Socio-Cultural Politics of Education

Socio-Cultural Politics of Education

Assignment Two – Essay Response

Every teacher arrives in the classroom environment each day equipped for the classroom - with physical resources, pedagogical knowledge, and behaviour management techniques. Another element which teachers are never in the classroom without is their worldview assumptions. Worldview assumptions are the preconceptions, experiences, and beliefs which every person develops throughout their lives. These are inherently present in the classroom and it is up to the individual teacher to both recognise their own assumptions and be able to see how they can affect the teaching and learning in the classroom. If the teacher cannot recognise these elements in their teaching, they can have a detrimental effect on the students.

These worldview assumptions and preconceptions are heavily linked to how Australians view our society; in particular, Indigenous Australian society and education. As non-Indigenous Australian’s are the dominant group in society, emphasis is placed on them in the education system. Despite this, the differences between non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australian society means that not all teaching techniques are as effective for Indigenous Australian students as they are for their non-Indigenous Australian counterparts. This has resulted in a marked difference between these two groups of students and their ability levels, prompting government policies to try and ‘close the gap’ (Queensland Department of Education and Training). This is a policy which I believe has only served to further isolate these groups of people and create an ‘us vs. them’ mentality. Binary thinking such as this only serves to further isolate and widen this gap which already exists. In order to effectively close this learning gap, it is important to understand how both kinds of students learn. It is also imperative to consider the effect that students’ worldview assumptions and cultural backgrounds have on their schooling experiences. This will help teachers to form a comprehensive understanding of how different types of students learn and how personal assumptions and perspectives can affect both learning and teaching.

To help understand the perspectives which I bring into the classroom and which are present when I teach, it is important to have an understanding of my personal background. Raised in Canberra, in a predominantly non-Indigenous neighbourhood, I am from a non-Indigenous Australian background and grew up in what may be considered a stereotypical Australian family. My schooling was completed at a local primary school where a large majority of the students were from a similar background to mine, and I progressed to a private high school where the situation was much the same. My exposure to students from other backgrounds was limited; in particular with regards to students of Indigenous backgrounds.  Due to this, my schooling and cultural experiences are grounded in the hegemonic culture; that is, the dominant nature of middle-class non-Indigenous culture in Australia. Through my high school I was provided the opportunity to visit an Indigenous community in the Northern Territory; this was the only authentic Indigenous experience which I have had. These experiences and my background help to inform and influence my teaching styles and strategies and provide a background for this essay.

As well as needing to take a teachers worldview and assumptions into account when teaching, students in every classroom bring with them their social background and cultural perspective (Symes & Preston, 1997). These need to be taken into consideration when planning and teaching students from any background. However, there are many theories about how students learn; this is a topic which has always been a subject of contention among educators. From the learning theories of theorists Piaget and Vygotsky (Krause, Bochner, & Duchesne, 2003), many advancements have been developed to help educators explain the way in which students learn. However not all of these take into account the effect that students’ culture can have on their learning. One of these types of theory is constructivism, which includes the ideas of both Piaget and Vygotsky. This theory helps students to explore and ‘construct’ their own knowledge with assistance from the teacher, who acts as a facilitator rather than simply supplying the students with knowledge and information (Brown, 2004). One implication for teaching and learning is that the constructivist theory is designed to take advantage of students’ prior knowledge, even if this is not the case. This means that teachers must be aware of students’ background and culture in order to be able to effectively utilise this in the classroom.

Another theory which is gaining prominence, especially in primary school classrooms, is the theory of multiple intelligences (as outlined by Howard Gardner). These detail seven distinct styles of thinking and thus of learning - linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinaesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and existential. Every person uses a combination of these to process information, to think and to learn (Gardner, Moran, & Kornhaber, 2006). This theory has been embraced in classrooms to help cater to the diverse needs of students in the classroom and can been used as an effective teaching tool. Through these differing learning styles, students can be provided with a more rounded experience which caters better to the individual learning needs (and cultural experiences) of the wide range of students in a classroom.

In order for effective teaching to take place in the classroom, the teacher must have an understanding of the students. This should include not only the student as a learner (which learning style/s they use most frequently, and how they learn best), but an understanding of the student and the worldview assumptions they bring into the classroom. Students’ cultures, backgrounds and home environment have a large effect on their lives and their learning; the prejudices that students can gain from influences such as their parents can affect their behaviour towards the teacher and other students in their class. It is crucial for teachers to have knowledge of students’ backgrounds.  This can be formed by talking to parents and students to gain an insight into their home life. Armed with this knowledge, teachers will be able to use this to better differentiate their teaching and cater to each individual student in their classroom. Additionally, learning strategies can be applied in the classroom, such as Gardner’s multiple intelligences, which will help teachers understand the different ways that students think and allow them to provide well-rounded learning experiences to the students.