Suchergebnisse

This paper argues that a number of competing interpretations of multicu1turalism and education have emerged during the 1980s and 1990s in response to issues ofethnic and cultural difference in Australia. Drawing on the work of otherresearchers such as Kalantzis et al. (1990), the article traces the changing nature of governmental discourses and their effects in the education field, from cultural pluralist models through to perspectives which stressed broad institutional change and the social in clusion of marginalised 'ethnic minority' groups. The paper extends previous work by examining the ways in which the language of neo-liberalism has displaced the categories of race, ethnicity and culture as key concerns in the development of educational policy and programs by the end of the 1990s. It suggests, that these new trends have transformed multiculturalismin education into a 'choice' of establishing separate schools and systems along ethno-specific lines, but with no guarantee of improving educational outcomes. Concluding, the piece argues that an alternative agenda would build on the insights gained in the earlier processes of reform, which focused on broad institutionaI change. However, it is also proposed that there is a need to linkt hese insights to a critical analysis of the ways in which the emerging types of knowledge, institutionaI arrangements and teaching strategies are producing new forms of exclusion within the ethnic and culturai spheres of our 'Iife-worlds'.

Abstract
Structural inequality is a framework that examines conditions in which groups of people experience unequal opportunities in terms of roles, rights and decision-making compared to others. This research sought to examine whether students from refugee backgrounds faced structural inequalities in their access to higher education. Data regarding the participation of refugee students in higher education between 2011 and 2014 was obtained from the Australian Department of Education and Training. This data was compared with sector averages and those of students from formal equity backgrounds to establish possible structural impediments to university study. Students from refugee backgrounds were found to face both horizontal and vertical inequalities in their access to higher education, as do other equity groups. The experience of refugee students appears to have unique features, however, including gender, age, type of institution accessed and potentially field of study. These barriers may be addressed to some extent by university outreach and support programmes, but more will be required to facilitate full participation in higher education by these students.