods for educators to share cultural knowledge. It also covers topics like linguistic competence, traditional wear programs, and promoting respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Additionally, the assignment examines communication forms (open, equitable, and inclusive), strategies for diversity inclusion, and the role of secure relationships and encouragement in child development, culminating in collaborative problem-solving approaches. The solutions provided offer insights into fostering cultural competency and inclusivity in educational settings and childcare centers.

Formative assessment
Activity 3
Question 3
The Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islanders follow a completely different culture than rest of the
Australian society. Being a part of the modern Australian society, understanding the culture of
Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander can be difficult for me initially. However, this difficulty can be
mitigated in the following ways—
 Gaining in-depth information on the culture and society of Aboriginals and the Torres Strait
Islanders
 Understanding the beliefs and values of the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islanders and
incorporating those into own activities while dealing with them
Activity 4
Question 2
The cultural differences can be reflected in the non-verbal communication in the following ways—
Eye contact-- In the Anglo-culture, eye contact is quite common and expected behavior. On the
contrary, in some non-Anglo culture, prolonged eye contact can be considered as a sign of disrespect.
Touch-- Touching such as handshake is common in Anglo culture. On the contrary, in non-Anglo culture,
especially among the Asians touching is common in close groups only and touching strangers is seen as
inappropriate.
Activity 8
Question 1
The colonization has impacted the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the following ways—
 The Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islander were removed from their own land. The lifestyle of
these people was destroyed severely due to the colonization (Armstrong et al., 2018). Taking the
resources away from the Aboriginals has impacted their economic status severely.
 The colonization resulted in spreading of European culture in Australia. The culture of on
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people differ significantly from the European culture. As a
result, the original culture of these people was affected. The lack of focus on practicing the

culture of Aboriginals gradually isolated them from the mainstream Australian Society and
reduced their access to social services.
Reference:
Armstrong, G., Ironfield, N., Kelly, C. M., Dart, K., Arabena, K., Bond, K., ... & Jorm, A. F. (2018). Re-
development of mental health first aid guidelines for supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait
islanders who are experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviour. BMC psychiatry, 18(1), 228.
Question 3
The three disadvantages are—
 Detachment from own society-- Many indigenous young people live in the urban area of
Australia (Armstrong et al., 2018). The culture of urban Australian society is different from the
indigenous culture. So, the youth often feels detached from their society.
 Land is considered as one of the key resources for the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders.
Due to colonization the people has lost access to the land. So, it is a huge loss for the youth.
 Health-- The indigenous people often rely on own medicines and heath practices. However, the
lack of consciousness on the values and beliefs of indigenous people and incorporation of those
values and beliefs in health services is reducing access of the health benefits among these
people also.
References:
Armstrong, G., Ironfield, N., Kelly, C. M., Dart, K., Arabena, K., Bond, K., ... & Jorm, A. F. (2018). Re-
development of mental health first aid guidelines for supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait
islanders who are experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviour. BMC psychiatry, 18(1), 228.
Activity 10
Question 2
The elders are the key decision makers in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander society. So, before
executing any activity on the community, it is necessary to share information with the elders as they can
influence the decision-making for others.
Question 3
Getting engaged to diverse cultural activities is necessary for the children due to the following reasons—
 Recognizing different culture present in the society-- The Australian society is highly diverse in
nature. Getting involved to the diverse cultural activities can help the children to be familiar with

other cultures as well (Carey et al., 2017). It, in turn, can help the child to show respect to the
people from other culture.
 Knowing different culture can help the children to develop social network.
Reference:
Carey, T. A., Dudgeon, P., Hammond, S. W., Hirvonen, T., Kyrios, M., Roufeil, L., & Smith, P. (2017).
The Australian Psychological Society's Apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.
Australian Psychologist, 52(4), 261-267.
Activity 12
Question 1
The educators can provide the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with opportunities to share
the cultural knowledge in the following ways---
 Recognizing and responding to the signals of the children with sensitivity
 Recognizing and encouraging the efforts of children to conversation and interaction
 Developing and supporting relationship with the children
 Supporting the children during the transition and mitigating the cultural gap
 Developing the education practices by a incorporating the cultural values
 Acknowledging the individuality of the children in positive way.
Question 3
The linguistic competence can be described as the ability of the expressing information in such a manner
so that different types of audiences can understand that (Savignon, 2018). The five tools that can help
the educators to develop linguistic competence are—
 Collaboration between educators, staffs and managers
 Structural assessment and fostering competency among the school staffs
 Taking help from mentors
 Developing strong relationship with students who belong to the diverse cultural background
 Use of instructional methods
Resources required for developing cultural competency are –
 www.xculture.org
 www.gucchd.georgetown.edu
 http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/ps/hcp/form/resources/CLAS.pdf
 http://www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov
 www.uwmedicine.org

Reference:
Savignon, S. J. (2018). Communicative competence. The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language
Teaching, 1-7.
Activity 13
Question 1
Arranging a ‘Traditional Wear Program’ can be effective to incorporate cultural diversity among the
children. On the program, the children can wear the traditional dresses of own culture. Arranging such
programs can enable the children to know other’s culture and grow the interest on them. The children
can also learn the values and beliefs of other cultures from such programs. Finally, nurturing the
tradition not only promotes cultural inclusiveness but also enables a child to obtain in-depth knowledge
for learning own culture (Sousa & Almeida, 2016).
Reference:
Sousa, P., & Almeida, J. L. (2016). Culturally sensitive social work: promoting cultural
competence. European journal of social work, 19(3-4), 537-555.
Question 2
Making the children aware and encouraging them to respect the culture about Aboriginal and/or Torres
Strait Islander can be done in the following ways—
 Increasing interaction with the Indigenous people-- Increased interaction with the indigenous
people can be effective to enhance the cultural awareness among children (Torino, 2018). While
interacting with each other, the children can get the chance to know each other and get a
clearer idea on the values and beliefs of others.
 Sharing information with children in storytelling approach-- Sharing information on the history
of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders and their contribution to the Australian society in
storytelling approach can attract the children towards their culture.
Reference:
Torino, G. C. (2018). Examining biases and white privilege: Classroom teaching strategies that
promote cultural competence. In Whiteness and White Privilege in Psychotherapy (pp. 129-141).
Routledge.

