EDU301
EDU301
EDU301
Participation in Education
Assignment 1 Resource Design
Carly Notley | 214101071
Title: Empathy Appreciating the Simple Things in Life
Introduction
The resource that I have produced will be used to stimulate an inclusive learning
environment, within all educational settings. The focus of this project will encourage
students to develop empathy towards culturally diverse students. I hope this resource
provides culturally diverse students with a more enjoyable schooling experience and
increases their participation in relevant areas of the curriculum, which they may
originally fear. This resource has been visualized as an information pack, which will
promote diversity within the classroom and provide advice for teachers of ways to
maximize participation within these settings. The prototype created focuses on the
importance of students developing empathy towards culturally diverse children. The
entire information pack, which will be distributed in a monthly subscription format,
will cover all forms of diversity including gender and sexuality, ability and disability
and the impact of low socio-economic statuses worldwide. The information package
would be readily available online for all school and/or teachers to access at any given
point. As discussed previously, my primary target audiences are teachers as theyre an
influential figure within a students life.
Pedagogical Practice
Throughout these series of newsletters I will be acknowledging diversity in various
ways throughout, as discussed above. However, I will ensure that it is easily
accessible for a diverse audience, which will incorporate an audio and brail version.
They will be provided with helpful sites that can be suggested to students, if they
appear at risk of further cultural exclusion. The entire resource will be inclusive of
all cultures including Indigenous Australians; as well as incorporating images
representing different cultures, abilities and disabilities.
Organisational Policy
The organisation that I have chosen to situate my resource within is the Department
of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD). Incorporating the
government ensures that it is easily accessible for future teachers and seen as a
credible resource. It would be suited for the DEECD as they have many educational
programs and initiatives that target diversity within various learning environments.
The department also has a strong focus on supporting children with different needs,
which would be included in my subscriptions of the entire information pack.
Furthermore, it will also provide opportunities for teachers to encourage students to
actively participate in diverse local and global communities, articulating the benefits
involved (Department of Education and Training, 2014). The Department of Education
and Training (2014) ensures that all Victorian schools are providing students with
necessary knowledge and skills, which are essential in participating and contributing
to the current diverse society as active and informed citizen locally, nationally and
internationally (Department of Education and Training, 2014). The Department also
ensures that all educational environments are inclusive; this enables my resource to
connect to the Department in various ways, including supporting students with
disabilities or developmental delays. The Department of Education provides a range of
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programs that can be used to assist these students and enables them to meet their
specific and individual needs. Not only targeting disabled and developmentally
delayed students, the Department of Education also ensures that students develop
empathy for students who are culturally diverse and speak English as a second
language, which is a key element of my first newsletter.
Global Policy
The newsletter has been created to interlink with UNESCO, a global policy that
promotes international collaboration through educational, scientific and cultural
reforms (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, 2008).
UNESCO was selected for my resource, as they have such a strong focus on inclusivity
within the classroom, which is the focus of the information pack. UNESCO recognizes
that the globalized world is ever changing, and we need to act now before it is too
late. UNESCO has identified that Children with disabilities are still combating
educational exclusion by teachers and students, little do many realise that they make
up one third of the total population of students (United Nation Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organisation, 2009). UNESCO (2008) aims to assist all countries with
strengthening the focus of providing an inclusive learning environment, however they
have now recognized that it needs to broaden to culturally and sexually diverse
students. Promoting inclusive education and strengthening policy development will
provide a substantial impact on future education, which UNESCO hope to achieve.
National Policy
The information pack created will also be focused on The People of Australia
Australias Multicultural Policy, which consists of 4 different principles.
State Policy
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As well as connecting to UNESCO, I will be focusing on the Multicultural Policy for
Victorian Schools created by the Department of Education in Victoria. This policy
interlinks with my resource as it looks at the inclusivity of multicultural students in
Victorian schools. They primarily focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
students as well as students who speak English as a second language. The
Multicultural Policy ensures that schools are assisting students in developing:
Proficiency in English
Being competent in languages other than English
An in-depth understanding of their individual and peers cultures
An understanding of the past and present multiculturalism history within
Australia
(Education Victoria, 1997)
This Policy was selected for my resource as it ensures that all students are included in
all Victorian schools no matter what ethnicity and educates students on basis of ones
cultural background. This will be a key element that will be addressed within my
resource, as students and teachers can both benefit from this.
