Running Head – Assignment 1 Essay (2000 words) Anthony Nakhoul - 17719490

(Chose one contemporary social justice issue currently being focused upon in the media such as:

sexuality, gender, language, refugees or ethnicity and discuss how Australian schools are meeting

the challenge of equity and access for (impacted) minority groups).

Schools play a vital role in the settlement of young refugees and facilitate their needs for sense of

belonging. A refugee can be refereed too as a person who has been forcibly removed away from

home due to various reasons (Refugee Council of Australia, 2017). This essay will focus on how

Australian schools are meeting the challenge of equity and access for refugees. This essay will

also examine the social injustices faced by refugees, how government policies have impacted

refugees and if the policies are beneficial to refugees. Access can be defined as a services that are

available to everyone without discrimination (Usher, 2016). This can relate to equity which is

about ensuring that opportunities are equal amongst people disregarding religion and culture

(Lingard, Sellar, & Savage 2014).

Australian schools are implementing policies that support equity and access for impacted minority

groups such as refugees. Zainab Ashrafi is a Chester Hill High School student that bravely told her

story as a refugee who was removed from her home by religious violence in Afghanistan and

Pakistan to her class during the famous multicultural flag day (Beech, 2015). Tragically, at age 3-

4 the event occurred which forcibly removed Zainab and her family away from home. The same

issue occurred in Pakistan as her family was targeted, which then led them to Australia. Flag day

is a very important day for the school as it has been around for more than 15 years. There are 77

different nationalities present at the school showing the importance of multiculturalism as many

performances occurred throughout the celebration. Zainab’s successful transition into a safe, equal

environment is representative of the Multicultural Education Policy. Based on the diversity of

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religion and culture in NSW, the aim is to provide students the opportunity to study equally and

achieve cultural diversity ("Multicultural Education Policy | Policy library", 2017). This can be

made evident through learning and development programs that students must undergo in order

to understand religion and culture to form positive relationships with one another. Effective

communication is one of the many topics that is of great value in the policy. It allows students

to become involved in the school community which will help students interact with each other.

Among various other significant acts, this policy implements Chester hill high school’s

multicultural acceptance, equity and access for refugees within Australia (Lingard, Sellar &

Savage, 2014).

In the mid-1970s there were only 3 million refugees worldwide. Since then there has been a

dramatic rise which there are now 11 million refugees today. Main social injustices occurred prior

to colonization where the western way was predominantly followed. This meant that people were

living based on perceiving, knowing and a describing world (Collins, 7017). In saying so, the

refugees had no rights and were forced to blend into the society around them. Refugees have many

aspects of protection, in which include the safety of the people whom have escaped a dangerous

lifestyle, sustained human rights, access to education, and sufficiently fair asylum procedures. The

treatment of refugees within Australia is evidently seen as an act of injustice, as the government

poses strategies in order to cut communication on these asylum seekers. This conveys the

inequality that asylum seekers are exposed too as well as showing the governments indecorous use

of power. Portraying the severity of this social injustice, it provides an insight of the lack of

knowledge we have of the experiences these asylum seekers have come across. Social equality

within Australian boarders are inadequately placed in order to protect the lives of refugees.

Nevertheless, society must take part in amplifying the voices and perspectives of the diverse public

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and view each individual through the lens of equity (Singleton, 2014). There are many impacts

that personal and cultural biases and assumptions have had on education. The consequences that

bias has affected the education have been very large which are evidently shown through ordinary

everyday actions. Through many western cultures, eye contact is associated with assertiveness,

paying attention and honesty. On the contrary, many cultures including Asian, Latino, Native

American and Middle Eastern looking someone deeply in the eye is actually a great sign disrespect.

When it comes to public speaking and speaking in front of a crowd in an educational atmosphere,

looking directly at the audience and not drifting your eyesight off is an essential part of the

deliverance of your speech. However, if your cultural context perceives that eye contact is deemed

as disrespectful, this may cause you to feel somewhat uncomfortable and difficulty talking in front

of big crowds. On the other hand, if your audience that you are speaking to falls under that same

context, keep in mind that the eye contact that you would be giving could be understood as

frightening or disrespectful. These bias thoughts and cultural habits may affect the refugee students

that want to speak up in such activities by further ostracising and/or excluding them from the

traditions that is associated within the western culture.

