Meaning of Bigotry, Prejudice, Racism, and Stereotype - Essay Example

The society today is a mall for difference and multiplicity. Peoples’ knowledge, perceptions and attitudes influence the way they act. Making people aware of their diversity issues, therefore, allows them to widen their vision and in effect, they are able to deal with things such as naivety, fear and prejudices. The objective of this document is to explore the meaning of bigotry, prejudice, racism, and stereotype; identify legislation that address social inclusion in Queensland; reflect on social inclusion; and discuss the impacts of teacher’s attitude on classroom management and student behaviour. Stereotypes and prejudice Prejudice refers to making conclusions or judgements without understanding the reality of an event or situation; it also signifies prejudgement. The term has generally been applied in the context of racial prejudice to explain the hostility towards individuals merely due to their race. As Ralph (1972) explains, today, the term racial prejudice is used to mean in broader terms “any unreasonable attitude that is unusually resistant to rational influence.” Prejudice may suggest likes and dislikes by people. For instance, developing a particular attitude toward people of certain classes like race, creed and ethnicity. This conduct, which is known as affective prejudice, may be characterised, for instance, by animosity on victims of prejudice. Bigotry is the mindset whereby an individual becomes intolerant to views or identities that diverge from what he or she believes in. Often, the term refer to prejudices that are either not universally acceptable or that are challenged. For example, most religious groups view the atheist way of life as wrong and that people in that category ought to convert to the respective faith in order to escape from punishment by a superhuman being. Stereotype refers to a preconceived notion that ascribes certain attributes to members of a particular class. In most cases, the term has negative undertones when associating particular persons to demeaning, exaggerated or oversimplified assumptions that are further seen as characteristics of a certain class. A stereotype could be an oversimplified and established opinion, conception, or reflection centred on the conviction that behaviours, attitudes or appearances exist among every member of a particular group. It is worth to note that stereotypes result as kinds of societal consensus as opposed to individual conclusions (Ashman and Elkins, 2009). An example of a stereotype is the perception of the African–American as a community that embraces criminal activities, and therefore, branding every member of that community as crime minded. As a basic definition, racism is the idea that race primarily ascertains human capacities and traits and that racial distinctions results to intrinsic supremacy of the Caucasian race or the white people. Oxford English Dictionary defines racism as an ideology that every person in a particular racial grouping possesses abilities or attributes pertaining to that group, more so to differentiate the race as being inferior or superior to another. Wellman (1993) views racism as “culturally sanctioned beliefs, which, regardless of intentions involved, defend the advantages whites have because of the subordinated position of racial minorities.” Normally, the term signifies racial prejudice, oppression, violence, or discrimination. Educational responses to diversity Various legislations inform inclusion policies in Queensland. The Anti-Discrimination Act of 1991 was enacted to stamp out any form of discriminations including racial and gender-based ones in Queensland. The legislation empowers various bodies such as the Supreme Court and the Anti-Discrimination Commission to take relevant measures to address issues of discrimination and sexual harassments. The Act applies to everyone including in institution of learning. Another legislation, the Child Protection Act of 1999 aims to include children in societal agendas by addressing their plight as a disadvantaged group in the society in terms of the capacity to guard themselves. What is more, the Age Discrimination Act of 2004 protects citizens of Queensland against discrimination based on age. The Act explains explicitly the nature of age discrimination, defines the unlawful discrimination and various exemptions to the definition, and provides for constitutional remedies. This legislation, which is provided by the broader commonwealth community, applies to Queensland since it a member of the Commonwealth. Likewise, the Disability Discrimination Act of 1992 is a commonwealth provision that recognizes the disabled people as being part of the society and deserving equal treatment without any form of discrimination. Besides, the Disability Services Act of 2006 is instituted by Queensland to address the plights of the disabled among the general labour force. Education (General Provisions) Act of 2006 and The Disability Standards for Education directly address inclusive education. The Disability Standards for Education, for instance, stipulation various guidelines for dealing with disability cases in learning institutions while the Education Act promotes equality in disseminating educational knowledge. Other legislations that promote inclusive education and apply to the wider Commonwealth community include Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Act of 1986, Privacy Act of 1988, Racial Discrimination Act of 1975, and Sex Discrimination Act 1984. In general, these legislations seek to promote justice to all kind and classes of people including those in across different gender, racial and age divide. The Inclusive Education Statement of 2005, as a policy, recognizes diversity in the clarification of “the nature of inclusive education and its role in achieving the objectives that underpin