There’s a famous quote, that’s often cited when talking about the role education has in a child’s development. Simply put, it states ‘A good education can change anyone. A good teacher can change everything!’
What does it mean to be a good teacher, though? At the heart of it, the education system has gone through many changes – from something that was only accessible to those with the social status to the universal right that exists today.
Those who have completed a Graduate Certificate in Education online are entering a world where teaching has transformed massively in the last two decades – from a landscape of physical textbooks to an increasingly digital education system. Let’s explore how the role of diversification can help create and foster great educational experiences for students and educators alike.
Our Diverse Society
Let’s get real – Australia is a wonderful melting pot of multiculturalism. The people that we live and work with, as well as our peers from school, often come from a vast and varied set of backgrounds. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that across 110 years of Census data, the proportion of Australians who were born overseas has risen from 18% in 1911 to 30% in 2021.
Australia’s society is diverse and it’s all the better for it. It allows for the sharing of culture, language, and tradition. There are many, many reasons why multiculturalism is important – In part, Australia’s diversity helps to foster a sense of inclusivity, that drives innovation and growth across all industries.
Consider, for example, the idea of the simple halal snack pack, sometimes known as the HSP. While the concept was around for several decades (being known in some states as an AB, or simply a meat pack), in 2015, the Halal Snack Pack Appreciation Society launched on social media, creating a movement that celebrated the kebab and takeaway shops of the time. As a movement, it celebrated what multiculturalism is about – celebrating tradition, creating new things together, and all in all, being kind to one another.
Teaching, in part, is a little bit like a snack pack – a collection of different bits and pieces (teachers), that help bring together ideas about the curriculum and education to form a comprehensive meal for thirteen years of our life.
Learning From Different Generations
One of the many different parts of cultures that we can also learn from is the lived experience of different generations. It’s important to recognize that teaching is a profession that contains a vast range of different personalities – some teachers choose to enter teaching straight after finishing high school, others choose to return to teach after a wealth of industry experience, and others decide to return as they’re approaching their retirement years.
There is a wealth of different experiences that different teachers have and that often reflects in the teaching styles and methodologies they use in the classroom. As educational professionals, we can harness that to share lessons on what strategies work and discover and rediscover new and existing methodologies, while also providing a solid ground for the essential topics that students need to learn.
For example, a student who struggles at learning mathematics from contemporary textbooks may find it beneficial to understand problem-solving skills that might have been applied by students in classrooms past.
In the past, the author of this article was once a beneficiary of learning from older teaching methods. Struggling with modern concepts related to vector calculus, they turned to the works of experienced maths professors that had taught in years gone by, such as Professor Herb Gross (1929 – 2020). It was truly a life-changing experience and demonstrates how education from a variety of sources can hone the development of well-rounded, thoughtful individuals.
Ultimately, intergenerational learning is not only useful in providing additional diversity within education – but also in preparing young minds for a workforce, where management and leaders may be much older than what they are today. By teaching respect in the classroom, students that within not only education departments but also within the community. Students often develop respect for their teachers in these classroom environments, and that’s a useful skill when they enter the workforce later in life.
The Advantages of Cultural Diversity
One of the really powerful advantages of having a level of cultural and generational diversity in the workplace is its ability to tackle groupthink and the homogenization of views.
Thoughts and ideas should always be challenged and debated – particularly to rationalize them so that they make sense. A problem that occurs with groups that demonstrate similar demographic characteristics is that they often fall victim to the idea of groupthink – simply accepting the consensus view, rather than challenging the concept.
Cultural diversity allows teachers to not only express themselves in the context of the culture and lived experience that they’ve had but also allows for the ability to sense-check when challenging ideas and topics are presented. Perhaps a student with a particular background may be more receptive to a particular teaching method because that is something that they have experienced in the past.
Conversely, maybe there are things that some students do not feel comfortable talking about in a classroom, however, they may approach a trusted teacher because they recognize that through a shared cultural or religious background, they can talk about these things in the comfort of knowing that they will be respected and cared for.
Empowering Students In Today’s Diverse World
Ultimately, diversifying the teaching workforce isn’t just about teachers, it’s about preparing and empowering students for the future. When a student graduates high school and enters a university environment, empowering them with the skills and strategies necessary to succeed in a diverse university environment can often be just as powerful as the education itself.
Having teachers in schools that are reflective of the cultural diversity that exists in our multicultural communities can help students prepare for what’s to come in a positive and meaningful way. Instead of clothing such as a hijab or a kippah being seen as foreign or strange, allowing for the expression of one’s own beliefs in the school environment can help students prepare for the world outside.
Diversifying the teaching workforce can be incredibly beneficial. From having a spectrum of representative beliefs to a variety of different generational and cultural experiences, diverse teaching teams can expose students to a broad range of teaching methods – potentially addressing shortfalls that may exist when one is taught by teachers of similar educational backgrounds.
As Australia continues to lead as a model multicultural society, it’s fascinating to consider where diversity in teaching may lead. As the new generation of teachers takes on board the lessons of today and further mingles with diverse teaching cohorts, it’s exciting to imagine what will be possible in the classrooms of tomorrow.
