Educating students from refugee backgrounds: ethical conduct to resist the politics of besiegement

Abstract

The settlement in Australia of people fleeing from war and persecution is claimed as proof of its humanitarian credentials. Australia’s identity as a settler colony draws attention to a darker history, featuring colonial practices that remain in the background of educational debates. The paper begins with two examples of harsh and punitive punishment, endorsed electorally and mobilised to manage the racial other. This background sets the context for understanding the cultural politics of besiegement and its implications for schooling. We explore how teachers might be freed up from existing discourses of power and knowledge, by examining their ethical conduct (‘care of the self’). Using findings from two Australian studies conducted in the cities of Brisbane and Greater Western Sydney, we explore possibilities for developing alternative political subjectivities for teachers and pre-service teachers. It is through careful attention to their ethical sensibilities that teachers will be empowered to steer education towards a different ontological politics.

Keywords:

• Refugees and asylum seekers
• governmentality
• ethics
• teachers, teacher education

Notes

1. As defined by the web-based Free English Dictionary.

2. The Tampa rescued 433 asylum seekers in international waters. It was refused permission to land on Australian soil and when this order was disregarded by its Norwegian captain, defence personnel boarded the ship, prompting an official diplomatic incident between Norway and Australia.

3. The Children Overboard Affair took place in a period leading up to an election in 2001. It was claimed by the Liberal-National Coalition government that asylum seekers had knowingly thrown their children overboard so that they would be rescued and would receive a passage to Australia. A Senate Select Committee later found that children had not been thrown overboard, that the government was aware of this but sought to mislead the public by demonising the asylum seekers.