NAPLAN Banned?

‘NAPLAN’ or ‘the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy’ is a unified ongoing annually test for Australian students on their literacy and numeracy level. The result of all schools is published in a website called MySchool which allows visitors to view and compare the result of students in different schools. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) states that the NAPLAN tests “broadly reflect aspects of literacy and numeracy common to curricula in all States and Territories”. It aims to give an objective and fair result of educational outcome of all primary and secondary schools in Australia.

However, only five years after the NAPLAN test first announced, an article from the Daily Telegraph reporter Bruce McDougall reports that the Coalition of Australia will consider banning the publication of NAPLAN results if it wins Government on September 7 (which they already did now). The reason is that there is a series of problems about the NAPLAN result. One of these is that the NAPALN only focus on two major aspects of the whole education system which is not enough to accurately reflect the education qualities of every school and moreover, the data sets which have been published in MySchool website can be misleading when it comes to parents choosing schools for their children as a comparison tool ranks the school purely based on NAPLAN result.

In my opinion, the just like the concerns mentioned above, there is a lack of social justice in the NAPLAN result. NAPLAN only offers a very limited statistic data in limited areas of study. However, its importance has been overly emphasised to represent the overall education quality of every single school within Australia. According to Gewirtz (2012), one of the two dimensions of social justice is distributional justice (p.470), which is defined by Rawls (1972) as ‘a proper balance between competing claims’ (p.7). In a highly theoretical education system, all schools should have equally distributed facilities and teaching staffs, as well as student resources. There should not be ‘bad school’ and ‘good school’. Although it not possible to do, we should still trying our best to approach. However, the data in NAPLAN has an unbalanced view. This can influence parents’ decisions on which schools they send their children and thus cause more problems with imbalanced distribution of student resource, especially in public schools.

It is not absolutely necessary to banned NAPLAN test completely, but it is worth rethinking how should we deliver better social justice in our education system.

 

References:

McDougall, B. (2013) Coalition will consider banning publication of Naplan scores. Daily Telegraphy. Retrieved on 9/9/2013 from: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/special-features/coalition-will-consider-banning-publication-of-naplan-scores/story-fnho52jp-1226708623403

Gewirtz, S. (1998) Conceptualizing social justice in education:mapping the territory, Journal of Education Policy 13(4), 469-484

RAWLS, J. (1972) A Theory of Justice, Oxford: Clarendon Press

There's Still Racism Left

A series of polls and interviews focus on racism experiences in international students by Sam Rigney from Newcastle Herald have received mixed information and opinions. On one hand, many international students stated that they have never experienced racism since they arrived in Australia, while on the other hand, a lot of international students told their own experience of racism. For example, when being asked about if the suburbs surrounding the University of Newcastle have problem with racism, Jarrod Van-Der-Baan told the reporter “Not at all. I don’t see it around” while Nick Phillips told the reporter “We’ve got international friends and they’ve told us that they’ve suffered abuse”.

 

When there are many people say that it actually happens, we cannot ignore the elephant in the room. We have been promoting multiculturalism and antiracism for years, yet there are still negative events happen from time to time.

 

One of the unique features of Australia education system is the large amount of international students. Racism, among other issues, is one of the biggest concern of the international student community.

 

As an international student who has been studying in Australia from year 11, I have experienced a range of situation in which racism happened. When I first came to Australia, due to the vast cultural difference between Australia and China, I encountered a series of cultural shock. Apart from spending a long time trying to adapt the Australian way of schooling, I also encounter several cross-cultural issues as well as some issues of racism. Some of the ‘top racism moments’ that I have experienced due to my Chinese ethnic identity were quite unbelievable. For example, name calling such as “f****** international” or “Stupid Asian”. Moreover, there is one more experience that I want to share with everyone: My first day of senior high school was a very hot day and I was having my first ESL lesson. At that time, my high school was experimenting some environmental friendly policies. One of the policy is to reduce the use of air-conditioner as much as possible. The students in my ESL class have no idea about this new rule as it was the first day in high school for most of us. When we asked our class teacher if we could turn on the air-con because it was hot, she went to ask one of the head teachers. Then, that particular head teacher went into our class and said something like “I know there’s air-cons in China, but you know what? You guys are creating lots of pollutions. Here in Australia, we don’t!” (Not the exact words but that is what I remember.) and left the classroom, leaving all the students from China with anger and confusion and our ESL class teacher full of awkward in her face. Sadly, we did not say anything to protect ourselves as we were still in the phase of cultural shock and to be honest, we did not even realize it is racism.

