Learning Through Play

Australia has been said to be a very multicultural society and this is demonstrated within our schools and classrooms with the wide range of students from different cultural backgrounds. It is these cultural differences that can create difficulties in catering for the needs of individual students within a classroom. As a teacher it is important to recognise that we are ‘change agents capable of great education accomplishments and must be prepared and trained to fulfil the social function of guaranteeing equal opportunities arising from respect, tolerance and recognition of others’ differences’ (Perez-Cuso, Martinez-Clares, Gonzalez-Morga, 2014, p. 414). ‘Education … is one of the most powerful ways of inducting young people into a given culture’ (Connell et al., 2013, p. 101). Celebrating cultural diversity within schools and also individualised classrooms is vital for student development and their feelings of belonging within a community.

 

Issues that may arise when attempting to celebrate cultural diversity within a classroom is that it may come across superficial. Celebrating NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee) week is a common theme amongst schools in recent times, but after NAIDOC week is over should we move on, or keep finding different and more meaningful ways to celebrate culture throughout the school year.

 

Price (2012, pp. 156-160) discusses the windows and mirrors effect in schools. This is when students from different cultures predominately see windows into the dominant Australian culture rather than mirrors of their own identity. Our overarching aim as teachers is to give our diverse range of students’ opportunities to see mirrors – or reflections of themselves and their own culture – within our school community in a positive manner. It is through this cultural acknowledgment that we intend to engage these students and motivate them in their learning. 

 

The Australian Curriculum

The Australian Curriculum (Australian Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting Authority, 2014) is full with references to understanding and appreciating cultural diversity. Listed below are some of these features.

 

Australian Curriculum – English:

 

• Language – Language Variation and Change: Understand that English is one of many languages spoken in Australia and that different languages may be spoken by family, classmates and community (ACELA1426).

 

Australian Curriculum – Maths:

 

• Number and Algebra – Number and Place Value: Connect number names, numerals and quantities, including zero, initially up to 10 and then beyond (ACMNA002). Elaborations: using scenarios to help students recognise that other cultures count in a variety of ways, such as the Wotjoballum number systems.

 

Australian Curriculum – Humanities and Social Sciences:

 

• The humanities and social sciences component of the Australian Curriculum is full of outcomes regarding families, culture and history. If the teacher fulfils these outcomes wisely they too can become a stepping stone to sharing and celebrating cultural differences.

 

Within the Australian cross-curricular priorities, celebration and acknowledgment of cultural diversity, features quite heavily. Two of the cross-curricular priorities, Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, extensively address cultural diversity and aim to ensure students respect and understand different cultures.

 

The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia

The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) for Australia invites educators to celebrate cultural diversity and states how this falls under the idea of belonging. ‘Experiencing belonging … is integral to human existence. Children belong first to a family, a cultural group, a neighbourhood and a wider community’ (EYLF, 2009, p. 7). The EYLF (2009, p. 14) goes on to discuss the need for educators to be responsive to all children’s needs including their culturally specific skills, traditions, ways of knowing and all of the different languages that are spoken within a classroom. Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity, states that students need to ‘develop strong foundations in both the culture and language/s of their family and of the broader community without compromising their cultural identities’ (EYLF, 2009, p. 23). Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators, states that children must ‘recognise and engage with written and oral culturally constructed texts’ (EYLF, 2009, p. 41).

 

Activity Ideas

Parental Involvement - A great way to allow the cultural knowledge students have within a classroom to flourish is to invite their parents into the classroom. Parents of children from different cultures can share some of their cultural traditions and items in a genuine authentic manner. Using this as a base, we can then design and create relevant learning tasks, based around these cultural classroom events. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indigenous Art Provocation - Another way to incorporate cultural diversity might be through and Indigenous arts provocation. The provocation could include items like paint, paint brushes, paper bark, white paper, easels as well as bright, colourful pictures of native animals and Indigenous artwork to inspire and direct student engagement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Culturally Diverse Resources - Building upon Price’s (2012, pp. 156-160) windows and mirrors theory I believe every classroom should contain a wide variety of texts from different cultural backgrounds which aim to enhance students sense of belonging within the schooling system. Listed below are some great books which are culturally appropriate and offer a diverse range of students an opportunity to see themselves within the stories and not just ‘typical’ Australians.

 

 

Children's Book Recommendations

 

Same, Same But Different

Written & Illustrated by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw

 

Same, Same But Different Pen pals Elliott and Kailash discover that even though

they live in different countries -- America and India -- they both love to climb trees,

own pets, and ride school buses.

 

 

 

 

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale

Written & Illustrated by John Steptoe

 

With beautiful illustrations, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters Big Book, a Caldecott

Honor picture book, is perfect for introducing children to the Cinderella fairytale

as well as the history, culture, and geography of the African nation of Zimbabwe.

 

 

 

Grandfather's Journey

Written & Illustrated by Allen Say

 

Lyrical, breathtaking, splendid—words used to describe Allen Say’s Grandfather’s

Journey when it was first published. At once deeply personal yet expressing

universally held emotions, this tale of one man’s love for two countries and his

constant desire to be in both places.

 

 

 

 

More Information

For more information on celebrating cultural diversity please have a look at some of these informative YouTube videos below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

Aboriginal Art. (2014). 8364444_orig. [Image]. Retrieved 14/10/2014 from http://art-educ4kids.weebly.com/aboriginal-art-and-patterning.html

 

Amazon. (2014). 61q8GWczFJL._SY300_. [Image]. Retrieved 14/10/2014 from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Same-But-Different-Jenny-Kostecki-Shaw/dp/0805089462

 

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2014). Australian curriculum. Retrieved 13/10/2014 from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

 

Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace. (2009). The early years learning framework for Australia: Belonging, being and becoming. Retrieved 13/10/2014 from http://files.acecqa.gov.au/files/National-Quality-Framework-Resources-Kit/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf

 

Connell, R., Welch, A., Vickers, M., Foley, D., Bagnall, N., Hayes, D., Proctor, H., Sriprakash, A., & Campbell, C. (2013). Education, change and society (3rd Ed.).  Victoria, Australia: Oxford University Press.

 

Culture Geeks. (2014). cultural-diversity-in-the-workplace. [Image]. Retrieved 14/10/2014 from http://culturegeeks.com/enjoy-the-cultural-diversity-in-the-workplace/

 

Good Reads. (2014). 845403. [Image]. Retrieved 14/10/2014 from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/845403.Mufaro_s_Beautiful_Daughters

 

Good Reads. (2014). 208146. [Image]. Retrieved 14/10/2014 from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/845403.Mufaro_s_Beautiful_Daughters

 

Perez-Cuso, F., Martinez-Clares, P., & Gonzalez-Morga, N. (2014). The Initial Training for Educators about Cultural Diversity in 

School. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 132(2014), 413-419. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.04.330

 

Pinterest. (2014). 10246562_670707882976556_4438173522459111344_n. [Image]. Retrieved 14/10/2014 from http://www.pinterest.com/pin/188517934377052798/

 

Price, K. (Eds.). (2012) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education: An introduction for the teaching profession. Melbourne Australia: Cambridge University Press.

 

The Hindu. (2012). 06FEB_TYGPR01_City__916088g. [Image]. Retrieved 14/10/2014 from http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/school-notes/article2867905.ece