You could say 2013 was a very tough year for Saad Al-Kassab and his family. Leaving them with

no choice but to flee their home country of Syria in the midst of the civil war, which at that point

in time had claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. Saad Al-Kassab moved to Melbourne, Victoria

to live a quiet and relaxing life, one that would help the upbringing of their children away from

the violence and bloodshed in their home country. After arriving in Australia in June 2014, his

brother Omar and himself attempted to start to learn English, they did this by watching ‘Question

time in Parliament’ and ‘Joining the Scouts’ to develop their comprehension (Wright, 2016). In

doing so, it allowed the brothers to learn the patterns and behaviours of people who have power in

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speech. Saad Al-Kassab went to the Catholic Regional College Sydenham which was located in

Melbourne’s North-West. Saad Al-Kassab went on to becoming very successful in his schooling

career, which landed him a very impressive Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) score of

96.65. This mark also landed Saad the Dux of the Catholic Regional College Sydenham school.

He also said that “if you did not get the result you wanted, seek advice from your school and

remember that there are many pathways for success in life” (Wright, 2016). Thus illustrating that

anything is possible which gives power to fellow refugee students to do what they want and strive

for greatness. The department of Education and Early Childhood Development and Schools has

many challenges that it is able to recognise that the reality of the ‘refugee experience’ that affect

the students and to respond with suitable and specific programs to further assist with the settlement

into western culture. The Department of Education aims to incorporate the example of dominant

discourse into helping the refugees gain a feeling of power and acceptance (Multicultural

Education Policy | Policy library 2017). The few aspects that schools need to take into

consideration are the lack of first and second language, minimal comprehension with how schools

are run and the trauma that may have been associated with the refugee experience. All these

contribute to how the refugee students are likely to approach the obstacles related to settling in and

learning in the school. In 2004, a new arrival program was created to help students of refugee and

humanitarian culture into the community. This program caters for students who target specific

Visa provisions and are entitled for English language education.

Power and inequality is amplified throughout the whole case study. Saad Al-Kassab is the focus

of the attention as the case study is based on his success. Starting off by having no power and

equality and living in the worn town country of Syria, Saad and his family are struggled to stay

alive and participate in their daily activities. Throughout the duration of the war and the beginning

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of Saad’s story, no form of equality and power was shown for himself and his family. Coming to

Australia has had a major impact on his life where the power is shifted from everyone else, to Saad

and his family as they leave their war torn home and move to Australia for a new life. Here shows

an instant turn of power and equality as his family embark to Australia where they are instantly

felt welcomed as he states “The community was lovely to me”. Through the many successes that

Saad had in his schooling career, from not even being able to speak a word of the language when

he got here in June 2014, to becoming dux of his school in year 12 with an exceptional mark. The

emphasis of both power and equality is shown in this case study as it emphasises the strong turn

of events that Saad and his family had to go through to get to where they are today. The department

of education and early childhood development have an important role in preparing refugees for

school. Empathy and understanding of the refugees’ past is of great importance as it gives us an

insight on what they have gone through (Kaplan, Stolk, Valibhoy, Tucker & Baker, 2016). There

are specific programs that the Victorian government have enforced in schools which target the

needs of refugees. The need for proficient literacy is important as most refugees speak English as

a second language if not at all. The policy has a large emphasis on this and focuses on allowing

the refugees to speak and understand English which will help them throughout their schooling

years. The recognition and settlement of refugees has been an ongoing importance to the Victorian

Government and is specifically mentioned in the Beyond Five Million population policy of 2004.

The humanitarian needs of the refugees are of great importance in the Victorian government as

they focus on the cultural and religious needs of their students. Cultural diversity is practiced

through school programs which are designed to help refugees feel comfortable and promote a

positive attitude in the schooling environment. The other policy mentioned is the Multicultural

Education Policy and operates its power through inclusive teaching and tolerance based on respect

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for the culture, and religious views. There is an imbalance as there is a struggle for refugees to

maintain their original roots thus allowing them to accept the western culture and marginalise the

refugees. Education is Australia has failed to create a multi-lingual system which means that it is

time to move on and create a system that is able to teach English and allow refugees to keep their

origin and not be molded into western culture entirely. Overall both policies are very successful in

helping refugees develop their skills in order to help them complete their schooling years.

Through the course of this essay it has become clear that refugees who come to Australia have a

support network behind them which encourages them to express themselves and have a sense of

belonging. The policies inforce equity, access to all services and multiculturalism amongst school

settings to support social justice and equality. By analysing the two case studies, it further

correlates and emphasizes the importance of refugees migrating to Australia and the need for them

to easily and effortlessly fit in within western culture in regards to education, culture and social

dominance.

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References
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in-australia/news-story/be74104b224b341497ec3e3d4f1c8141
Collins, J. (2017). Refugee Theory, Law and Settlement. Retrieved 16 March 2017, from
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Kaplan, I., Stolk, Y., Valibhoy, M., Tucker, A., & Baker, J. (2016). Cognitive assessment of
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Lingard, B., Sellar, S., & Savage, G. C. (2014). Re-articulating social justice as equity in
schooling policy: The effects of testing and data infrastructures. British Journal of
Sociology of Education, 35(5), 710-730.
Multicultural Education Policy | Policy library. (2017). Education.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 16
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education-policy
Singleton, G. E. (2014). Courageous conversations about race: A field guide for achieving equity
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Usher, K. M. (2016). Valuing all knowledges through an expanded definition of access. Journal
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Who is a refugee? - Refugee Council of Australia. (2017). Refugee Council of Australia.

Retrieved 16 March 2017, from
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Wright, P. (2016). Syrian refugee tops Year 12 class with 96.65 ATAR. ABC News. Retrieved 16
March 2017, from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-12/syrian-refugee-tops-year-12-
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