The schools in Australia must commit to illuminating racial harassment by implementing appropriate policies and teaching strategies. According to the NSW DET’s Anti-racism policy statement, all forms of racism must be rejected, including direct, indirect, individual, institutional, or intentional and unintentional racism. Both Racism. No way! and NSW DET Anti-racism policy statement highlights the critical elements of education that assist in combating the problem. The first document defines racism as a result of unjust treatment that can be executed by either individuals or institutions based on social or personal values. Hence, as part of the strategy to eliminate racism at schools and reconsolidate the Australian and Aboriginal citizens, teachers must improve their competence and cultural awareness.
Firstly, it is necessary to define what constitutes anti-racism policies in an educational environment. The assistance that the previously discussed anti-racism guides provide to the Aboriginal Education Policy is vast since they describe another aspect of mistreatment that students at schools may experience, which impairs their learning abilities. NSW DET & AECG discusses the aspects of implementing Aboriginal-specific policies in schools. This document supports the previously discussed policies since it acknowledges the lack of adequate strategies that would aid in developing sustainable school policies in New South Wales that lead to unsatisfactory educational outcomes of students. In addition, NSW DET & AECG explicitly states that the incorporation of the Aboriginal Education Policy (AEP) is mandatory for all educational facilities. Hence, this guide highlights the need to dedicate more effort towards improving the understanding of the Aboriginal cultures as part of the racism elimination.
The central aspect highlighted in the discussed document is the need to improve the reconsolidation efforts and incorporate Aboriginal perspectives into the process of developing school curriculums, which should improve the general understanding of the Aboriginal cultures. According to NSW DET & AECG , “the successful implementation of this policy should ensure Aboriginal students can participate in learning environments unencumbered by the negative effects of racism”. In addition, this statement suggests teaching the staff about Aboriginals’ perspectives. Reflecting the views of the Aboriginal community, this report suggests that school planning has to consider the issues of racism and strategies for overcoming them to support the learning of the Aboriginal students.
Secondly, one must identify the abilities of an educational facility to fulfill these requirements. The NSW DET Anti-racism policy contains five primary aspects of policy designs that all schools must adopt to end racism in any form. For instance, the Department outlines the need to teach about cultural diversity in Australia to promote the understanding of the acceptance of cultural, religious, and linguistic differences. This policy also cited legal acts that make racism illegal, supported by the statement that all staff members have to be aware of their behavior to mitigate the possibilities of unintentional racisms, as well as support students through their learning of the implications and adverse impact of racism.
Schools have to explicitly state their anti-racism policy and incorporate cultural inclusivity in their hiring and personnel management strategies. This approach is suggested by the NSW DET RNW that features the responsibilities of schools and educators regarding the efforts that will help implement the anti-racism policies. In regards to the curriculum design, this guide suggests having lessons that explain the cultural value of the Aboriginal community by acknowledging the history, as well as the social and linguistic elements of their culture. A vital element of this statement is the need to incorporate staff training that would target supporting students subjected to racial bullying at school. In general, this guide provides valuable input into the anti-racism efforts of the Department of Education since it highlights the need for inclusivity in a variety of domains, such as recruitment policies, student representative bodies, and incorporation of parents from diverse backgrounds into the process of designing and implementing new practices.
Mutual corroboration is the primary measure that can help improve the learning outcomes of Aboriginal students. The NSW DET Aboriginal Education Policy (2008) requires schools to establish practices that will promote the understanding of Aboriginal culture and create supportive environments for Aboriginal children. In support of this requirement, NSW BOS, refers to the need for including the Aboriginal communities in the process of developing and implementing various policies. Arguably, this is the only way of learning about the history, and specifics of their culture and language. Hence, the implication of the NSW BOS (2008) is that the schools should engage in a two-way conversation with the Aboriginal communities to improve the comprehension of the culture on both sides. This will ensure that the Aboriginal perspectives used in developing the policies are authentic.
Additionally, understanding the different perspectives of viewing the Aboriginal culture is crucial. According to Keeffe, the two primary elements that pertain to Aboriginals, persistence, and resistance. The first concept refers to the culture of Aboriginals as being inherited while the second refers to Aboriginals that combine the elements of their culture with those of others. Hence, educators should understand the concept of Aboriginality from different perspectives since the perception of Aboriginals differs in different regions of Australia.
Overall, the Department of Education aims to improve the knowledge of the Aboriginal students, and the elimination of racism is a critical element. Hence, one can argue that the documents discuses above are an integral part of the NSW DET Aboriginal Education Policy since they outline the issues of discrimination that can obstruct students from adequate learning and present strategies that schools should use to improve the understanding of the Aboriginal culture.
References
NSW DET. (2000). RNW. Web.
NSW DET. (2005). Anti-racism Policy. Web.
NSW. (2008). BOS. Web.