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Topic 1: Social class and inequality (SES)

A social class is a group of people in a society who have comparable demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. In addition to its importance in social theory, the idea of class as a group of persons with comparable economic conditions has been frequently employed in censuses as well as studies of social mobility. The uneven allocation of resources and authority in our society may be traced back to institutionalised gender, class, as well as racial hierarchies. The "big three" Social class and inequality concepts of employment, education, and wealth stand out as apparent possibilities for single measurements in the literature. One manner in which inequality fuels a bloated feeling of entitlement is that individuals who start out with greater resources are more likely to measure themselves against those who come from less privileged homes. It's also possible that the widening wealth gap will make those in the top echelons feel more threatened (Anita Schmalor, 2021).

To some extent, the concept of social class is a reflection of the institutionalised division of labour and power in society. This worldview is shown via the pursuit of the attainment of material things and high social position, and the fair sharing of these successes. A person's economic status is affected by their gender, age, race, and ethnicity. It is related to variations in education, income, employment opportunities, and housing quality, among other forms of social stratification. Most individuals understand the difficulties of dealing with underprivileged students who may not be able to contribute to group discussions, but they also recognise their potential to make a difference in the lives of these children. Human civilization has created the idea of social class, which carries with it a set of feelings and perceptions. a hierarchical division of society's social and economic classes (Jury et al., 2017). One's financial resources might be a surrogate for their social position. It took some time and effort, but I now get it.

The dynamics between races and sexes, as well as the influence of socioeconomic status, are evolving. Considering gender roles as well as racial origins in a multiethnic society requires grounding the topic in the context of socioeconomic status as well as ethnicity. In sociology, "social classes" are used to describe the stratifications that exist within a society. In the same way that a person's social circle is used to determine their social status, so too is the nature of that social circle established by society and empirical research on the social wealth of migrants in EU lends credence to the idea that social class and inequality play a significant role in the development of social capital. To grasp everything that social capital entails, it is crucial to examine how it influences the success of the integrating process. Migrants and newcomers may benefit from a certain kind of assistance and a smoother transition into their new communities if they have access to social capital (Durante and Fiske, 2017).

The usefulness of notions like social class and inequality is debated within the framework of social movements. A person's socioeconomic status may be quantified by their social class. The relative worth of individuals is one concept of inequality. The acquisition of social power, the distribution of resources, and the level of pressure required to use those resources all contribute to the maintenance of social classes and disparities.

Individuals' socioeconomic status is influenced by a number of factors outside their upbringing and social position in society (SES). The lecture-influence, Hall's university publishing operation, and the commercialization of higher education all contributed to the growth of universities' reputations in the 20th century. Because of privatisation efforts, in many nations, education is now treated more like a commodity than a human right. This is why it's important for schools to consider kids' family situations. Therefore, educational programmes should account the participants' socioeconomic status (Manstead, 2018).

Inequalities in the availability of educational resources such as textbooks, school financing, informed and professional instructors, and technology disproportionately affect socially marginalised groups. Teachers that are well-versed in SES issues are in a stronger position to raise students' levels of political consciousness and to ensure that all children, regardless of their family's income, race, religion, or gender, get an excellent education. Children are less likely to make poor choices as adults if they are exposed to positive social ideals in the school. One of these qualities is tolerance, which includes respect for both oneself and others (Durante and Fiske, 2017).

Class activities that emphasise group work are the most effective means of instruction for sociology at this institution. According to a number of studies, the advantages of learning are improved when the activities included in the process of learning are interactive, social, contextual, interesting, and student-owned. Students that participate in collaborative learning have an increased chance of improving their verbal communication, analytical thinking, leadership skills, and self-control. Students in a class that is using a collaborative pedagogical technique will complete an activity or learning project in groups that are sufficiently small to ensure that each student is able to contribute to the conversation. This strategy not only creates a culture of collaboration among students by encouraging them to work together to discover answers to issues, but it also fosters a respect for the distinctive viewpoints and experiences of life that are held by others. This, in turn, may assist solve the issue of educational gap that exists between different social classes. Students who are collaborating on a project as part of a group have the choice of working on a single, cohesive project or on a number of projects that complement one another (Batruch et al., 2019).