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Developing Empathy towards
Culturally Diverse Children
Issue 1: EmpathyIssu
and Providing an Inclusive Learning Environment Date: May Issue
What is Empathy?
McDonald & Messinger (n.d) define empathy to be the psychological
motivator, which enables an individual to help another person who is
in distress. The term also relates to the persons ability to feel or
imagine the persons emotional experience.
As well as the classroom being culturally 4. - Images that display people of different
inclusive it also needs to be a learning cultures and ages engaging the same
space where diversity is respected. This activities.
environment could be created with assisting
the students in developing positive views of 5. - Images that reflect diversity in gender
themselves and others, which will progress roles; a female trade person or a male
the student in initiating conversations with receptionist.
each other, which would usually not occur.
Introducing activities targeting differences (Santora, 2012 P.2)
Cotton, K. (1992), Developing Empathy in Children and Youth. Northwest Regional Educational
Laboratory, Accessed 3rd of May via Google Scholar
Department of Education and Training (2014), Programs and Initiatives Unity through Diversity:
The Victorian Governments Vision for Civics, Citizenship and Multicultural Education, Victoria
State Government, Accessed 25th of April via
<http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/cultures/Pages/unitydiversity.aspx>
Education Victoria (1997), Multicultural Policy for Victorian Schools, Department of Education,
Melbourne, Victoria, P.4-8, Accessed 27th of April via
<https://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/teachlearn/student/lem/Mpolicy.pdf>
Flinders University (2015), Designing Culturally Inclusive Classrooms, Teaching and Learning at
Flinders University. Accessed 4th of May via https://www.flinders.edu.au/staff-development-
files/CDIP%20documents/CDIP%20Toolkit%202015/Designing%20Culturally%20Inclusive%20Classroo
ms.pdf
McCollough, T. E. (1992), Truth and Ethics in School Reform. Washington, DC: Council for
Educational Development and Research. Accessed 3rd of May via Deakin Library Database.
McDonald, N. M. & Messinger, D. S. (n.d.), The Development of Empathy: How, When and Why, In
Acerbi, A., Lombo, J. A. & Sanguineti, J. J. (eds), Free Will, Emotions and Moral Actions:
Philosophy and Neuroscience in Dialogue. IF-Press. Accessed 2nd of May via
<http://www.psy.miami.edu/faculty/dmessinger/c_c/rsrcs/rdgs/emot/McDonald-
Messinger_Empathy%20Development.pdf>
Santora, L. (2004), How can you create a learning environment that respects diversity? Anti-
Defamation League, New York, Accessed 3rd of May via http://www.adl.org/assets/pdf/education-
outreach/How-Can-You-Create-a-Learning-Environment-That-Respects-Diversity.pdf>
The Australian Government (n.d.) The People of Australia Australias Multicultural Policy,
Canberra, Australia, P. 26. Accessed 29th of April via
<https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/12_2013/people-of-australia-
multicultural-policy-booklet_print.pdf>
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (2008), Medium-Term Strategy,
(34), Paris, France, P. 7 Accessed 26th of April via
<http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001499/149999e.pdf>
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (2009), Policy Guidelines on
Inclusion in Education, Paris, France, P.5 21. Accessed 26th of April via Deakin Library Database.
Weissbourd, R., Jones, S., Anderson, T. R., Kahn, J., Russell, M. (2014), The Children We Mean to
Raise: The Real Messages Adults are Sending About Values, Making Caring Common Project,
Harvard Grammar School of Education, Cambridge. P. 1-8. Accessed 2nd of May via
http://sites.gse.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/making-caring-
common/files/mcc_report_7.2.14.pdf