Social Action Plan - Secondary School in Victoria State - Case Study Example

Social Action Plan: Secondary School in VIC Name Institution Professor Course Date Background Victoria (Vic) is a southeastern state in the context of Australia. Victoria State is the most densely populated state in Australia making it the second-most populous state within the nation. Before the European settlement, a large number of Aboriginal peoples majorly inhabited the current Victoria State. From a political perspective, the state has 37 seats in the Australian House of Representatives and 12 seats in the Australian Senate. Victoria is highly diversified from an economic perspective. This relates to incorporation of diverse service sectors such a financial and property services, education, health, retail, wholesale, hospitality, and manufacturing constituting the majority of employment. From a social perspective, the region associates with different elements or facets of diversity in relation to culture, race, and sex. The social issue of diversity is evident in the educational systems hence the need for the educational practitioners to focus on adopting and integrating effective action plan to enhance effectiveness and efficiency in the learning institution. According to the Victorian Government, school is compulsory for all Victorian children aged between 6 and 17. The secondary learning system begins from year seven to year twelve. In most cases, Victorian children usually begin their secondary (high) school at 12 years of age. It is a legal requirement that students attend school until they complete year 10 in pursuit of their educational goals. On the other hand, students have the opportunity to study up to age 17 to continue in approved education or be in full-time employment. There are two major types of secondary schools in Victoria: public and private schools. The public secondary schools refer to state or government schools. Alternatively, private schools refer to private non-denominational or religious association. It is essential to note that government or state schools are usually co-educational while certain private schools offer or provide single-sex education. In the context of Victoria State, there are 1594 state schools, 484 Catholic schools, and 218 independent schools with reference to private non-denominational or religious association. The law also permits for home schooling, but under the registration of Victorian Registrations, and Qualification Authority. The purpose of this study is to develop and integrate an effective and efficient action plan with the intention curbing one of the social problems in the secondary schools in Victoria with reference to diversity. In the aforementioned statement, diversity in secondary schools in Victoria takes different forms in relation to cultural, racial, and sex-based diversities. The essence of diversity has different impacts on the performance and concentration levels of the students in the course of pursuing their educational goals within the context of Victorian State. Objective of the Action Plan The action focuses on the achievement of the following objectives under the influence of diverse mechanisms as well as techniques: i. Raise awareness on the issue of diversity in the secondary schools in Victoria through a. Displaying of posters demonstrating critical information on the essence of diversity in the secondary schools in Victoria b. Organisation and execution of educational presentations as well as campaigns on the need to promote inclusivity in the learning or educational process c. Integration of multiculturalism education elements to aid the efficiency of the students and teachers to handle diversity within the learning institutions ii. Minimisation of racist incidents on a long-term basis under the utilisation of a. Adoption and integration of harsh consequences or penalties for the students and educational practitioners who use racists slangs or terms b. Integration of inclusivity in the educational systems regardless of the racial or ethnic background c. Exploitation of meritocracy in hiring educational practitioners for the secondary learning institutions d. Integration of laws and regulation to protect students’ rights regardless of their ethnic or racial backgrounds iii. Instil moral values in a long-term basis under the influence of a. Integration or implementation of compulsory multicultural educational classes and campaigns b. Promotion of the need for respect as well as welcoming culture among the students and educational practitioners regardless of their ethnic or racial backgrounds c. Integration of rewarding mechanisms for the students and educational practitioners seeking to promote respect and welcoming culture d. Implementation of educational laws and regulations focusing on the promotion of respect as well as welcoming culture Proposed Actions In order to overcome these diversity issues, the action will focus on execution of an extensive video conferencing interviews while focusing on diverse practitioners with the intention of understanding their perspective on the social problem affecting the secondary learning institutions in the course of Victoria State, Australia. The approach will concentrate on interviewing psychologists, schools, and individuals on how they perceive diversity in secondary schools as well as effects they experience from such social issues. In addition, video conferencing will focus on interviewing the legal experts with reference to lawyers and police officers on effective mechanisms they adopt and incorporate to handle racial, sex, economic, and cultural-based diversity. The action plan will focus on integration of four elements and perceptions toward curbing the social issue. Quality Learning Environments It is essential to note that quality-learning environments contribute to increased focus on multicultural education, civics, and facets of citizenship. The approach will ensure that students have substantial knowledge, understanding and skills to facilitate their participation in the local as well as global communities (Burridge, 2009). Learning and teaching mechanisms should acknowledge students’ cultural, linguistic, and religious affiliations as well as backgrounds. Secondary schools should focus on recognizing and identification of such factors with the intention of utilising them to enhance educational experiences of the students as well as their families. Participation and Inclusion There is need to promote and encourage active citizenship and intercultural understanding under the influence of policies and practices with the intention of enhancing equal rights as responsibilities. In addition, such policies should concentrate on countering racism through promotion of mutual respect while improving the understanding of cultural, religious, and linguistic differences. In order to achieve this goal, the approach should integrate equity in accessibility to technology while enabling participation with the local, national, and international platforms (Arber, 2005). All secondary students regardless of their age, race, socio-economic state, and cultural backgrounds, should engage in learning as well as development with the intention of developing their knowledge and skills in tackling local, national, and global issues. Inclusivity will ensure that students have equal opportunities in pursuit of educational goals and targets regardless of their backgrounds. Interaction with the broader community It is ideal to note the enormous impact of families in shaping attitudes, values, and life of an individual. This makes it essential for the learning institutions and policies to incorporate families to aid in maximisation of their education, experience, and the critical capacity towards contributing