Students of varied ability levels are pitted against one another in friendly competition within the context of many different ways of collaborative learning. This is done with the intention of fostering more effective collaboration. Learning via collaboration and cooperation may be accomplished in a wide variety of ways, including through the use of a wide range of techniques, styles, and instructional strategies (Baloche and Brody, 2017). Students often need instruction and direction in order to acquire the skills essential for effective collaboration within a group setting. It's possible that taking some professional development classes might help improve the administration of student joint projects. It has been shown that collaborative learning strategies provide excellent outcomes and may be a cost-effective technique to quicken the pace of students' educational progress.

Topic 2: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures

It's important to note that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia are two distinct but interconnected cultural communities. There's a lot of variety even within those two umbrella terms, as shown by the fact that there are more than 250 unique linguistic groups throughout the nation. Indigenous people's customs are often mistaken for "our own," although this is not the case (Butler et al., 2019). By using this statement, you are showing admiration for the rich cultural heritage of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. It's common for European-descended locals of New Zealand and Australia to misunderstand persons of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent since they see them as "different" from themselves and their culture. Indigenous Australians have maintained this view for countless millennia.

Due to the convoluted history of relationships between these tribes and the dominant civilization at the time, it is critical to have an appreciation for Indigenous cultures and the beliefs and practises of individuals of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background. For millennia, this link has kept Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples reliving the anguish of their ancestors' experiences with immigration and dispossession (Sandra, 2018). The indigenous population of Australia and the Torres Strait Islands was subjected to the norms and values of the European and European conquering societies that settled the continent during colonial times. The European colonisation of Australia was largely responsible for this. The struggles of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have been exacerbated by prejudice, forced displacement, and social marginalisation.

Several academic fields investigate Indigenous Australian and Torres Strait Islander cultural knowledge, as well as the social creation of such knowledge. Despite the fact that Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders deserve to be the subject of scholarly inquiry, the term "First Peoples" is often used in a derogatory and insulting manner. Cultural Studies provides the conceptual framework for learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and its methods have contributed to the expansion of many fields of study (Prictor et al., 2020). The beliefs of the indigenous people of Australia and the Torres Strait form the foundation for the practises that are followed. Many native groups now fail to recognise the value of archiving their past and present practises. The intricate web of relationships between indigenous culture and political authority must be untangled if indigenous people are to attain justice, political empowerment, and cultural survival.

The Anglican Church and the Anglican Communion have played important roles in a variety of social and political movements in Australia. During the colonial period, the Anglican Communion played a crucial role in establishing the foundations for contemporary Australian society. Without the introduction of Anglican values and principles, Australia would be a very different place today. Indigenous peoples' education is crucial to the survival and development of indigenous cultures. After being given access to education, indigenous people became much more involved in communal activities. It was an essential tool in the fight for individual liberties and equal rights under the law.

Successfully instructing Aboriginal children requires awareness of and respect for their specific educational requirements and cultural norms. Programs that are successful in meeting the needs of Aboriginal families do so by drawing parallels between classroom themes and the parents' actual experiences (Sandra, 2018). As a result, it's probable that non-Indigenous teachers won't be able to effectively reach and educate their pupils who identify as such. It's possible that forgetting the answers to the textbook questions you've mastered can help you connect with someone and spark an interest in learning. Aboriginal people believe that establishing direct eye contact with an adult is rude, thus schools work hard to instil this cultural norm in their students. Soft racism manifests itself, for instance, when teachers unfairly categorise the behaviour of Aboriginal students.

