Key terms
Disability
Educational equity
Indigenous
Low socio-economic status
Multiculturalism
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (refer to NESB)
Rural and isolated
Social justice
Women in non-traditional areas of study
Disability
Any person who has a physical, sensory, psychiatric, learning or intellectual impairment which impacts on their daily living activities. The disability may be either temporary, fluctuating or a permanent condition, which may arise from illness, injury or disease or may have been present from birth.
Educational equity
University of Southern Queensland definition:
"Educational equity in higher education involves engaging in inclusive action to provide opportunities for access to all groups in Australian society and equitable opportunities for their success" (USQ Equity in Education Policy).
Australian Government (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations) definition:
The Higher Education Equity Support Program aims to increase the access and participation in higher education of students from low socio-economic/low income backgrounds, students from rural and isolated areas, students with disabilities and students from non-English speaking backgrounds. The Higher Education Equity Support Program also aims to assist in overcoming educational disadvantage associated with gender (Referenced from Higher Education Equity Support Program Guidelines, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations).
Queensland Government (Queensland Studies Authority) definition:
All young people in Queensland have a right to gain an education that meets their needs, and prepares them for active participation in the creation of a socially just, equitable and democratic global society. This principle is aligned with the range of UN Conventions that Australia has ratified, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Adelaide Declaration on National Goals for Schooling in the Twentyfirst Century. (Referenced from Queensland Study Authority, QSA Equity Statement).
“The QSA is committed to equity in education and to providing services and materials that challenge inequities and contribute to Queensland students receiving a socially just education.” (Equity, Queensland Studies Authority)
Indigenous
Indigenous Australians who identify as Aboriginal or a Torres Strait Islander.
Low socioeconomic status
Measured by applying the Australian Bureau of Statistics Index of Education and Occupation to the postcodes of the students' home residence.
Multiculturalism
Australian Government (Human Rights Commission) definition:
The term ‘multiculturalism’ has a number of meanings, depending on the context in which it is being used.
- First, multiculturalism is often used to describe the diverse cultural make up of a society. This publication, for instance, sets out a range of facts which demonstrate the diversity and multicultural character of Australia’s population.
- Second, multiculturalism refers to a set of norms that uphold the right of the individual to retain and enjoy their culture.
- Third, multiculturalism is the name given to a government policy which seeks to recognise, manage and maximise the benefits of cultural diversity. (C Inglis, Policy Paper No. 4, Multiculturalism: New Policy Responses to Diversity, UNESCO, (1995)).
Australia’s multicultural policy Multicultural Australia United in Diversity: Strategic Directions 2003-2006 expired in 2006. There is currently no federal government policy on multiculturalism. On 17 August 2007 the Race Discrimination Commissioner, Tom Calma, issued a position paper which supported multiculturalism in the three senses set out above. The paper sets out the human rights principles underlying multiculturalism and argues for the continuation of Australia’s multicultural policy. To read Multiculturalism: A Position Paper by the Acting Race Discrimination Commissioner 2007 please visit the website.
(Referenced from Face the Facts (2008) Questions and Answers about Migrants and Multiculturalism).
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (refer to NESB)
Persons born in any country overseas and speak a language other than English in their home and who have been in Australia for less than 10 years.
Rural and isolated
Based on an index of remoteness, which combines population density, the distance from the nearest urban centres and the population of these centres as according to the Rural, Remote and Metroplitan Areas Classification.
Social Justice
Australian Government (Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) definition:
"The Government defines a socially just Australia as one in which there is:
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a fair distribution of economic resources;
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equal access to essential services such as housing, health care and education;
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equal rights in civil, legal and industrial affairs; and
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Women in non-traditional areas of study
Those fields of study or levels of courses for which the proportion of female enrolments was less than 40%, usually Information Technology and Engineering and Surveying.