Print friendly version

International anti-racism approaches

Introduction

In comparing international approaches to countering racism in schools with those advocated in Australia, it is necessary to understand the environmental, social and policy contexts of school education in countries being considered. The following countries have been chosen for profiling: the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. The European Union, as a community of nation states, has also been included as there have been significant policy and program frameworks developed on a collaborative basis. An overview of the Australian context is included for comparative purposes.

Five critical factors influence the overall nature and status of educational approaches to countering racism within a state or country:

1. the demography of the population, the circumstances of indigenous peoples and the history of settlement by peoples of different races and cultures
2. the nature of the society in a broad political sense, that is western democratic, socialist, communist, militarist, etc
3. the constitutional and legal framework for racial and other discrimination adopted by the government of a country and its obligations under international declarations and covenants governing human rights, discrimination, race und discrimination in education
4. the broad education policy adopted by governments, in particular the role of public education in providing equal life opportunities for all children and in redressing disadvantage
5. the commitment to equitable education outcomes for all students.

Countries or regions chosen for examination have something in common with the Australian experience, in terms of the factors outlined above. That is, the countries are multi-racial and multicultural in their demography; they have a history of immigration of population(s) which are not indigenous to the country; they have a political history broadly described as western democratic; and a commitment to the provision of public education which is accessible to all, regardless of race and other background factors. They differ in their policy approaches to equity in education.