Activity 14
 In a short paragraph for each explain how educators might role model these forms of
communication and interactions with all children and families:
Question 1
Open communication
The open communication indicates that all the entities in organization share information without any
restriction. The open communication is effective to maintain transparency among all the entities within
the organization (Arvanitis & Loukis, 2015). The environment of open communication enables all the
stakeholders to share own ideas. Promotion of open communication develops a trusted relationship
among the stakeholders and enhances their engagement.
References:
Arvanitis, S., & Loukis, E. (2015). Employee education, information and communication
technologies, workplace organization, and trade: a comparative analysis of Greek and Swiss
firms. Industrial and corporate change, 24(6), 1417-1442.
Question 3
The equitable communication enables the different stakeholders of a childcare center to promote fair
information sharing. The equitable communication between the staffs of a childcare center and the
parents ensure quality care for the children (Ruesch et al., 2017). The equitable communication also
enhances social and cognitive development of the children and leads to their educational success.
Reference:
Ruesch, J., Bateson, G., Pinsker, E. C., & Combs, G. (2017). Communication: The social matrix of
psychiatry. Routledge.
Question 4
Inclusive communication indicates the way of information sharing that is understandable to every type
of audience. The inclusive communication can be promoted when the communicator can understand
that the audience can express and interpret the information in several ways (Seyranian, 2014). Inclusive

communication can be undertaken in various forms such as the written information, telephonic
conversation, face to face communication and online information.
Reference:
Seyranian, V. (2014). Social identity framing communication strategies for mobilizing social change. The
Leadership Quarterly, 25(3), 468-486.
Activity 17
Question 2
Providing the children with lessons on the culture of Aboriginals and the Torres strait Islander people
can be effective to build on the cultural background for them. The educators can use images to show
different aspects of the Indigenous community to the children. Processing images is easier for the
children than understanding the texts. So, showing them the images can be effective to develop better
ideas among the children. The children can also learn the history and culture of the Aboriginal people
through storytelling. The children usually prefer listening to the stories. So, sharing the information in
form of story can be effective to attract the children easily.
Activity 18
Question 3
The children should be talked as group members due to the following reasons—
 Talking as the group members helps the children to feel connected with others. It encourages
the children to enhance the engagement with the groups (Seyranian, 2014). Getting involved
into the group is effective to improve the social skills. So, talking as group members also can
help the children to improve the communication and network building skill.
 Communication in group is also effective for developing the confidence among the children.
Talking as group members enables the children to share own views among others and improve
their interpersonal skill.
Reference:
Seyranian, V. (2014). Social identity framing communication strategies for mobilizing social change. The
Leadership Quarterly, 25(3), 468-486.
Question 4

The six strategies for diversity inclusion in the childcare centers are—
 Improving the cultural competency of the staffs
 Identifying and incorporating new ideas and perspectives
 Encouraging the staffs and children to treat other with respect
 Observing others with traditions of different cultures
 Promoting cultural diversity at the childcare settings through different events
 Promoting self-development among the staffs
6.Make a point of educating yourself—learn about different cultural traditions and approaches to work,
and keep up to date with global events and international politics. Take the time to get to know your
colleagues from different countries and backgrounds.
Activity 19
The children need secure relationship and encouragement for the following reasons—
 Nurturing and encouragement helps the children to foster the social and intellectual growth.
When the children are dealt with intimacy and warmth, they become encouraged to develop
relationships with others (Troop Gordon,2015).‐
 Presence of relationships with others helps the children to think. The child also focuses on
reflecting the thoughts through its activities. The relationships are effective to develop language
skills.
 The relationships also enable the children to differentiate between the right and wrong. So, a
sense of morality is also developed with help of the secure relationship and encouragement.
Reference:
Troop Gordon, W. (2015). The role of the classroom teacher in the lives of children victimized by‐
peers. Child Development Perspectives, 9(1), 55-60.

Activity 20
Question 1
The collaborative problem solving has two main aspects -- the communication or the social aspect and
the cognitive aspect or the knowledge (Hesse et al., 2015). The two aspects of collaborative framework
constitutes the teamwork. The collaborative problem solving needs more communication among the
problem-solvers. In case of collaborative problem solving, communication is used extensively for
breaking the problem into several components, sharing the ideas and identification of solution.
Successful execution of collaborative problem solving depends on their agreeableness to share the
resources and ideas.
Reference:
Hesse, F., Care, E., Buder, J., Sassenberg, K., & Griffin, P. (2015). A framework for teachable collaborative
problem solving skills. In Assessment and teaching of 21st century skills (pp. 37-56). Springer, Dordrecht.
question 2
The children can solve problems through observation and relating the context to the
observation (Cromwell et al., 2018). The children can observe how a problem can get solved ,
learn those techniques and whenever a problem occurs, he/she uses the past learning for
solving the problem.
Reference:
Cromwell, J. R., Amabile, T. M., & Harvey, J. F. (2018). An Integrated Model of Dynamic Problem Solving
Within Organizational Constraints. In Individual Creativity in the Workplace (pp. 53-81). Academic Press.