Session Information
07 SES 02 A, Different Perspectives on Social Justice
Paper Session
Contribution
This paper explores the social justice tensions within schools in relation to the valuing of marginalised cultures, in this case Indigenous cultures within predominantly white middle-class schools. Our research question was how do schools best manage these tensions in non-tokenistic ways and with real gains for marginalised students.
Our analytical approach to this question broadly draws on Nancy Fraser’s (2009; see also 1997) three dimensional framework of social justice (redistribution, recognition and representation), but in particular we are concerned here with the concept of cultural recognition. However, we also note Kathleen Lynch’s (2012) critique of Fraser’s framework as ‘rationalist’ in its failure to adequately account for matters of care and relationality in pursuing justice. We unpack her concern with affective justice and, in particular, her notion of solidarity as care. For Lynch (2012) solidarity is a form of care relations that entail ‘the more political or public face of affective relations’ (p. 52). Solidarity is seen as being interrelated with Fraser’s framework in being central to realising redistributive, recognitive and representative justice. We contend in this paper that understanding how school approaches might better address cultural injustice requires a consideration of affective relations and, in particular, solidarity work. In order to demonstrate this we analyse three different emotionally charged tensions within the two schools related to issue of Indigeneity (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders).
The first two tensions occurred at the same school. Within the school there was a deep seated pride in its academic reputation. The new principal was considered by many to be damaging that reputation through his positive support for Indigenous cultures. This included introducing a formal Acknowledgment of Country at all major school events. The new principal’s active engagement with the local Indigenous community and his broader acts of solidarity with that community appeared to be contributing to an increasing number of Indigenous students enrolling in the school. There were suggestions within the school that this would lead to the school becoming a ‘Black school’ and by correlation would undermine the school’s academic standards. The second tension was raised by the school’s Indigenous officer. The school had three flagpoles, on one was the Queensland flag and another the Australian flag. This left one free flagpole. In many cases Australian schools fly the highly recognisable Aboriginal flag in recognition of their prior ownership of much of the country. However, the Indigenous worker stated that only flying this flag would exclude the Torres Strait Islander community and that that their flag also needed to be flown. She had thus argued with the previous principal and without success that the school needed to install a fourth flagpole to address this matter.
The third tension is drawn from the second school which had a much higher Indigenous population and where there was little concern about the school being perceived as a ‘Black fella’ school. The principal at this school indicated that the school’s many programmes and initiatives designed to recognise and value Indigenous perspectives and cultures were supported by the staff. He was of the view that the school’s explicit focus on developing pride in Indigeneity responded to, and against, the racism within the broader community. One aspect of this focus was the school’s football team, largely made up of Indigenous players (see Keddie et al. 2013). However, at the time of our study, the school had had an increased enrolment of Maori students from New Zealand. Many of these students were displacing Indigenous players from the team which had led to tensions between the Australian Indigenous boys and the Maori boys.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
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