Issues of multiculturalism and schooling

In this blog I’ll address the issues of multiculturalism and schooling and how it may affect students’ attitudes toward education due to discriminations formed from stereotypes. Kahloon’s article, ‘Stereotypes go against Koran on education’ is indicative of this notion through her personal experiences as a young female Muslim in a Western society. In this article, Kahloon critiques the representation of women from different cultural backgrounds than those of the dominant white social class. She is confronted with questions and comments in regards to balancing education and strict religious structures. She responds to these stereotypes using the Koran, a religious text of Islam which states education is a prime aspect in the enrichment of the individual.

This example correlates with Phillip’s reading in which he argues that one shouldn’t label another culture as ‘exotic’ due to its differences in rituals and norms. He categorises two groups in which there is both the majority and minority which coexist. In this particular case, we would classify Kahloon as one from the minority group due to her experiences in a dominant Western civilisation. Phillips proposes that there is a tendency within the majority group to presume their culture including what is considered moral and just, attitudes, rituals and norms is the standard within the overall community. This leads to discrimination and difficulty in establishing a deep understanding of the culture and norms of the minority groups. The article addresses the stereotype of women from religious groups such as the Islamic who have to choose either gaining an education or rejecting it in favour of their religion.

Kahloon criticises this representation of women from these minority groups and how there she is no exception to this label but should be considered the label itself. As reflected in Phillips’ writing, there is a sense of self-awareness of the distinctiveness of culture shared amongst women of the Islamic group. This is due to the lack of acknowledgement from the Western society. Islamic women are ‘exotic’ and completely different to the white community due to cultural differences. As mentioned above, Phillips emphasises that within a multicultural community, there will inevitably be conflicts between groups and disagreements. He highlights the importance of cultural groups acknowledging these differences and coinciding with one another in order to prevent stereotypes and misreprentations from existing. Phillips uses the term ‘exoticism’ which is the ‘presumption that the study of culture is the study of strange peoples pursuing strange practices…’ (Phillips, 2006, p. 1). Through individuals’ confrontations of contrasting cultures, they compare own practices with others accentuating the differences. In regards to the article, this is illustrated through Western society and their lack of understanding of the Islamic culture. This becomes an issue as there is a hierarchical structure between cultural groups with the Western placed at the higher range. Kahloon argues that there needs to be an acknowledgement of all groups in order to break down these assumptions and discriminations. This highlights the issues which may arise due to contrasting cultures which are confronted with one another.


Reference:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/stereotypes-go-against-koran-on-female-education-20130714-2py0w.html

Phillips, A. (2006). What is culture? In Arneil, Barbara and Deveaux, Monique and

Dhamoon, Rita and Eisenberg, Avigail, (eds.) Sexual justice / cultural

justice. London, UK : Routledge, 2006, pp. 15-29.