Diversity, Social Justice and Learning

Assignment 1

‘Too often a child’s life chances are shaped by where they went to school and where they’ve
grown up, and we shouldn’t accept that’ (Greening, 2017). This statement is somewhat true
about where you live will affect your life chances. There are quite a few numbers of social
justice issues in Greater Western Sydney (GWS). In this discussion, I will be focusing on
"Language and Culture" issue in GWS. Firstly, I will briefly talk about the importance of
children's first language, then I will be looking at the relationship between language and
identity and how language could create conflict between home and school. After that, an
example case study to peek into the world of a NESB students, a short film called
"Immersion" (2009), introduces Moises, as a young Spanish-speaking immigrant who
struggles to fit in due to his limitation in English to illustrate how the first language of Non-
English Speaking Background (NESB) students are often ignored or actively excluded by
educators and the common assumption made by monolingual educators on NESB students.
Continuously, an overall picture of why/how NESB students' perceptions are highly
influenced by dominant discourse. By using Bhabha's (1994, 1998), "third-space", in an
attempt to show how culturally diverse backgrounds families/childrens negotiate their use of
languages and constructions of identity in a market-driven world, and also by drawing on
cultural capital derived from Bourdieu's theory of social practice as a conceptual framework,
to explore the inequitable power relations between languages and culture that minority groups
are struggling with. These will be discussed in specific reference to Melbourne Declaration
on Educational Goals for Young Australians (2008).

In Greater Western Sydney, over twenty-one percent of the population over five years of age
speak a different language other than English at home (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016).
The idea of the different area will have different issues/inequalities can be understood as a
place-based approach, for example, the range of different problems related to school,
children's academic performance or unequal economic opportunities, or even one's levels of
proficiency in English. All of these issues exist at the local level. Some children have only
been exposed to their native language since birth. Some of these children are still acquiring
their first language at home. Children whose first language skills are still developing may
experience some difficulty in acquiring in the subsequent languages (E. Hoff, et al., 2012).
Developmental millstones in children starting in an very early stage. During this significant
stage, children practice and develop their language unconsciously and through the use of
language they maintain and convey culture and culture ties in which build up their knowledge
about the world (Clarke, 2009). However, the literature that is specific to preschool age
youngsters is particularly elementary and inconclusive because children learn in an
unconscious state of mind and are still acquiring the fundamental grammatical as well as the
phonetic aspects of their mother tongue. Therefore, this process of learning should be done
with great caution.

Language is exceptionally important in the process of identity information and facilitate them
in positioning themselves in the new environment (Clarke, 2009). However, there is a
common belief that home language prevents children from excelling in their academic
performance simply because it is not in English (Jones Díaz, 2014). This idea contributes to
families' opting to speak English only to their children. In fact, research suggests that this
idea brings more harm than good because students with disrupted Education in their first
language will take up to ten years to develop academic language in English (Thomas and
Collier 1997). Therefore, rather than abandoning or limiting the use of tradition language,
parents and schools should try to look at how both languages can be used to complement and
reinforce each other.

Children early exposure to English in their early childhood not only transmit knowledge and
skills but also they have to learn to adapt and negotiate their linguistic practices and identity
in a globalized world in which English dominates social institutions, cultural discourses, and
linguistic practices. The variety of languages and cultures practices in young children is
formed on the basis of what is currently Australia's social policy of multiculturalism (Jones
Diaz, 2015). Most bilingual/multilingual children exposure the transition from home to
school at a very young age.

The transition also reveals the applicability Bhabha's (1994, 1998), "third space" theory in
which examining the in-between adaption and transition that young children have to learn to
negotiate between home and school which could also be seen as a competition between
minority language/culture and majority language/culture. The negotiation in a child
demonstrates their abilities in shifting and changing their thinking and behaviors according to
the social field (Jones Diaz, 2015). The strive of being able to position themselves in the
normalizing discourses of monolingualism. Majority of the children whose language and
culture are significantly different from the standard in the school settings, the transition from
home to school settings may result in conflicting expectations about behavior and causing
confusion between home-school incompatibility (White, 1994). These confusions are
correlated to young children expectation, perceptions and dispositions based on their
experiences at home. The heritage language is an integral part of ethnic identities, and the
maintenance of heritage language across generations is argued to be a key factor in the
maintenance of such identities (Oh & Fuligni, 2010). The adequate levels of bi/multilingual
proficiency in one's heritage language not only let people communicate in their language but
also a way show their respect for their heritage culture (Oh & Fuligni, 2010). In other words,
a child's identities are collective and allegiant yet simultaneously dynamic, transformative
and situational, subject to negotiation and change. shaped by broader social constructions of
discoursed, shared social practices, power, exclusion, and difference.