Just like Minikel-Lacocque states, the racism can come from ‘the power of words’, and ‘they have the potential to help maintain various inequalities.’ (p.454-458) We are still trying to minimise race, and there is no doubt that any form of racism – even just words should still be banned. We need to take caution and be aware of even the most ‘subtle’ way of racism.

 

Reference:

Minikel-Lacocque, J. (2012) Racism, College, and the Power of Words : Racial Microaggressions Reconsidered, American Educational Research Journal 50(3), 454-458

Secular Education

Secularism in Education

A secular culture is prominent in the country of France, which in turn greatly affects the schooling experience of the students. France has introduced a secular charter in schools. This culture is designed to provide more equality between students in the classrooms. This culture is banning religion from schools which is causing tension amongst students of different religious backgrounds, especially those with under an Islamic faith. The secular culture in France is aimed to provide conditions for pupils to “forge their own personality, exercise free will and become citizens free from pressure of proselytising”. Socialist government's education minister, Vincent Peillon states that the secular charter will “it represents an attempt to promote better understanding, and more consistent enforcement, of long-established principles”

The secular culture has been integrated into the education system with a “secular code of conduct”. Every student has freedom of opinion but that nobody can use personal beliefs to oppose a class or miss a lesson. This culture is highly contrasted to Australia, where multiculturalism and acceptance of different cultures is prevalent. Australian schools have been labelled as micropublics, a place where students of diverse cultural backgrounds come together to learn. They are enabled to “transcend cultural boundaries”. Australian schools enforce “the need for nurture an appreciation of and respect for social cultural and religious diversity and a sense of global citizenship”. (Melbourne Declaration on Educational goals for Young Australians, 2008). Public education in Australia has aspired to be a force for social cohesion, for building mutual understanding between people of different ethnic, religious, vocational and socio-economic backgrounds”, which has enabled the “peaceful co-existence of different groups”. (Professor Tony Vinson, 2002)

The secular culture in France has caused a lot of controversy which has also greatly affect students of various religions. Students are excluded in schools for wearing religious symbols and clothing. There have been many cases where Sikh boys who cover their hair have dropped out of school due to the school not accepting their religious garments. Earlier this year a Muslim girl was excluded from her school after a headband and long skirt were deemed to constitute overtly religious garb. 

I understand that France is trying to have a more homogenous society, but I feel that enforcing secularism upon its citizens is not a suitable path to take. I feel that it is a notion that should be encouraged instead of enforced. Enforcing such rules upon the various religious communities has caused much anger and strife. It has had many negative impacts upon the population and the students. Having a more homogenous group will minimise cultural disadvantage in education but impacts negatively on the student when they feel rejected from the group especially if they feel that they are being targeted.

http://www.france24.com/en/20130909-france-unveils-new-secularism-charter-schools

http://www.france24.com/en/20130909-france-unveils-new-secularism-charter-schools

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3955/france-secularism-charter

 Ho, C. (2011). Respecting the presence of others: School micropublics and everyday multiculturalism. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 32(6), 603-619.

Independent Schools

Independent schools in Sydney

Independent schools in Sydney have had an increase in enrollments since the 1970s. Figures have highlighted that there has been a 62% in growth in enrollment for independent schools from 1985-2009, with only a 9% increase in enrollments for government schools. Among the OECD countries, Australia has the largest private school sector (Halse, 2004, Pg 609, Christina Ho, 2011),

Statistics have highlighted that academic results from students in private schools are much higher than those from public schools. This has resulted in the withdrawal of students to the private sector due the lack of confidence in the teaching quality in public schools.

The federal government has also made an agreement with the Independent Schools Council of Australia to provide additional funding to private schools. There has been a significant increase in the amount of funding placed onto private schools despite only 34% of students enrolled. From 1995-1996, $1.9 million, 57% of total federal funding, was provided to public schools. This increased to $6.6 million, 65% of total federal funding, in 2007-2009. This has given private school a “financial edge” (Halse, 2004) over public schools due in increased federal funding and also the private schools fees. With the current agreement made with the federal government, independent schools are set to receive $629 million over the next 6 years.

This movement claims to provide greater empowerment of schools and greater support for teaching staff. The funding will also provide independent schools specialist resources to assist with literacy and numeracy, brighter students and also students with disabilities. This has correlated to the decisions made by parents to place their children in private schools due to the demand for quality education, viewing private schools as more disciplined, valued based and better resourced than public schools. On the other hand, the rate of increase for funding public schools has been far lower than the rate of private schools. The achievements of students in public schools has been continually declining.

