Is Australia A Multicultural Country? Essay

Unfortunately, many migrants that come to Australia find themselves in this situation, struggling to feel included and comfortable with their changing identities. However, these differences make it harder to belong to one group; they can also strengthen bonds with one another. The most immediate and obvious indicator of difference with migrant is that of

The concept of being a ‘nation of immigrants’ is at the center of Australian identity.

Teachers must learn about their student’s cultures if they want to educate them to the best of their ability. Many of the students in culturally diverse classrooms will want to learn in different ways. Some will want to learn in pairs, groups, as a class, or just alone. If the teacher is educated in their culture then lessons can be adjusted to appeal to every student as much as possible instead of forcing some to forget about their culture and learn like others. Students from

I’m writing a speech given by a High School Student that is in a club that holds debates every month about different topics. The primary audience will be the people in the club that are sympathetic to these ideas. I’m writing to challenge the dominant Australia ideology of multiculturalism.

Ever since the European settlement to the early 1990’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures have changed and developed over time. However, the European colonisation of Australia brought very rapid changes to Aboriginal society and histrionically affected the Aboriginals way of life and their land. Australia has always promoted having a mix of cultures although not in the same way it does in today’s society.

Australia is a settler nation which is now made up of many ethnic groups who share similar cultural traditions, common language, shared history and a shared identity (ABS, 2016). These groups contribute to what is referred to multiculturalism. Australia has a higher proportion of people born overseas than the US, Canada and the UK, with 49% of Australia’s population (or a parent) being born overseas (Census of Population and Housing, 2016). Compared to other Western nations, Australia has one of the most diverse immigration populations (Collins, 2013, p. 145). The meaning of multiculturalism in Australia has changed significantly over time. Today, Australia is a culturally and ethnically diverse country and therefore is a multicultural society. In terms of public policy, multiculturalism can be defined as policies and practices implemented by the Australian government that aim to manage cultural diversity to benefit the whole of society (Department of Social Services, 2014). Although Australia is a multicultural society, there are criticisms of public policy surrounding multiculturalism.

“Culture is the ideas, customs and social behaviour of a particular society. There is an Australian culture that is made up from the multicultural society within it. I feel as though if Australia wasn’t multicultural, it would lack a lot of culture.”(Informant 4)

Background To provide a context for this study, it is necessary to understand Australia’s changing immigration patterns. From its earliest occupation, Australia has attracted immigrants globally, ‘Australia has had a long history of immigration since the first European settlement in the 1700s. People from all parts of the world have brought with them, their cultures, customs and languages’ (Creswell, 2004). Western Australia is the fastest growing state in Australia and the dynamics of this population change now corroborates that the number of immigrants have excelled the number of natural births. Current census data (Australian Bureau of Statistics) for 2013-2014 shows that even though the net overseas migration for Australia (212,700

Introduction Even though by far the largest groups of immigrants to Australia are and always have been from other Anglo-Saxon cultures (Britain, Ireland and New Zealand), the influx of other cultures to Australia has made ours a truly multicultural society. The effects of multiculturalism can be found in the following areas, among others. Food Australian supermarkets, grocery stores, markets, delicatessens, cafes, restaurants and take-away stores offer an enormous variety of foods from around the world. Not only have many of these foods been incorporated into the mainstream Australian diet but they have also become the basis for much of Australia's social life.

Melbourne was voted the world’s most liveable city in the world four years running. There are many advantages to living in Melbourne, including sport, transport and multiculturalism. Melbourne has many great aspects, but amongst all of these, there are challenges to living in Melbourne.

Australia is a multicultural country and consequently, educators are highly likely to teach students from a wide range of cultures. In Australia 44 percent of the population was either born, or has parents who were born in a foreign country (Lawrence, Brooker, & Goodnow, 2012, p. 75). In 2013, 230,000 people migrated to Australia and in the last year Australia granted 13,750 visas to refugees (Refugee Action Coalition, 2014). All educators have a duty to help their students adjust to cultural change and confront intolerant attitudes. As previously mentioned, there is a chance that some of these students will be refugees. Although refugee students are multi-skilled and have the ability to bring new perspectives into the classroom, they often

Every society has different views on cultural diversities and the ways in which they should be accepted. Multiculturalism is defined as ‘the embrace of an inclusive, diverse society’ (Malik K., 2015). In the past, multiple countries around the world, particularly those in Europe, have embraced multiculturalism through generally relaxed entry for immigrants. Overtime however, things have changed for these multicultural countries. This is evident through the establishment of multiple multicultural policies by governments in Europe, and the increase in standards for citizenship in countries such as Germany, France and UK. Even in Australia, ‘multiculturalism, Australian identity, immigration and ethnicity are concepts that are frequently and intensely

What these authors of these articles all have in common is that they tie into each other on the general topic of multiculturalism and the policies that needs to be act upon to have a prosperous multicultural nation. Though with this being said some articles still relates to each other more than some. For example the articles “Multiculturalism is dead? Not quite yet” by Stilo, Alessio and “Emergence of religious plurality in Australia: a multicultural society” by Bouma, Gary D are very identical in terms of defining what it truly takes for a society to have a problem free successful multicultural nation as well as the success story behind what makes the country achieved this goal. For example Bouma and Stilo both discuss the art of

In February (2011) David Cameron suggested that the non-violent Muslim groups that are ambiguous about British values such as equality between sexes, democracy and integration must be confronted by the state, and not consorted with. He continued that individuals find it difficult to identify with either their own culture or that of Britain and this has led to problems arising amongst some cultures within society. Cameron talked about the need for less passive tolerance and the need for more active, muscular liberalism (Wright et al, 2012). He claimed:

Multiculturalism Curriculum Name Course Professor Institution of learning Date of submission Multiculturalism in Australia Summary Through hand-on-activities and class discussions guided by the teacher, students will evaluate how various cultures in Australia have lead to the unique and diverse country. In addition, they will also discuss how the Australian natives have rejected the cultural norms from Africa immigrants. Learning objectives The students will be asked to; come up with television episodes that included Africans as participants Identifying the ways in which foods in Australia differ from African foods Identify how the African woman behaves differently from an Australian woman.