Nobody in Aboriginal culture puts much value on interrogation and answer-giving, and young Aboriginal people aren't very interested in being the focus of attention. This implies that Aboriginal pupils are less likely to raise their hands and answer questions in class. My understanding of why some students could know the answer but not want to offer it up to the class has been expanded thanks to this new piece of information. It's important to be patient with kids of Aboriginal heritage who exhibit this behaviour, since they may be reluctant to acknowledge uncertainty for fear of being stereotyped. Another option is for me to actively seek out ways to increase chances for experiential learning of different types in the courses I teach. For fear of "doing it badly," some people may prefer to say nothing when confronted with what they perceive to be an insurmountable obstacle (Gupta et al., 2019).

Since "relatedness" plays such a crucial role in Aboriginal worldviews, understanding this is critical for designing effective curricula for Aboriginal students. Celebrating indigenous culture in the classroom has been shown to have positive effects on the mental health and academic performance of indigenous students. Aboriginal people's spirituality, culture, and traditions are grounded on a deep recognition of their interdependence with all other forms of life.

A place-based education programme would be very useful for Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders (Gainsford, 2018). In indigenous pedagogies, learning takes place in the context of a particular encounter, environment, and community. Indigenous land-based education is grounded on the shared beliefs and practises of Indigenous communities for passing on knowledge to future generations. Educational programme designers have a responsibility to provide students enough of time to learn on their own and in a variety of settings. As a result of this process, one may learn to accept their place in the universe and develop a sense of devotion to it.

Environmental conservation may be enhanced through Native American land-based education by changing people's emotional connection to the land. This is due to the fact that we are currently experiencing global problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and severe, escalating environmental degradation.

Reference list 1

Anita Schmalor, 2021 Subjective Economic Inequality Decreases Emotional Intelligence, Especially for People of High Social Class [Online] [Accessed through] <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/19485506211024024> [Accessed on 3rd October 2022]

Sandra R. Phillips, 2018 Decolonising the reading of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writing: reflection as transformative practice [Online] [Accessed through] <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07294360.2018.1539956> [Accessed on 3rd October 2022]

Reference list 2

Baloche, L. and Brody, C.M., 2017. Cooperative learning: Exploring challenges, crafting innovations. Journal of Education for Teaching, 43(3), pp.274-283.

Batruch, A., Autin, F., Bataillard, F. and Butera, F., 2019. School selection and the social class divide: How tracking contributes to the reproduction of inequalities. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(3), pp.477-490.

Butler, T.L., Anderson, K., Garvey, G., Cunningham, J., Ratcliffe, J., Tong, A., Whop, L.J., Cass, A., Dickson, M. and Howard, K., 2019. Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people's domains of wellbeing: a comprehensive literature review. Social science & medicine, 233, pp.138-157.

Durante, F. and Fiske, S.T., 2017. How social-class stereotypes maintain inequality. Current opinion in psychology, 18, pp.43-48.

Gainsford, A., 2018. Connection to country-place-based learning initiatives embedded in the Charles Sturt University Bachelor of Law. Legal Educ. Rev., 28, p.1.

Gupta, H., Tari-Keresztes, N., Stephens, D., Smith, J.A., Sultan, E. and Lloyd, S., 2020. A scoping review about social and emotional wellbeing programs and services targeting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in Australia: Understanding the principles guiding promising practice. BMC Public Health, 20(1), pp.1-20.

Jury, M., Smeding, A., Stephens, N.M., Nelson, J.E., Aelenei, C. and Darnon, C., 2017. The experience of low‐SES students in higher education: Psychological barriers to success and interventions to reduce social‐class inequality. Journal of Social Issues, 73(1), pp.23-41.

Manstead, A.S., 2018. The psychology of social class: How socioeconomic status impacts thought, feelings, and behaviour. British Journal of Social Psychology, 57(2), pp.267-291.

Prictor, M., Huebner, S., Teare, H.J., Burchill, L. and Kaye, J., 2020. Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collections of genetic heritage: the legal, ethical and practical considerations of a dynamic consent approach to decision making. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 48(1), pp.205-217.

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