to the local as well as global communities (Molyneux, 2009). The approach is crucial in realisation of effective civics, citizenship, and multicultural education with the intention of encouraging mutual respect, benefits, and engagement for the generation of a more resilient community. Diversification of Educational Approaches The action plan focuses on integration of ideal learning and development settings with the intention of offering diverse as well as flexible approaches in relation to multicultural education and civics. It is critical to note that multicultural education and teaching or learning about civics extend beyond the educational curricula. These approaches should concentrate on exploitation of different techniques and campaigns towards overcoming diversity among students in secondary learning institutions in Victoria, Australia. Anticipated Outcomes Upon completion of the above elements of the action plan, the process expects to achieve the following outcomes: Equal Opportunities and Accessibility to Resources and Education Integration of inclusivity in the educational system will be essential in promoting equal opportunities as well as accessibility to technology and other aspects in pursuit of education regardless of their racial, ethnic, cultural, sex, age, and socio-economic backgrounds. In addition, the approach will be essential in eliminating diverse prejudice and stereotypes in accessing educational resources and platforms. Increased Understanding of Diversity The action plan will focus on exploitation of educational presentation and multicultural awareness with the objective of enhancing understanding of the secondary school students on diversity. This is vital in the development of mutual respect, moral values, and welcoming approach or behaviour among the students (Callan, 2004). Understanding of diversity will enable students to core-exist effectively and efficiently while assisting each other, thus an opportunity to improve performance levels. Improved skills and knowledge in understanding local, national, and global elements Incorporation of families and psychologists will enable students to understand their cultural diversity better, thus effective platform to operate in the local, national, and global communities. The action plan will ensure that the students have substantial information and knowledge regarding local, national, and international communities. Moral Values and Welcoming Culture Students will have the perfect platform to understand and incorporate moral values and welcoming culture while dealing with students and teachers from different backgrounds (Chang, 2003). The action plan will integrate awareness and educational presentation with the objective of imparting moral values and welcoming nature on the students to facilitate attempts to overcome social problems arising from diversity in the secondary schools in Victoria, Australia. Timelines and resources required In the course of implementing this action plan, the following resources will be essential to enhance the achievement of the objectives as well as expected outcomes with reference to overcoming racial, religious, and cultural diversities in the secondary schools in Victoria, Australia: i. Financial resources for acquisition of the relevant equipment and human resources in the execution of the action plan ii. Substantial time for planning and execution of the action plan in accordance with the short-term and long-term objectives iii. Posters to aid promotion of educational presentations and multicultural campaigns iv. Psychologists to enhance the ability in determining effective approaches towards helping students and teachers overcome negative impacts of diversity in the course of pursuing their educational goals and targets v. Speakers to offer substantial information thus raising awareness on the social issues as well as potential ways of overcoming the problem while adhering to the objectives of the action plan Multicultural education should be part of the educational curriculum for the secondary school students pursuing their educational goals and targets in Victoria State. On the other hand, secondary learning institution should focus on organising monthly awareness programs on the issues of racial, ethnic, and cultural diversities. Key Risks In the course of implementing this action plan, practitioners might incur the following key risks or uncertainties: i. Increased tensions or potential altercations between diverse racial and cultural as well as religious groups ii. Potentiality of waste of resources and time in case of unsuccessful implementation and evaluation of the action plan in accordance with the objectives and expected outcomes iii. Possibility of acquiring worse or unintended habits from the examples or information displayed in the course of executing educational practitioners iv. Possibility of one group blaming another for having to attend multicultural classes and educational presentations Evaluation Method In the course of evaluating the action plan, the research will focus on the short-term and long-term objectives. From this perspective, the focus will be on the difference the action plan made in the course of tackling the social problem in accordance with the demands and expectations of the secondary schools in Victoria. In addition, the evaluation process will focus on examination of the impact the action plan made thus the assessment of the progress towards the achievement of the long-term and short-term objectives. Moreover, the evaluation method and process will consider assessing the implications on various stakeholders in relation to the organisation and execution of the action plan. In the course of achieving these goals and targets, the evaluation will integrate three elements or types of assessment. In the first instance, the action plan in integrate self-evaluation in relation to assessment of progress of each secondary school in overcoming diversity among students and educational practitioners. Moreover, the action plan will focus on implementation of external and participatory evaluation tools to assess the achievement of objectives with reference to short-term and long-term aspects. Appendices Proposed Actions Anticipated Outcomes Timelines & Resources Key Risks Evaluation Method Quality learning environments Equal education opportunities Financial Blame game Self-evaluation Participation & Inclusion Increased understanding and appreciation of diversity Psychologists Waste of resources External evaluation Interaction with the broader community Moral values and welcoming culture Speakers Increased racial tensions Participatory evaluation Diversification of educational approaches Improved skills and knowledge Time Acquisition of unintended behaviour References Molyneux P, 2009, “Education for bi-literacy: Maximising the linguistic potential of diverse learners in Australia’s primary schools.” Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 32 (2), 97-117. Burridge, N, 2009, “Addressing the challenges of cultural diversity in our schools.” Curriculum & Leadership Journal, 7 (25), 23-28. Website “Making Multicultural Australia in the 21st Century” at http://multiculturalaustralia.edu.au Arber, Ruth Eileen. 2005, "Speaking of Race and Ethnic Identities: Exploring Multicultural Curricula." Journal of Curriculum Studies 37.6: 633-52. Australia, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. "Civics and Citizenship Education". http://www.civicsandcitizenship.edu.au/cce/ Callan, Eamonn. 2004, "Citizenship and Education." Annual Review of Political Science 7: 71-90. Chang, Heewon. 2003, s"Multicultural Education for Global Citizenship: A Textbook Analysis".. Electronic Magazine of Multicultural Education. (15 January 2009): 2 5. . Read More