This makes me question about what the federal government wants to do with public schools. Shouldn't education be more accessible? Private schools are already receive a significant amount of funding and are also outperforming public schools. Shouldn't the government place more funding in the public sector to raise the academic standards and provide more equality for education? The move they are taking leads me to assume that they have deserted public schools and the majority of the students.

Over funding private schools prevents the achievement of a strong public education sector that is valued by Australia as a multicultural society. To achieve a strong public sector with education and resources that are readily available to all students, I believe that the government should invest more time and money there instead. With that approach, there will be more equality and hopefully students in public schools will achieve greater results.

References

http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/residents-irate-as-private-schools-buy-up-neighbourhood-20130914-2trj3.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-10/independent-schools-endorse-better-schools-plan/4811700

Ho, C. (2011). Respecting the presence of others: School micropublics and everyday multiculturalism. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 32(6), 603-619.

Fellow Australians, who or what are we afraid of?

In the last couple of months, numerous racist verbal abuses within Australia have been recorded and shared amongst various social media sites. One attack in particular that has caught my attention is an attack an old woman made against a school boy in Sydney on a bus early this year. Below I have pasted the link to the footage taken on the day when the abuse occurred. I will have to warn you all though that there is explicit language spoken so viewer discretion is advised.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiLpFG5uUc0

During my research into this particular case, there was one thing that had really bothered me about this. Recently, the woman who abused the student had been taken to court, but has left the case with no conviction. That’s right, no conviction. She had pleaded guilty, but had escaped the incident with only a six-month good behaviour bond. This case is only one of many incidents where these ‘abusers’ escape harsh punishments after racially abusing numerous people of different cultural backgrounds. And so, through these incidents, I instantly think of how such attacks can create a social hierarchy within schools since many would become suppressed by another, bringing me to my question – do these incidents happen due to ‘whiteness’, or is it because we are down-right racist?

As seen in numerous incidents, it has always involved a person of ‘Caucasian’ background, against another who is of a different race from them. These attackers verbally abuse the victim(s), and it usually involves anything to do with the fact that they do not belong in this country, or that they are not a ‘true Australian’, whatever that means. This really allows me to focus on the true power of words, and how these attacks, despite it not being physical, can truly affect someone. As Minikel-Lacocque (2013) states in her work “…Words carry significant power. They have the potential to help maintain various inequalities…on a societal level…” This quote then leads me to my next question, is there evidence of this behaviour in education which defines societal levels and if so, is it whiteness, or racism?

Sadly, the answer is a big yes yet, I assume the reasons behind the behaviour can be debatable. Evidence of this can be seen in the recent “Education Revolution” led by the former Rudd and Gillard government. As Vass (2012) states in his findings on school-based inequalities, NAPLAN is an active process in promoting inequality. As the results of NAPLAN are associated with federal funding, there has subsequently been an initiative to teach students the “white” cultural capital (p.4). Furthermore, evidence has also demonstrated the fact that schools are devising strategies to avoid low-achieving students to take the NAPLAN tests. Within this group of students most likely include Indigenous students, as schools automatically presume that these students will lack in performance behind their peers based on the societal, constructed beliefs. So, is this due to whiteness, or is it racism against the minority? Who knows.

So, today I am still just as disgusted about these attacks against other races which now even exist on our public transport. This type of behaviour and treatment is unacceptable in society, so likewise schools should not tolerate with this either. However, as much as we would like to deny it, it still happens regardless. 

References:

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiLpFG5uUc0
2.  Minikel-Lacocque, J. (2013). Racism, college and the power of words: Racial microaggressions reconsidered. American Educational Research Journal, 50, pp. 432-465.
3. Vass, G. (2012). The racialised educational landscape in Australia: listening to the whispering elephant. Race Ethnicity and Education, pp. 1-26.
4. AAP (August 6^th 2013), “No Conviction for racist Sydney bus rants”, Sydney Morning Herald, accessed Spetember 20^th: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/no-conviction-for-racist-sydney-bus-rants-20130806-2rbmj.html

The Influence of Popular Culture on Individuals’ Choice of Professions

A number of factors contribute to the way in which individuals come to an understanding of what the popular culture is. Popular culture can also be defined as cultural patterns that are widely spread and accepted within a population. The popular culture is interpreted by people based on information from various forms such as media, music, and movies. More specifically, the popular culture is shaped by reflecting and reifying conventions of social discourses such as gender, values, and sexuality, generating influences on lives of youth and students in the society. For example, people receive information from a variety of sources, based on which they tend to make choices and judgments.

