The document discusses the relationship between literacy and diversity in Australia. It focuses on students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and how recent education policies have impacted them. Specifically, it discusses how the introduction of standardized testing (NAPLAN) and school performance reporting (MySchool) have shifted curriculum and pedagogy away from multimodal texts that low SES students can connect with. This has reduced student engagement and risks widening educational divides. While multimodal literacy instruction can boost outcomes for these students, current testing does not assess these skills.

1. Justin Cole
Student # 557426
Master of Literacy, Literacy Planning and Diversity.
Assignment 1
1
With every new day comes a news report about Australia’s changing social
and cultural demographic. Refugees, skilled migrants and second-generation
families are bringing diverse language experience and literacy demands to
our once mono-linguistic shores. This paper will attempt to articulate the
complex ideas, concepts, practices and issues related to literacy and
diversity.
To attempt to understand the relationship between literacy and diversity, one
must view it from the perspective of a group of students and their relationship
to an area of literacy research. For this paper I will be viewing literacy and
diversity through the framework of students from a low Socio-Economic
Status and research into the pedagogy and ideological shift when Multi-Modal
texts are used in schools.
Low Socio-Economic Status or SES is a collective term for students whose
family is in the bottom 25% for the three key indicators of income, education
and occupation. Students from Low SES families face a number of well-
recognised constraints and often find external forces can block their access to
education. These are more often than not exerted through policy and
pedagogy. Hay & Fielding-Barnsley (2009) noted that families from low SES
communities have a greater prevalence of children with early literacy
difficulties and attributed this to poor levels of finance, attendance and
educational aspiration.
Since 2009 The Australian Federal Government has implemented a range of
policies that could have a potential impact on the educational success of
students from a low SES background.
The National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)
introduced in 2009 brought high stakes, standardised assessment into
Australian schools.

2. Justin Cole
Student # 557426
Master of Literacy, Literacy Planning and Diversity.
Assignment 1
2
Then in 2010 in a move that closely mirrored the United Kingdom’s, the Labor
government took their MySchool website online. MySchool is a comparative
database that allows the public to compare and contrast the profile and
academic performance of publicly funded schools throughout Australia. The
introduction of these two policies brought a level of public accountability not
before experienced by schools.
Not only does it pave the way for a government push to implement
performance based pay into the education sector, the true power of these
policies is that they have subconsciously changed the pedagogy and
curriculum focus within schools.
Over time our definition of “Literacy” has also changed, the New London
group acknowledged the social nature of literacy and comprehension. This
definition greatly expanded the possibilities for access in education, allowing
Low SES students to suddenly see their home “literacies” and experiences
represented in mainstream classes. (Zammit 2011) However this definition is
changing again and the implementation of the National Curriculum in
conjunction with NAPLAN and My School has seen a reductionist view of
Literacy. Educators are forced into teaching discreet skills and genres that suit
the test types instead of drawing connections to students needs.
“The narrow understandings of comprehension are insufficient
for literacy education for diverse and marginalized students.”
(Luke, Woods & Dooley, 2011)
Luke, Woods & Dooley (2011) also conducted research around low SES
students in the fifth grade. They noted, “fifth graders who engaged in ‘content
instruction’ that focused on open questions about text meaning, outperformed
students exposed to strategies instruction on measures of narrative and
expository learning.” What Luke, Woods & Dooley are advocating is a move

3. Justin Cole
Student # 557426
Master of Literacy, Literacy Planning and Diversity.
Assignment 1
3
towards using texts to illustrate possible meanings and acknowledging the
ways that they make connections to other social and curriculum context.
“For students from culturally diverse or marginalized
backgrounds, content matters in crucial ways.” (Luke, Woods &
Dooley, 2011)
We know that over time the definition of literacies and text have changed,
meaning we must ascertain how the current curriculum document views and
defines multimodal text. The Australian Curriculum document states;
“Multimodal texts combine language with other means of
communication such as visual images, soundtrack or spoken word,
as in film or computer presentation media.”
(The Australian Curriculum V3.0 English: Content structure, 2012)
So how do these current policies affect students from low SES backgrounds?
The failure of students from low SES backgrounds is caused through a lack of
connection and failure to recognise themselves in the school environment.
What is needed to re-engage these students is a change in discourse and
pedagogy. (Zammit, 2011) Ensuring that the multiliteracies needed to
comprehend multimodal texts are taught requires the embedded use of ICT
within a teacher’s classroom pedagogy. Research shows that the use of ICT
leads to stronger student engagement and an increased level of self-efficacy.
Through teaching literacy through multimodal text, educators are
acknowledging the vast ways that meaning is constructed and read. Being
rooted in ICT allows the students to become central to the learning and allows
them to connect their prior knowledge and skills. This in turn supports the

