Asia Literacy – imperatives for
the Australian Classroom
RMIT2013
Why Asia???
Imperatives:
• Moral
• Economic
• Professional
Morally….. Be a good neighbour - we live in the region!What are the countries of Asia?
Economically – we are tied to Asia
Australia in the Asian Century – the White paper
A roadmap for the whole of Australia1. Building on our strengths for a
productive and resilient economy2. Building capabilities to succeed
• All students will have significant exposure to studies of Asia across the curriculum
• All students will undertake a continuous course of study in an Asian language (esp. Mandarin, Hindi, Indonesian and Japanese.
3. Innovation, collaboration and connecting to Asian markets
4. Building sustainable security5. Deeper and broader relationships
“India, China and other Asian nations are growing and their influence is increasing. Australians need to become ‘Asia literate’, engaging and building strong relationships with Asia.”
Goal 2:All young Australians become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens
“active and informed citizens…are able to relate and communicate across cultures, especially in relation to cultures and countries of the Asia-Pacific.”
Professionally – it is in our curriculum
www.australiancurriculum.edu.au
Australian Curriculum
General Capabilities
Intercultural Understanding• Includes the skills to critically reflect on one’s own
culture as well as positive, cooperative and respectful interactions between people of diverse cultural backgrounds at both an institutional and interpersonal level.
• Can be measured by the acquisition of critical cultural awareness, culturally respectful attitudes and positive skills for interacting across cultural groups.
• Focuses on the interaction between people by developing an understanding of self in relation to others.
Standpoints of intercultural understandingCultural
integrationCelebratory
understandingRelational
UnderstandingMulticultural
UnderstandingTrans-
formational
Help people fit into the existing structure
Build knowledge of cultural groups within the existing structure
Promote unity and acceptance in the existing social structure
Promote social equality and cultural respect
Promote action toward equality of opportunity
Developing Cultural Understanding(essential but not sufficient for
intercultural understanding)Developing intercultural understanding
www.australiancurriculum.edu.au
Australian Curriculum – Cross Curriculum Priorities
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
• Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia• Sustainability
Organising Themes
• Asia and its diversity
• Achievements and contributions of the peoples of Asia
• Asia-Australia engagement
Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia
Asia literacyfoundational and deep knowledge,skills and understandings about thehistories, geographies, societies, cultures, literatures and languages of the diverse countries that make
up our part of the world
Organising Themes/IdeasAsia and its diversity
OI.1The peoples and countries of Asia are diverse in ethnic background, traditions, cultures, belief systems and religions.
OI.2Interrelationships between humans and the diverse environments in Asia shape the region and have global implications.
Inspirations
Where do these images come from?
What period of time do they come from?
Where did it come from?• Write down the origin of each invention on your sheet.
Organising IdeasAsia and its diversity
OI.1 The peoples and countries of Asia are diverse in ethnic background, traditions, cultures, belief systems and religions.
OI.2 Interrelationships between humans and the diverse environments in Asia shape the region and have global implications.
Achievements and contributions of the peoples of Asia
OI.3The peoples and countries of Asia have contributed and continue to contribute to world history and human endeavour.
OI.4The arts and literature of Asia influence aesthetic and creative pursuits within Australia, the region and globally.
Culture as layers
Culture is like an apple
• The Skin – Observed: Language, Food, Architecture, Fashion, Art
• The Flesh – Norms & Values: Beliefs, attitudes and conventions
• The Core – Basic Assumptions: Unquestioned behaviour - tradition
Iceberg of culture
• Layers, Iceberg and Apples• Select the model you resonate with
most.
• Discuss what resonates and why.
Human Graph
What’s the news across the nation….
http://www.netvibes.com/studies-of-asia
#India_Newsfeeds#Japanese_newsfeeds#Indonesia_Newsfeeds
#China_news
Asian Newspapers online http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/asian-newspapers.htm
Organising IdeasAsia and its diversity
OI.1 The peoples and countries of Asia are diverse in ethnic background, traditions, cultures, belief systems and religions.
OI.2 Interrelationships between humans and the diverse environments in Asia shape the region and have global implications.
Achievements and contributions of the peoples of Asia
OI.3 The peoples and countries of Asia have contributed and continue to contribute to world history and human endeavour.
OI.4 The arts and literature of Asia influence aesthetic and creative pursuits within Australia, the region and globally.
Asia-Australia engagement
OI.5 Collaboration and engagement with the peoples of Asia support effective regional and global citizenship.
OI.6 Australia is part of the Asia region and our histories from ancient times to the present are linked.
OI.7 Australians play a significant role in social, cultural, political and economic developments in the Asia region.
OI.8Australians of Asian heritage have influenced Australia’s history and continue to influence its dynamic culture and society.
What is an Asia Literate school?
Studies of Asia wikispace studiesofasia.wikispaces.com
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