Amy McNeilage‘s (14 September 2013) article titled “The nerd factor blamed for drop in IT hopefuls” reveals the influence of popular culture on individuals in the context of education. It shows that students’ choice of the field of studying is greatly affected by what they interpret as the popular culture. Computer science is a field with an ever increasing demand due to the rapid development of technology. However, in NSW, IT related subjects are experiencing a rapid drop in the student enrollments, which will potentially result in an insufficient supply of IT graduates, therefore leading to a significant shortage of workers. This trend, as claimed in the article, could be attributed to the negative image of IT workers created by the media, as well as the conventional belief that discourages females from entering “masculine professions”.

The image of IT workers of being nerdy, socially awkward and unpopular is received by students as part of the popular culture. Similarly, arts students are associated with unemployment in social media. On the contrary, professions such as lawyers have an image depicted as smart, wealthy and well respected. Such information is received by youths as part of the popular culture, causing biased and prejudicial perceptions on different professions.

On the other hand, there is a prevailing idea that some professions are purely masculine or feminine. For example, such professions as scientist, engineer, and policeman are seen as more typical for men rather than women. Instead, teacher, nurse, secretary are conventionally seen as more suitable for women. It is suggested that by encouraging women into the male-dominated IT sector, the shortage in supply could be mitigated.

Speaking from my personal experience, I agree with the two points raised in the news article. The above two factors played an important role when I was deciding between science and arts in high school. I was hesitant about taking science subjects although I really wanted to. Part of the reason was because I did not want to become a typical “science nerd”. Besides, most of my girl friends decided to take arts subjects, and they believed that arts subjects were more suitable for girls and thought it was a more conventional choice. Although I chose science in the end, the great influence that the popular culture had on the choices of my schooling.

Reference

McNeilage, A. (2013, September 14). The nerd factor blamed for drop in IT hopefuls. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from  http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/the-nerd-factor-blamed-for-drop-in-it-hopefuls-20130913-2tq5m.html

Issues relating to NSW Private Schools’ right to Expel Gay Students

The NSW laws have been gradually progressing in regards to sexuality and transgender status, responding to the overall tendency of higher acceptance and understanding about people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) around the world.

A news article written by Josephine Tovey (2013) discussed the disparity in legislations in regards to discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity of pupils. According to the article, in NSW, The current anti-discrimination laws protect LGBT students from discrimination against their sexuality or transgender status by declaring it unlawful for schools to expel, refuse admission or expulsion students on those grounds. However, NSW private schools and colleges are not subject to the same laws that apply to public schools. Private schools are allowed to have the freedom to take actions that are unlawful for public schools against such students. This issue has drawn the attention of Alex Greenwich, the Independent MP for Sydney. The success of Mr. Greenwich’s action is expected to overturn the situation, benefiting GLBT students in not only Sydney but also the whole state.

The inequality gap between “normal students” and those who are categorised as “abnormal” is putting these students at the risk of becoming the victims of legitimised discrimination. It is suggested by van Wormer and McKinney (2003) that youths who are identified or even perceived as gay or lesbian are likely to suffer from verbal and physical assaults (p.411). Moreover, in a school environment that the GLBT students are not protected against discrimination by laws, such harassments and bullying are more likely to take place.

An earlier article by Tovey (2013) states that private schools, religious schools in particular, have been supporting this disparity by advocating their religious freedom as a fundamental human right. Religious schools emphasise that the dissonance between their religious beliefs and homosexuality and transgender status attacks their on their rights, and furthermore violates the interest of students and parents who regard the religious faith as a prime factor when choosing schools.

I believe that it is mistreatment for GLBT pupils to base the intrinsic value of a student on his or her sexual orientation or sexual identity. In my opinion, sexual orientation and gender identity are merely part of one’s identity, just like race, and marital status. These factors should not be taken into consideration when making judgments. Schools should be supportive for all students as every student has a right to feel safe, and get support and protection at school. It can be done by creating a climate of acceptance, support, and equality. Moreover, religious schools do not require all students to be of that religion to be eligible for admission. Similarly, GLBT students should not be refused the right of receiving education

References

Tovey, J. (2013, July 7). Schools defend right to expel gay students. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/schools-defend-right-to-expel-gays-20130706-2pirh.html

Tovey, J. (2013, August 28). Push to end expulsion of gay students. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from     http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/push-to-end-expulsion-of-gay-students-20130827-2soet.html

van Wormer, K., & McKinney, R. (2003). What schools can do to help gay/lesbian/bisexual youth: A harm reduction approach. Adolescemce, 38(151), 409-420.