Jessica Alvarado 17810571

Critical Personal Reflection

As a high school teacher it is imperative to be aware of social justice issues and

pedagogical approaches to ensure that the diverse needs of every student are catered
to. Through Diversity, Social Justice and Equity it is manifest that social justice issues
persist in the education system, and continue after high schooling as a result of social
reproduction and students obtaining a lack of cultural capital. Schools strive to meet
the need of access to quality teachers and resources for all students, though reform
needs to take place to ensure every student is given the opportunity to reach their full
potential. Aspects of Marxism, social reproduction and cultural capital highlight the
social justice issues surrounding power imbalances and inequalities in the Australian
education systems. Therefore, through expert knowledge of class content and
pedagogical approaches, teachers have the capacity to equip students with the cultural
capital to combat the social reproduction of inequality and power imbalances. Critical
pedagogy and collaborative pedagogy are fundamental in strategically as well as
effortlessly preparing students to be active agents in their future.

Prior to the completion of this assignment I thought it would be beneficial to learn to

create a resource that would address the implicit marginalisation of low SES students
and cater to diverse learning needs in the classroom. Prior to the commencement of
Diversity, Social Justice and Learning I was briefly aware of pedagogical approaches
that embrace transformative learning experiences, collaborative practice and
experiential learning, and their importance in catering to the whole student in
enhancing their learning experience. Assignment 2 informs and prepares pre-service
teachers for the new challenges and issues that will be encountered in high schools.

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This assessment challenges ignorance and encourages creativity in implementing
teaching practices to ensure that teachers are able to incorporate pedagogical practices
and sociological theories and cater to the diverse learning needs of students.

I strive to create a safe learning environment where students are encouraged to

express their opinions, challenge their assumptions, reflect and justify their opinions
critically. I aim to facilitate peer learning and positive student teacher relationships. I
will also assist students to be innovative and creative with their problem solving
skills, to assist students in learning how to create multiple solutions and pathways to
solve a problem (Gardner, 2009). Therefore I will implement critical pedagogy and
collaborative pedagogy in my classroom. Through critical pedagogy I will encourage
students to critically reflect upon their assumptions and values that inform their
decisions. Students will then be given the opportunity to share their own perspectives
and analyse their concerns in a safe environment (Chapman, 2010, p. 723).
Collaborative pedagogy will also be used to enhance teaching and learning, to give
students the given opportunity to capitalise on each others resources and skills and
effortless learn through active interactions and sharing their experiences (Stewart &
McClure, 2013, p. 91).

The activity created in assignment 2 embodies my passion to give students access to

quality teaching and resources, to assist students in creating pathways to reach their
goals. Through this unit I have gained knowledge that students from low SES schools
generally do not achieve as highly as students from schools from higher SES
backgrounds on standardised tests (Jolly, 2015, p. 32). Therefore such students are
often inadequately equipped for the challenges they will encounter in seeking further

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education and employment, thus inequality is reproduced (Au, 2008, p. 649). In my
teaching practices and through the card game What can I do? the goal is to provide
a positive and practical approach to assist students in understanding diversity,
inequality and power imbalances. The sociological theories that would be utilised to
assist students understand diversity, inequality and power imbalances are class
structure derived from Marxism, social reproduction and cultural capital. The activity
incorporates the concept of class structure to demonstrate how society is divided into
class systems through various facets such as occupation, income and leisure time
(Bendix, 1974, p. 150). Class structure is utilised to exhibit the inequalities, power
imbalances and lack of opportunities students from low SES schools often encounter,
in comparison to students from higher SES schools (Parsons, 2013, p. 269). I strive to
create strategies in the classroom to avoid the social reproduction of these imbalances
by challenging the beliefs and values of students and giving students cultural capital
to enhance their educational experiences as well as future prospects (Ciabattari, 2010,
p. 119). Thus my ambition as a teacher is to increase students cultural capital through
comprehensive knowledge and critically evaluated values (Webb, Schirato &
Danaher, 2002, p. 23).

Furthermore, the resource may be altered to suit the cognitive development of the
students, as year 7 students may have more difficulty with abstract concepts, whilst
students in year 11 and 12 will require additional stimulation. The resource relates to
the KLA of Human Society and its Environment. The activity relates to Geography, as
students are required to gain an understanding of the work environment, and be
equipped with the understanding, knowledge and skills to assess potential career
pathways and options (BOSTES, 2015). Students learn about work, employment

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enterprise, as well as changing Australian communities (BOSTES, 2015).
Furthermore this activity may also be applied to the KLA of History, one of my
teaching areas, as students inquire how the past explains how people and events have
shaped the world. Students learn about different perspectives within a nations history
and how to interpret events differently based on resources (BOSTES, 2012). History
encourages students to understand significant historical concepts such as change and
continuity as well as cause and effect, which are significant concepts in the What can
I do? resource (BOSTES, 2012). This activity may also be adapted to other KLAs
including, but not limited to Work Studies, Business Studies, Society and Culture,
Commerce as well as Legal Studies, due to the relationships with society, finance and
power.

From the expo I learnt that most individuals carry basic knowledge in regards to
occupations that are lucrative and not so lucrative, however many obtained inaccurate
assumptions in regards to work roles. Based on observation, many students were
engaged by having to work in groups to determine the order of the cards on the pay
scale then were further engaged in discussion. This exhibited that the activity could be
catered to any age group and could be appreciated by individuals from diverse
educational as well as cultural backgrounds; thus expectations were met. Furthermore
there is room for improvement, as the content on fun facts could be improved and
assist in making the game more entertaining and informative.

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References
Au, W. W. (2008). Devising inequality: A Bernsteinian analysis of high-stakes testing
and social reproduction in education. British Journal of Sociology of Education,
29, 639-651. doi:10.1080/01425690802423312
Bendix, R. 1974. Inequality and social structure: A comparison of Marx and Weber.
American Sociological Review, 39(2), 149-161. Retrieved from
http://asr.sagepub.com/
BOSTES. (2012). Rationale. Retrieved from
http://syllabus.bostes.nsw.edu.au/hsie/history-k10/rationale/
BOSTES. (2015). Geography K-10 syllabus. Retrieved from
http://syllabus.bostes.nsw.edu.au/assets/geographyk10/downloads/geographyk10_f
ull.pdf
Chapman, C. (2010). Resonance, intersectionality, and reflexivity in critical pedagogy
(and research methodology). Social Work Education: The International Journal,
30, 723-744. doi:10.1080/02615479.2010.520120
Ciabattari, R. (2010). Cultural capital, social capital, and educational inequality.
Childhood Education, 87, 119-121. doi:10.1080/00094056.2011.10521456
Gardner, H. (2009, February). Five minds for the future. School Administrator, 66(2).
Retrieved from http://www.aasa.org/SchoolAdministrator.aspx
Jolly, J. L. (2015). The cost of high stakes testing for high-ability students.
Australasian Journal of Gifted Education, 24(1), 30-36. Retrieved form
http://www.aaegt.net.au/?page_id=736
Parsons, C. (2013). Challenged school challenged society: Stacking the odds against
the poor. Educational Review, 65, 267-283. doi:10.1080/00131911.2013.772127

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Stewart, T. T., & Mclure, G. (2013). Freire, Bakhtin, and collaborative pedagogy:
A dialogue with students and mentors. International Journal for Dialogical
Science, 1, 91-108. doi:10.1080/14681366.2014.932301
Webb, J., Schirato, T., & Danaher, G. (2002). Understanding Bourdieu. Crows Nest,
NSW: Allen & Unwin.