Social Inequality And Stereotyping Cultures From Political...

EDUC1708 Research Essay Due: 25 August 2014 By: Kody Williamson (s4350274) Tutor: Dr Joy Kennedy Youdell (2012) argues that the singular and one-off multicultural events reproduce majority/minority, Same/Other relations in their display of minoritises cultures for the appreciation of or consumption by the majority. (p 153) This essay will look into the argument of how the one off multicultural events can be seen as racist, fostering social-inequality and stereotyping cultures from political power. It will also outline how educators with the right strategies and planning can foster valuable cultural experiences and cultivate socio-equality with their students and their school communities. Multicultural education is the term†¦show more content†¦(Reynolds, 2012) The schools that are hosting these singular multicultural days do have intent to inform students of diverse cultures, yet instead are accentuating the already existing social and cultural hierarchies. (Gorski, 2008) The way and how to teach multiculturalism in the classroom is a sensitive topic between the many parties involved. Since multicultural education is primarily a set of beliefs and philosophies (Neito, 1994), it is a very powerful issue especially from socio-political perspectives. Wright (2007) argues that multiculturalism has no pre-given destiny nationally or globally, but is continually being renewed and re-contested by political policy actors from their dominating point of view. The power of the corporate elite demonstrates their need for social in-equality through globalization, for the cheap labor from the poorest countries that accelerate their economic growth. This cycle is what Chosudovsky (2003) calls the Globalisation of Poverty. The educational policies in place illustrate this globalisation of poverty when we look at the legislations and those who write them. In the US, the educational policy is firmly under the thumbs of these corporate elites in the form of the Business Roundtable, the public education system itself is becoming a vehicle for socialising citizens into good compliance and complicity. (Chomsky, 2003; Gabbard, 2003)