This topic was chosen for a variety of reasons. The first reason was because of my own personal experience with my middle eastern culture and growing up in Australia, and adopting the Australian culture. During my schooling, I was often labelled ‘Arab’ or ‘Terrorist’ because of many of the students assumed that middle eastern people were all involved in extremist groups. Furthermore, I often felt excluded in school activities because of this. It has been suggested that approximately one in five Australians have experienced race-hate talk (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2014, p. 3).  believe that if there were more intercultural awareness during my time at school, this would not have occurred and the figure of race-hate talk would be lower.

The second reason I have chosen intercultural understanding was to highlight the difference that intercultural understanding has on students, teachers and the school community as a whole, based on my observations when I was volunteering at a primary school in Noble Park. The majority of students were immigrants to Australia. However, the school had an excellent intercultural program that occurred once a week to ensure all students were and felt accepted.

Understanding others cultures enhances an individual’s social, personal and interpersonal skills as it cultivates values and characteristics such as ‘curiosity, empathy, reciprocity, respect, responsibility, open mindedness and awareness’ (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2016). Developing a learning environment which is supportive and accepting allows students and teachers to learn and grow together (Barrett 2008, p. 5).

 The second aspect of interculturality is the exhibition of empathy to others.  During my time at the school in Hampton Park, empathy was shown by simply acknowledging others backgrounds. For example, one student was a refugee from Malaysia and was telling the class a recount of how he and his father had snuck onto a boat, and traveled to Australia. On the way to Australia, the boat had been hijacked and many of their belongings had been stolen. Although many of the students had not experienced that, they were able to identify and put themselves in that position to understand how scared he must’ve been (Barrett 2008, p. 3). This enabled the student to continue telling their story, but also provide the teachers and students with an insight into his culture and history.  Moreover, this particular student spoke about his refugee status and what that meant for his family. The students and teachers were not only able to empathise with this student but they were also able to compare their lives to his, which facilitated acceptance and support for their classmate (Barrett 2008, p. 3).   

The classroom chats that provide an insight into each student’s backgrounds enable everyone to feel secure, supported and more importantly accepted. A warm learning environment allows students to flourish and strive to do their best (Barrett 2008, p. 3).

The second strategy to ensure intercultural understanding is to have specific knowledge of others cultures and practices (Barrett 2008, p. 3). Furthermore, it is also important to have a general knowledge of different cultures, as it creates communication between individuals, which may decrease the spread of incorrect information which may have been taught previously both directly or indirectly. Moreover, having actual knowledge of different cultures results in a decline in racism and offensive talk. 

As mentioned previously, I was labelled ‘terrorist’ and ‘Arab’ because I was middle eastern. I was often told that ‘Arabs were scary’ because of events that occurred around the world. Additionally, I was often asked why I was not wearing a Hijab or a Burka, and when I replied with “I am not Islamic’ people were often shocked, because of the automatic assumption that all middle eastern people were of Muslim faith. It is essential that people are educated at grass roots what each culture is. In my personal experience, I often felt isolated and unsupported by students and teachers. I also believe that racism needs to be addressed.

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority 2016, Intercultural Understanding, ACARA, retrieved 15 January 2017, <http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/intercultural-understanding/introduction/introduction>

 

Australian Human Rights Commission 2014, Face the Facts: Cultural Diversity, Australian Human Rights Commission, Sydney, NSW, pp. 1 - 6, retrieved 15 January 2017 
<https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/FTFCulturalDiversity.pdf>.

Barrett, M 2008, Intercultural Competences: Some Reflections based on the Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters, Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK, pp. 1 - 9.

Cross Cultural Etiquette - Mr. Baseball.mp4, YouTube, John Smith, 8 April, retrieved 15 January 2017, < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdeFdFEbuqk>.

What is Empathy?, YouTube, Start Empathy, 1 May, Retrieved 16 January 2017, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icIlUdTEQnU>