To give an insight into how challenging and unfair it is for NESB to learn English, in the
short fiction film called "Immersion" (2009), Moises, a young Spanish-speaking immigrant,
faces challenges in an "English-only" school. He has a strong understanding of Math but it is
his limitation in English that causes him to struggle with sharing his knowledge. As a result,
he was humiliated when trying to participate in the class discussion but could not speak the
language. This suggests a common assumption that is made about immigrant students,
parents and education system from different education systems and backgrounds that all
immigrants students are behind in terms of linguistically and academically. Apple (1999)
addresses how dominant discourses of monolingualism are circulated in a pedagogical
relationship between "teacher" and "student". In fact, these students come to class with rich
experience and a wealth concrete background of knowledge which are constructed via
cultural and linguistic heritage.

English-only agendas, community, media, and educators intentionally possess a negative

view child's language could result in rejection of their traditional language or they essentially
feel that their language is something undesirable. This could have a significant negative
impact on how students way of perceiving their language and culture. Either a child will just
give up on their language to learn the dominant language or they will just actively withdraw
themselves from the learning environment in particular or from school on a larger scale.

Language and children's identities are constructed and reconstructed through the multiple
contradictions and connections derived from transformation and adaption in cultural and
linguistic development (Jones Diaz, 2015). It is often to find bi/multilingual children's
experiences of inequality and social exclusion in relation to inequitable power across
different cultures and languages within multiple contexts. In the context of education,
minority languages are often ignored or overlooked due to the dominance of English
language in Australia as well as around the world in general (Gogolin, 2011). Young children
are reluctant and well aware that their home language is a minority language that means some
of them would experience the feelings of shame and alienation to speak in their home
language. The awareness of their home language as a minority language suggests
bi/multilingual suggests children may "leave it at school gate" in an attempt to integrate
themselves in normalizing discourses of the English-only educational settings (Wilks-Smith,
2017). Furthermore, students from diverse backgrounds and cultures will struggle to decide
which language/culture to choose. Most of the time, children will consider dropping their
language/culture in order to excel in an Anglo-Australian educational system. Hence,
children's perceptions are highly influenced by the dominant discourses of monolingualism.

Bourdieu (1990) argues that the education system is a central apparatus of the reproduction of
inequality, as schools reward cultural capital such as particular knowledge, linguistic
behavior, and cultural standards in the ways in which of acknowledged and accepted by the
dominant culture. Cultural capital can be understood as a currency that helps us navigate
culture and change our experience and open up life chances. Cultural capital can be
considered as a source of social inequality, because dominant discourse is directly
proportional to cultural capital that means those familiar with dominant discourse have the
privilege to acquire even more cultural capital whereas those that are not part of the dominant
narrative have fewer opportunities to gain the types of cultural capital that are valued in
society (Shim, 2012). Bourdieu (1990) argues that individuals that are unfamiliar with
dominant discourse have less opportunity in gaining cultural capital because their cultural
capital and linguistic practices were viewed as deficits or no value in the field. In order to
acquire more cultural capital, individuals have to be part of the accepted social structure
which means they might consciously or unconsciously contribute to the reproduction of
hegemonic relations that are normalized by the dominant social structure (Shim, 2012). An
example to show the importance of cultural capital in school settings would be a NESB
student struggle to understand the language. This leads to lack of interest and perhaps self-
isolation from the class interaction which results in low academic achievement and then
being labelled as "low achiever". This eventually forms a prejudice on NESB students as
"struggling students" who require further assistance in the context of the lesson where in fact
language barrier is the main issue.
As mention above, education system reinforces dominant norms but they can also be
challenged and changed. Most of the time, school is viewed as just a place to transmit
knowledge, in fact, transmit knowledge is just a small part of school's operation. School is an
ideal place to promote equity and offer students a chance to learn and discover about other
religions, cultures, and languages. Some students that have exposed to the dominant social
structure during their childhood might find it unusual to embrace differences. It means that
teachers, schools, and societies must create a space where critical thinking and reflexive
practice for students to learn about what it means to understand and engage with differences
(D'warte, 2015). These interactions will somewhat give students opportunity to recognize,
critique and challenge oppression.

Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australian was released in

December 2008. It focuses on two main goals. The first goal is to promote equity and
excellence. However, Melbourne Declaration commits to bridge the gap in learning outcomes
between Indigenous and other students but this commitment is not given to other social
groups of students. The second goal is to support all young Australian to become successful
learners. However, this goal cannot be achieved because NESB students only have one year
of additional English language instruction, then they will be located in their class according
to their age. Some students are still struggling to position themselves in the normalizing
discourses of monolingualism, and still having a hard time to communicate ideas and
knowledge.

In conclusion, life chances of a child should not be determined by where they went to school
or where they have grown up. There are a lot of works need to be done to provide better
education and address the inequitable power relations between language and culture that are
lingering in the school system. Educational discourses, policies, and pedagogies are the
central apparatus of the reproduction of inequality, however, change can still occur within
these fields. This social exclusion and inequality in school can be challenged by enabling
teachers to critically reflect on their own assumptions, the awareness of traversing across
multiple cultures and language practices. The most meaningful thing that teachers could do to
prevent the inequality in the classroom is to create a safe environment where children are
recognized by their values, knowledge, and culture that they bring to school. If these
inclusive practices could be applied, every student will be one step closer to have access to
equal life chances.
References:
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