AN INQUIRY INTO A WICKED PROBLEM:

MULTICULTURALISM AND INCLUSION FOR ALL

 Inquiry Questions
• What is culture? How do various individuals and communities describe the
characteristics of culture?
• How do these characteristics influence and contribute to culture?
• What is cultural identity? How does my culture influence identity?
• What is my own cultural identity in relation to my family and my community?
• How is culture described and represented through various forms of media?
• What are the artefacts of culture? (music, food, ceremonies, celebrations,
clothes, pop culture, dance etc.) Why is it important to respect these?
• How do these characteristics of culture influence society currently and in the
future?
• What is inclusivity? Why is it important to practice it?
• What is diversity? Why must we respect it?
• How does inclusivity affect society?
 My Prior Knowledge
• I believe culture can be subjective to an individuals engagement within
a society. An individuals cultural values are reflective on the beliefs,
values and customs of a particular group or society.
• I believe that socio-economic factors can negatively impact the
inclusion for all people and equity for young Australian learners.
• I think that there will be some similarities between different cultures.
• I have been raised in a hybrid of Greek and Australian culture, and
recognise how this has influenced my values and actions. I realise the
importance for humans to identify with a culture which forms a sense
of self identity.
• Whilst it might be difficult to understand another culture, it is
important to respect other people’s culture and how this has influence
their actions, values and .
• Culture and society are not independent of each other.
• Fostering a society or education system that does not respect
multiculturalism and inclusion for all degrades the individual.
• I speculate that culture differs on different scales. For example, families
(micro), local or state communities (meso), political and national values
(macro).
• Inclusion for all is impacted by inclusive education.
 Primary and secondary sources of information
Primary generic Primary specific Secondary generic Secondary specific

Video and audio recordings Listening to people from other cultures around Online videos. Ted talks:
the world. First hand information of culture. For ‘What is it like to be Aboriginal?
example if learning about Australian Indigenous ‘
culture this video is first hand information from Australia, we need to talk’
an elder
‘The myth of Aboriginal stories being myths’

Interviews/speeches In line with a topic unit, a respective member Documentaries/short ‘Australia: Multiculturalism and Immigration’
of that cultural community may give a speech. films/speeches
Students may carry out an interview. ‘What does it mean to be Australian?’

‘What multiculturalism can do for everyone

Government laws, policies Government policies and agendas on inclusion Websites ‘Cultural diversity and children’s wellbeing’
for all people and multiculturalism i.e. House of
Representatives inquiry into Multiculturalism in ‘Culturally inclusive environment’
Australia

Art Artwork by Indigenous Australians Newspaper articles/scholarly Cultural diversity: Why we should respect others
articles cultures

‘The success of Australia’s Multiculturalism’

‘UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity’

 Findings:
• There are many legal documents that address multicultural issues such as cultural identity, racism, migration, religious freedom, refugee
status, both in Australia and internationally.
• Migration flows have contributed to the cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity which defines the character of Australian society.
• Australia’s settlement and support services have slowly adapted to the array of needs stemming from both established and emerging
migrant communities.
• People need to know the stories of aboriginal people, they need to know where they have been, and where they are going (Raven,
2018).
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture has existed in this land for around 50,000 years. The uniqueness of these cultures and the
wisdom and knowledge embedded in them, are things to be highly valued by all Australians.
• A culturally inclusive environment requires mutual respect, effective relationships, clear communication, explicit understandings about
expectations and critical self-reflection. Inclusivity can be achieved through acknowledging diversity.
• Inclusive practice is dynamic. Cultural inclusiveness addresses and supports the needs of people from diverse cultures, and values their
unique contribution.
• Multiculturalism in Australia is unique and differs from other western societies. Australia recognises cultural diversity in its national
identity. In other words, Australia’s national identity is a term that includes immigrants rather than ethnic and racial terms, the Australian
community recognises that its common identity may evolve to reflect its composition.
• Many countries and societies struggle to balance progressive and tolerant policies toward immigration and multiculturalism with
sometimes deeply rooted policies supporting monoculturalism.
• Multiculturalism is argued to be a fundamental human right, the right to maintain culture and heritage, and this view is enshrined in the
UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity.
Action Plan
To view action plan please click on the link
below to see mindmap below on Coggle
website.

https://coggle.it/diagram/W7S_2DXvFBWX6ZcI/
t/multiculturalism-and-inclusion-for-
all/ed883dba62e74f8dc3ed5b1fd2fc0c6ffd691c
29a15cc7b8ef3883019aaa539c
 Inclusiveness for all:
• Cultural inclusiveness addresses and supports the needs of people from diverse cultures,
What I have and values their unique contribution.

learnt & • The invisibility of culture in educational settings can have unintended consequences.
Despite the best of intentions, teachers and students might be unaware that what they say,
do or teach in the classroom could seem strange or offensive to others. This notion can also
possible be applied to everyday contexts.

solutions • Inclusive practices ensures that no individual is marginalised or made to feel isolated and
mistreated.
• Encouraging inclusive practices in light of multiculturalism gives students the skills to
participate in a stronger and safer communities. They consider a wide variety of cultures
and perspectives both individually and socially, in an effort to enhance their knowledge and
awareness so they are able to freely express and participate in the world around them.
Education:
• Multicultural education is not a discrete learning area. Multicultural education helps students develop in depth knowledge and awareness of
their own and other cultures, and develop an understanding of, and skills to interact in, intercultural settings
• Students develop an appreciation of the importance of local, national and international interdependence in social, environmental, economic
and political arenas and an understanding that mutual support in these areas is vital to local and global harmony.
• The quality and availability of education is not equitable, and the effectiveness of multicultural education relies on motivation to learn and
understand content and is dependant on school policy and approaches. This is a limiting factor to achieving inclusion for all.
Respectful relationships:
• When genuine acknowledgement, appreciation of, and interest in diversity is experienced, respectful relationships develop. Respectful
relationships extend beyond individuals to include aspects of special significance to particular cultures.
• Mutual respect and an honest understanding of respectful relationships that include aspects of special significance to particular cultures is not
always achieved. As such, this can impact aspects of cultural acceptance and inclusivity.