The Multiculturalism In The Elementary Education Of New South Wales

Australia’s elementary education which consists of primary and secondary levels of education has always been the essence and foundation of its education system.In the 21 st century,the elementary education in Australia,as well as in other countries,faces new challenges of providing the young generation with a better understanding of different cultures in the globalizing age and with the capability of cross-cultural communication and cooperation.In response to the challenges,the emphasis on multiculturalism has been one of the major characteristics in Australian basic education system since multiculturalism was stipulated as a basic national policy in 1989.The thesis,hence,makes efforts to study the Australian primary and secondary education from the perspective of multiculturalism.Given that each state in Australia enjoys a high degree of autonomy of education,it is not likely to deal with this topic in all states in simply one thesis.Thus,this paper is mainly focused on New South Wales(NSW),a state proud of its high-quality education and having a population of different origins and cultural backgrounds;and is intended to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth study on the role played by multiculturalism in its elementary education.To this end,the author has been to NSW in person and collected first-hand material during a two-month field trip there.Despite a large quantity of the relevant literature in the field of study on multiculturalism or on the elementary education system in Australia,there is,nevertheless,relatively little intensive domestic research on the multiculturalism in the Australian elementary education,let alone a deep and comprehensive study on a representative Australian state in this field like NSW.Besides,the concept of “multiculturalism” has always been a controversial issue.There has been no universal definition of “multiculturalism” since its birth.Hence,there exist some divergence and ambiguity in both objective descriptors related to “multiculturalism” in NSW education files and subjective interpretation of “multiculturalism” and “multicultural education” in NSW education system.The divergence and ambiguity around “multiculturalism” in NSW elementary education system can account for some problems and challenges exposed in the process of promoting multiculturalism in NSW elementary education.Hence,revealing such divergence and ambiguity is also a major task of this paper.Therefore,this research probes into a field that has become increasingly important,but has not received the kind of attention it deserves within the broader Australian Studies community in China.The present study firstly makes efforts to study the mutual-influence between the national policy of “multiculturalism” and the “elementary education of NSW”.Secondly,it does a close observation of major NSW education policies facing its more and more culturally inclusive population and it examines the operation of multiculturalism in its elementary education system.Thirdly,the study is dedicated to revealing and summarizing some problems,related solutions,and good experiences that are worth learning,based on proven practices promoting multiculturalism and multicultural education in NSW.Moreover,planting the awareness of multiculturalism in the young generation and cultivating people’s open-mindedness,trans-cultural understanding and communication are in fact the similar tasks of great importance confronting the elementary education of modern China.Hence,this thesis is not only devoted to providing readers with a better understanding and deeper thinking of the multiculturalism in the NSW elementary education,but also to inspiring people to do some critical thinking about the challenges facing the multicultural education and cross-cultural cooperation on campuses in China,for China has also witnessed a more and more culturally inclusive demography of students and teachers.