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·      Garcia, A. C. (2014). The “Outsider/Insider” Assignment: A Pedagogical Innovation for Teaching Cross-Cultural Understanding. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 26(3), 453-462.

·      [No author provided]. (2009). Understanding Cultural Difference through Dialogue, La Trobe University. Ethos, 17(4), 15-19.

·      Shatara, H. L. (2007). A Teacher’s Power: A Muslim Child’s Perspective. Multicultural Perspectives, 9(1), 50-52.

·      Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2017). Intercultural Capability. Retrieved from http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/intercultural-capability/introduction/rationale-and-aims

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It is our intention that these resources will build on the inclusivity you already practice, but we also seek to specialise them with refugees in mind, given the challenges they face to even make it to a classroom, let alone benefit from an education. Crucially, a similar resource produced by other teachers argues that cultural difference “presents challenges for immigrants, and for those into whose communities the immigrants have come” (No author provided, 2009). We welcome you to this resource and trust that while you seek to change the lives for those students from different cultures, your end goal is to bring the whole student cohort together into one cohesive community that will engender prosperity and togetherness in society evermore.

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To use this resource, click on each link on the original Padlet, where you’ll find relevant information and resources on sub-topics of cultural difference and understanding. These are designed for differentiation in your own practice and it is our hope that through engaging with these materials that you will come away with ideas and strategies for your practice that will ensure that the students at the margin are included so that they can reap the same benefits of an Australian education as every other student.

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Furthermore, the notion of social issues is closely tied to the experience of refugees in Australian society, particularly when considering the current political discourse on this issue. How can we help refugees in their milieu so that they feel comfortable and capable enough to succeed academically? Shatara (2007) discusses how for her, “success” in a new country and culture meant “rejecting my parents, my culture, and my religion,” and it is this sort of experience that as teachers must at all costs avoid. Australia is one of the most diverse countries in the world and I do not believe it is a coincidence that Australia is also generally recognised as one of the most liveable countries in the world, and we as teachers are responsible for creating and cultivating the type of society we all want to be in through understanding, inclusion and celebration of difference.

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Perhaps the best place to start would be to look at the Victorian Curriculum and its notion of ‘intercultural capability’ (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2017), which argues that intercultural understanding is essential, and thus seeks to enable students to “relate to and communicate across cultures.” But even this, I would argue, isn’t specific enough for us as teachers. We are not only academic educators but pastoral carers and the social adhesive in what can be a diverse, even conflicting classroom. Accordingly, Garcia (2014) argues that better understanding of culture and cultural difference can help heal social problems and dilemmas. This is particularly pertinent for us secondary teachers where students are still learning to regulate themselves and cope with their environment and social issues can regularly crop up.

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Cultural difference and understanding. They are words we often hear as teachers. Yet what do they really mean? What significance does this hold for our practice? How do we ‘do’ cultural difference and understanding? These are not easy questions to answer.