4. Justin Cole
Student # 557426
Master of Literacy, Literacy Planning and Diversity.
Assignment 1
4
teacher to interpret literacy accomplishments differently and changes the
student’s views of knowledge and who possess it.
While the embedding of multimodal texts into classroom pedagogies engages
and stimulates the academic outcomes of low SES students, Unsworth &
Chan (2009) worry about the limited attention to multimodal text in NAPLAN
testing. This absence from the high-stakes testing policy of the current federal
government will inadvertently discourage the presence of multimodal text and
subsequently the academic potential of these students.
This view is shared equally by Maureen Walsh (2010) who wrote in the
Australian Journal of Language and Literacy of her concerns about the lack of
guidance on how multimodal texts can be incorporated into teaching, learning
and assessment. Walsh acknowledges the presence of multimodal text as
referenced in the National Curriculum document, yet she too mentions the
contradiction between students working with multimodal texts while being
assessed through NAPLAN, which is print, based.
The composition of students from Low SES backgrounds inevitably includes a
large proportion of migrant and indigenous families. While recognizing the
variety and breadth of languages and cultures, the new National Curriculum
places a particular emphasis on “Standard Australian English”.
“Although Australia is a linguistically and culturally diverse country,
participation in many aspects of Australian life depends on effective
communication in Standard Australian English. In addition,
proficiency in English is invaluable globally. The Australian
Curriculum: English contributes both to nation-building and to
internationalisation.”
(The Australian Curriculum V3.0 English: Rational, 2012)

5. Justin Cole
Student # 557426
Master of Literacy, Literacy Planning and Diversity.
Assignment 1
5
This reductionist definition exposes the discriminating connection between
language and money and conversely, power. It is privileging English over
other languages and sets the agenda of developing “Human Capital”. (Fehring
& Nyland, 2012)
An economic focus is in stark contrast to earlier educational philosophies that
recognised individual differences and child centered practice. (Fehring &
Nyland, 2012) For low SES students who struggle connecting themselves to
the school environment, these policy changes have a significant impact on
their development.
Empowering low SES students through education means empowering them to
be active participants in everyday society. Traditional grammar usage has
always been a measure of class and social status, (Fehring & Nyland, 2012)
however Exley and Mills (2012) argue that traditional grammar is limited to
simply describing the elements of traditional text. This focus fails to include
visual, audio, physical modes of communication that are the basis of
multimodal text.
It is my conclusion that while many literacy policy changes appear to be
progressive and providing opportunities for educational inclusion of low SES
students, the opposite is the case. The introduction of NAPLAN testing
instead sees policy being reactionary to the perceived fall in literacy
standards, a situation that can only increase the divide and ensure that
students from low SES families continue to disengage with public education in
Australia.

6. Justin Cole
Student # 557426
Master of Literacy, Literacy Planning and Diversity.
Assignment 1
6
References
1. Comber, B. (2011). Changing literacies, changing populations,
changing places--English teachers' work in an age of rampant
standardisation. English Teaching: Practice & Critique, 10(4), 5-22.
2. Cumming, J., Kimber, K., & Wyatt-Smith, C. (2011). Historic Australian
Conceptualisations of English, Literacy and Multimodality in Policy and
Curriculum and Conflicts with Educational Accountability. English In
Australia, 46(3), 42-53.
3. Cumming, J., Kimber, K., & Wyatt-Smith, C. (2012). Enacting Policy,
Curriculum and Teacher Conceptualisations of Multimodal Literacy and
English in Assessment and Accountability. English In Australia, 47(1), 9-18.
4. Exley, B., & Mills, K. A. (2012). Parsing The Australian English
Curriculum: Grammar, multimodality and cross-cultural texts. Australian
Journal Of Language & Literacy, 35(2), 192-205.
5. Fehring, H., & Nyland, B. (2012). Curriculum Directions in Australia:
Has the New Focus on Literacy (English) and Assessment Narrowed the
Education Agenda? Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, 20(2), 7-16.
6. Hay, I., & Fielding-Barnsley, R. (2009). Competencies that underpin
children's transition into early literacy. Australian Journal Of Language &
Literacy, 32(2), 148-162.
7. Luke, A., Woods, A., & Dooley, K. (2011). Comprehension as Social
and Intellectual Practice: Rebuilding Curriculum in Low Socioeconomic and
Cultural Minority Schools. Theory Into Practice, 50(2), 157-164.
doi:10.1080/00405841.2011.558445
8. Unsworth, L., & Chan, E. (2009). Bridging multimodal literacies and
national assessment programs in literacy. Australian Journal Of Language &
Literacy, 32(3), 245-257.
9. Walsh, M. (2010). Multimodal literacy: What does it mean for
classroom practice? Australian Journal Of Language & Literacy, 33(3), 211-
239.

7. Justin Cole
Student # 557426
Master of Literacy, Literacy Planning and Diversity.
Assignment 1
7
10. Zammit, K. (2011). Connecting Multiliteracies and Engagement of
Students from Low Socio-Economic Backgrounds: Using Bernstein's
Pedagogic Discourse as a Bridge. Language And Education, 25(3), 203-220.
11. The Australian Curriculum V3.0 English: Content structure. (August,
2012). Retrieved from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au./English/Content-structure
12. The Australian Curriculum V3.0 English: Rational. (August, 2012).
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/English/Rationale