There were many aspects of diversity and inclusion embedded through my primary school education. Cultural responsiveness was included quite significantly throughout my education due to having students from various cultures in my classroom. My teacher would always celebrate days of significance to each student to show that they belong within the school community. These days of significance included: Ramadan, Chinese New Year, Reconciliation Week, NAIDOC Week and many others (ACARA, 2024). Celebrating days of significance in the classroom allowed for all students to learn and build on their knowledge of different cultures, how they celebrate these days and why it is important.
I believe that teachers incorporate aspects of cultural responsiveness into their daily lessons to provide students with a sense of belonging and educate their peers about their culture and how they can be respectful towards each other. This in turn creates an inclusive learning environment where all students can strive. Teachers spend each day navigating how they can implement the necessary content knowledge in order to include aspects of diversity.
There are many strategies that we as teachers can implement in order to ensure we are teaching about diversity, with diversity and for diversity in the classroom. Strategies that have found to be effective include utilising group work sessions for students to have discussions amongst each other about their own lived experiences (Queensland Department of Education, 2024). Another strategy is using clear classroom expectations to ensure students are respectful towards each other. Using clear expectations in the classroom helps to form each student’s sense of self as well as their beliefs, values and morals by taking into consideration how they should treat their friends and peers. These strategies can be embedded into any lesson to allow for further content retention and understanding of why we treat people with respect and dignity.
References:
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2024). HASS F-6 – Year 4.
Queensland Department of Education. (2024). Inclusion and Diversity.
https://alt-qed.qed.qld.gov.au/working-with-us/induction/department/human-resources/inclusion-and-diversity