public education in Queensland” (Queensland Government, 2005). This statement explains that in embracing inclusion, learning institutions should confront social injustice; minimize obstacles to learning, more so for individuals susceptible to exclusion and marginalisation; and teach and promote diversity. In addition, Queensland School Reform Longitudinal Study, Queensland State Education (QSRLS), and the Education and Training Reforms for the Future are initiatives and reviews of Education Queensland that aim to take advantage of diversity through promotion of inclusive education. Personal responses to diversity Diversity is a reality and it is vital that the society appreciate the differences that characterise people of various backgrounds with the aim of promoting humanity. The history of diversity has indicated perpetration of various injustices against people of particular race, gender and age. The world has emerged from the era where competition was the norm and such differences usually promoted animosity among different groups of people. However, today, the global society is relatively integrated, especially through the promotion of the globalisation concept. In effect, diversity is seen as an advantage whereby diversity allows coalescing of creative ideas and thereby promotes development. The universal consensus, therefore, values and promotes diversity and social inclusion. Social inclusion is essential in every society not only to promote equality among people of distinct background, but also to promote the greater goal of the society. It is arguable that excluding a particular group of people based on race or gender may result to unnecessary opposition to initiatives of the advantaged lot. As a result, this may derail development whereby one side focuses on demoting activities that are initiated by the rival demarcated group. Although the status of social inclusion has improved with years, some sectors of the society still deject the idea. It is apparent that even with legal provisions against such acts as age, gender, and racial discrimination, some people commit offences on that respect. Worse still is that some people who are responsible for the enforcement of these legal provisions do not agree with them on a personal level. In effect, the opponents of social inclusion are encouraged to commit social injustices against their supposedly inferior group. Therefore, it is challenging to ensure complete social inclusion due to such factors as discussed above. Nonetheless, the will and effort by leaders to promote social inclusion is an important step towards achieving that objective. How teacher’s attitude impact on student behaviour and classroom management Teacher’s attitude definitely influences the behaviour of student and dictates the outcomes of classroom management. Students borrow greatly from their teachers since they perceive them as having more knowledge and often see them as role models. In this respect, if teachers have negative attitudes towards issues, then it is possible that most of their students will assume negative perceptions towards such issues. It goes that positive thinking brings positive results. Teachers’ attitude, in addition, is likely to influence students’ behaviours in the sense that teachers are responsible for passing on ideas to their student. In this respect, student will take anything that their teacher tells them because it is their duty to learn and of teachers to teach them. Most important is the fact that teachers have the ability to explain their attitudes logically. Classroom management is vital in effective learning and teachers’ attitude plays a role in how they are managed. The management style that a teacher adopts is largely determined by his or her attitude. The teacher will implement the strategy that he or she believes to be the best. It is vital that the teachers maintain positive attitude that is guided by scientific management principles as opposed to emotional inclination in order to ensure effectiveness; otherwise, the strategy may fail to bring the desired results. In addition, flexibility is important to take advantage of opportunities that may arise. Conclusion This document has explored various concepts and legislation associated with diversity, and touched on the impacts of teacher’s attitudes on students. Is evident that issues of diversity are real and the government of Queensland has moved a step to address these issues including discrimination and sexual harassment. What is more, we see that attitude can have positive or negative results and therefore, promoting the notion that of promoting the understanding of diversity to broaden our visions. References Ashman, A & Elkins, J. (2009): Education for Inclusion and Diversity, 3rd Edn, Frenchs Forest, NSW, Australia: Pearson Education Australia. Department of Education, Training and the Arts Queensland, CRP-PR-009: Inclusive Education, retrieved on 17th March 2009 from http://education.qld.gov.au/strategic/eppr/curriculum/crppr009. Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel, (2008): Anti-Discrimination Act 1991, State of Queensland, retrieved on 17th March 2009 from http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/A/AntiDiscrimA91.pdf. Oxford English Dictionary, racism, Oxford University Press. Queensland Government, Code of school behaviour: better behaviour better learning, Education Queensland, retrieved on 17th March 2009 from http://education.qld.gov.au/publication/production/reports/pdfs/code-school-behaviour-a4.pdf Queensland Government, (2005): Inclusive Education Statement – 2005, retrieved on 17th March 2009 from http://education.qld.gov.au/studentservices/learning/docs/inclusedstatement2005.pdf Ralph, R. L. (1972): Poultry and prejudice, Psychologist Today, New York. Wellman, D. T. (1993): Portraits of White Racism, Cambridge University Press, New York. Read More