Culturally Responsiveness in a Diverse Australia
“Half the curriculum walks in the door with the students.”
Emily Style, the former founding co-director of the National SEED Project (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity)
In today’s globalised and interconnected world, classrooms are microcosms of broader communities, representing and reflecting cultural diversity. In Australia, where almost half the population has at least one parent born overseas, cultural responsiveness in teaching is no longer optional, but essential. Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) recognizes and celebrates the diverse cultural backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives that students bring to the classroom. This approach fosters inclusivity, strengthens student engagement and support Social and Emotional Learning. By recognising and affirming students’ identities and building bridges between cultures, CRT equips learners with the skills needed to thrive in a multicultural and globalised world.
What Is Culturally Responsive Teaching?
Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) is an educational approach acknowledging the deep connections between culture and learning, valuing students’ cultural identities, experiences, and perspectives as integral to their education. It extends beyond surface-level celebrations of diversity to address power dynamics, social inequalities, and historical contexts that shape students’ lived experiences. By fostering inclusive and equitable learning environments, CRT empowers students to see themselves in the curriculum and feel respected in the classroom.
EdWeek describes CRT as a pedagogy that emphasizes authentic relationships, cultural affirmation, and a curriculum that reflects the histories and contributions of diverse groups. It underscores that CRT is not about having all the answers but about engaging in ongoing learning and reflection as educators.
Key elements of culturally responsive teaching include:
Building Relationships: Establishing trust and authentic connections with students by understanding their cultural backgrounds and lived experiences. These relationships form the foundation for meaningful engagement.
Inclusive Curriculum: Incorporating books, resources into lessons that are intentionally designed to represent and reflect diverse perspectives and histories, challenging dominant narratives.
Responsive Instructional Strategies: Adapting teaching methods to align with students’ cultural contexts and learning preferences. This might include using storytelling, collaborative group work, or incorporating music and art reflective of students’ cultures. Assessment can be designed to also support this, perhaps offering oral formats instead of written ones for assessment tasks.
High Expectations with Support: Believing in the potential of all students while providing the appropriate scaffolding they need to succeed. This approach counters low expectations sometimes placed on marginalized groups.
Critical Thinking and Reflection: Encouraging students to critically examine societal structures, question biases (including their own!) and engage in conversations about diversity, equity and justice.
Family and Community Partnerships: Collaborating with families and community members to learn more from them about how to create holistic and supportive educational experiences that respects and integrates students’ cultural contexts.
Challenging your own cultural biases: Considering which cultural biases you might hold and how these may be informing lesson planning and teaching approaches. By challenging assumptions, educators can create more inclusive classrooms where all students’ thrive.
Australia’s Cultural and Linguistic Diversity
Australia’s cultural and linguistic diversity is one of its greatest strengths. The 2021 Census revealed the following key insights:
Almost half of Australians (48.2%) have a parent born overseas, and over a quarter (27.6%) were born overseas themselves.
The top countries of birth for overseas-born Australians include England, India, China, New Zealand, and the Philippines, with India moving to second place since the previous census.
Approximately 22% of Australians speak a language other than English at home, with Mandarin being the most commonly spoken language.
This diversity shapes the fabric of Australian society, influencing everything from cuisine and festivals to workplace dynamics, innovation and education. However, it also highlights the need for schools to embrace culturally responsive practices that reflect the lived experiences of their students and families.
Skills Gained Through Cultural Exploration
Exploring and embracing cultural diversity in schools benefits students in numerous ways. Some of the key skills developed include:
Empathy and Understanding: Students learn to appreciate and respect different perspectives, fostering empathy and reducing cultural biases.
Critical Thinking: Engaging with diverse viewpoints encourages students to analyze complex issues, challenge stereotypes, and think critically about societal norms.
Communication Skills: Exposure to various cultural contexts enhances students’ ability to communicate effectively and sensitively across cultural boundaries.
Adaptability: Understanding and navigating cultural differences prepares students to thrive in diverse workplaces and communities.
Global Citizenship: By exploring global cultures and histories, students develop a sense of interconnectedness and develop their intercultural skills, ready to fully participate in a globalised world.
