This Australian curriculum resource for Years 9-10 students takes a critical approach to racism education by questioning whether “Harmony Day/Week” adequately addresses racial discrimination experiences.
Key Elements:
- Distinguishes between interpersonal racism (individual interactions) and systemic racism (institutional policies creating unfair outcomes)
- Uses evidence-based examples like health outcome disparities to demonstrate systemic impacts
- Incorporates community perspectives that challenge current national observances
- Moves students from awareness to proposing concrete anti-racism actions
Policy Relevance: The framework demonstrates how institutions can move beyond surface-level diversity celebrations toward substantive engagement with structural racism, offering conceptual tools valuable for policy analysis across sectors. It prioritises affected communities’ voices while maintaining educational rigor.
Considerations: Acknowledges potential student distress and requires additional support, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