International reports on the Future of Work repeatedly identify the skills of Global Citizenship as key for young people to develop. Culturally responsive teaching and learning develops many of the skills identified in the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs Report.
Holidays and Festivals: A Gateway to Cultural Awareness
One effective way to introduce culturally responsive teaching is through the recognition and celebration of diverse holidays and festivals. Inclusion of these holidays and festivals provides a good start at cultural inclusion, however, teaching and learning must go beyond the surface-level aspects of culture, to ensure they are valuable cultural learning opportunities.
In New York City, for example, Mayor Eric Adams declared Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, a school holiday starting in 2023. This decision reflects the growing recognition of the city’s South Asian and Indo-Caribbean communities. Similarly, other holidays like Eid Al-Fitr, Eid Al-Adha, Lunar New Year, and Rosh Hashanah have now been included in the school calendar to celebrate the city’s diverse populations. These efforts demonstrate the importance of creating inclusive spaces where all students feel seen and valued and education systems show they equally value and respect different cultures and faiths.
In Australia, cultural celebrations can serve as a starting point for broader discussions about history, identity, and community:
India: Festivals like Diwali and Holi are already familiar to many Australians, but exploring India’s Independence Day (August 15) provides insights into the country’s colonial history and struggle for freedom.
China: While Lunar New Year and the Lantern Festival are well-known, lesser-celebrated holidays such as Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival offer opportunities to delve deeper into Chinese traditions and values.
New Zealand: Celebrating Matariki (Maori New Year) or Waitangi Day highlights the rich cultural heritage of Australia’s neighbor, a source of many migrants and fosters connections with Indigenous knowledge systems.
Indigenous Australia: Recognizing NAIDOC Week, Reconciliation Week, and other Indigenous celebrations helps students understand the histories and contributions of First Nations peoples.
India: Festivals like Diwali and Holi are already familiar to many Australians, but exploring India’s Independence Day (August 15) provides insights into the country’s colonial history and struggle for freedom. With Indian communities being one of the fastest growing cultural group in Australia, developing a broader understanding of Indian culture is important.
China: While Lunar New Year and the Lantern Festival are well-known, lesser-celebrated holidays such as Qingming Festival (Tomb-Sweeping Day), Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival offer opportunities to delve deeper into Chinese traditions and values. The history of Chinese migration to Australia is long and the contributions of Chinese communities and Chinese-Australians in Australia’s history are often unknown.
New Zealand: Celebrating Matariki (Maori New Year) or Waitangi Day highlights the rich cultural heritage of Australia’s closest neighbor, a source of many new migrants and fosters connections with Indigenous knowledge systems.
Philippines: Festivals like Sinulog, Ati-Atihan, and Pahiyas showcase the vibrant traditions of Filipino communities.
Indigenous Australia: Recognizing NAIDOC Week, Reconciliation Week, and other Indigenous celebrations helps students understand the deep histories and contributions of First Nations peoples.
Moving Beyond the 3 F’s: Food, Flags, and Festivals
While holidays and festivals are excellent entry points, culturally responsive teaching must extend beyond the “3 F’s”—food, flags, and festivals. True cultural responsiveness involves embedding diverse perspectives throughout the curriculum and addressing the social and historical contexts that shape students’ experiences. For example:
Incorporating literature and stories from diverse cultures into English lessons, including from first hand sources which may be parents and local community.
Teaching world history from multiple perspectives, including those of colonized and Indigenous peoples. Considering who wrote the histories we know and the biases that they may have brought with them.
Exploring the contributions of various cultural groups to science, technology, art, and other disciplines, throughout history.
Starting now
Culturally responsive teaching is a powerful tool for fostering equity, inclusion, and academic success in Australia’s diverse classrooms. By valuing and integrating students’ cultural backgrounds into the learning process, educators can create environments where every student feels represented and empowered. From celebrating diverse holidays to embedding cultural perspectives throughout the curriculum, culturally responsive teaching equips students with the skills and mindsets needed to navigate a multicultural world. In doing so, it lays the foundation for a more inclusive, empathetic, and connected society. Start today but spending time exploring the cultural background and make up of your class and school, the local histories of migration in you area and considering how these may be incorporated into your teaching and learning planning this year.
