Is Affirmative Action In Australian Universities Self-Defeating In The Fight For Equality?

            Introduction

            Affirmative action is the strategy for obtaining and enhancing diversity in schools and working places. Affirmative actions can best be described as a policy that offers special consideration to women and the minority groups with the objective of creating equality. Affirmative action in Australian universities is utilized in making decisions in regard to those that should be administered. Not all the affirmative action’s special considerations directed to the minority groups and women are equal since some schools only offer lowered amount of consideration on the grounds of an individual’s race or even sex[1]. The least affirmative action level normally involves an attempt to increasing the general number of education applicants. Despite the fact that more recruiting effort is applied in ensuring that the minority groups and women make their application while making the respective decisions zero considerations are made to select the suitable applicants. Affirmative action justification is that it helps in the creation of tolerant communities since it exposes individuals to a number of cultures and thoughts that differ from their own[2]. However, affirmative action appears to be reverse discrimination that does not make the selections based on achievements but on the grounds of vulnerability. The previous discrimination against some minority groups does not offer any justification to the existing discrimination against those that are not within the minority groups. In the fight for equality affirmative action in Australian universities is self-defeating because it destroys the impression of meritocracy and instead it promotes race and gender as the dominating forces in admission procedures.

Literature Review

Factually failure to admit white students on the grounds of extra points that are received by the minority groups’ students through affirmative action is a representation of reverse discrimination since white students should be given equal treatment on the grounds of merits. Theoretically, it is apparent that affirmative action was mainly introduced so that the past discrimination subjected to the minority groups would be overcome and create an equal society. Despite the fact that eliminating racial, gender and ethnic consideration from the admission procedure would result in harmful effects on the general rate of minority people being admitted to the state’s universities, the general combination of the utilization of admission score average grade points that are supplemented by the special consideration of race can be regarded as a discriminatory strategy in deciding on students admission. In addition, race is not a suitable strategy for evaluating an individual’s knowledge since the admission criteria are supposed to be based on merit in deciding those that deserves an admission[3].

Affirmative action offers protection to the minority groups who are considered to be vulnerable to discrimination but fails to account on offering equal treatment to the non-minority. In that affirmative action is an implication of constitutional privileges. In fact, the Australian law declares that individuals are supposed to be given equal laws protection and this makes the race to be an impermissible force in the selection practices within the state universities. Prioritizing minority and the groups that are under-qualified is a depiction of discrimination which is a reverse discrimination against the white majority since race should not be utilized in disqualification. Educational benefits are mainly influenced by a number of cultural and education diversities[4]. The policies of admission that are grounded on affirmative action hold an impact on the admission office as well as to the environment in which the students coexist. Despite the fact that Australia is characterized by multi-ethnic realism it should be realized that holding differing cultures in the same classroom will not necessarily produce high values in education if the incorporated knowledge is not of equal levels. In fact, the established racial balance that is seen in the working surrounding is the primary result of an economic progress that is particularly positive and not the generation of a pre-fixed qualification that is utilized in the universities which would impact the education purpose negatively.

Affirmative action is not just the only way through which full contribution to the general future of the community can be achieved but the best strategy is to permit individuals with similar intellectual basis to make cooperative contributions for the betterment of the society in general. It is, however, an opportunity to offer to learn to different groups since their learning abilities differ and this creates differing skills that are required in the work market. Without the affirmative action, the most intelligent students who would probably be acquired from the majority groups would fill the classrooms. However, intellectual knowledge should be accounted for prior to race or gender because most students find it to be particularly hard to acquire the necessary learning and this creates a waste of opportunities. In this context theoretical equal chances do not absolutely imply to racial integration this can create the opportunities where students normally prefer to be within the given surrounding where they can only interact.

More so, a racial preference that is grounded on gender can additionally be accounted as discrimination. it is absolutely doubtful that the use of affirmative action in the universities or the working places can be accounted as valid reimbursement, since reimbursement is an individual subject rather than the entitlement of a group thus permitting the minority group to make preferences as per the current does not offer any compensation to the minority generations that were subjected to injustices suffering in the past[5]. Preferences that are mainly formulated in as compensation for the effects of social discrimination should be rejected in order to promote equality[6]. Equality mainly involves offering equal opportunities rather than prioritizing certain groups on the grounds of race rather than utilization of merits. Remedying the past discrimination requires the establishment of the specific discrimination that is to be cured and creating preferences that are only to offer benefits to the vulnerable groups to the necessary degree that can counteract the discrimination effects. This, therefore, implies that both the affected and the majority group’s needs should be accounted in order to eliminate chances of biases.

Australian universities provide all the students with the opportunities of acquiring high education but contrary the institutions tends to be particularly expensive. This remains to be one of the barriers that keep the minority groups away rather than their qualifications. If the objective of the affirmative action is to ensure that the intellectual levels of individuals are increased in equal nature as well as to offer an education that is competitive so that the whole community can acquire the respective benefits then it should ensure that race is not the general preference it fails to generate significant assistance. Students should be admitted on the grounds of capabilities with higher relevance of family income to ensure that those with lower capabilities are considered rather than concentrating mainly on race[7]. It is the goal of every individual to acquire success regardless of their race and this can only be acquired based on extensive hard-work which the affirmative seems to assert for some groups while discouraging that of others. This, therefore, makes it a contrary discrimination where the minority groups are offered more potential and opportunities as compared to others so that they can acquire success. The disagreement that the preference of race does not matter anymore signifies that this is the period of acquiring change in making a more objective strategy in Admission University. The affirmative action tends to be self-defeating in that it only encourages the promotion of student’s admission on the grounds of races rather than focusing on merits.

The goal of affirmative action should be to offer equal as well as fair treatment without the engagement of prejudice. This is the primary goal of the contemporary generation where individuals wish to see equal chances for every individual regardless of their nationality, race, sex or even color. It is thus unfortunate that this can never be acquired while universities continue to favor a number of applicants on the grounds of race. Affirmative action tends to be unfair to the majority groups while harming the minority in a way since the preferred students find it hard to learn with those that have fast learning abilities[8]. This, therefore, makes an affirmative action to be wrong mainly because aggressive determination, good grades, and hard-work should be accounted highly while universities are selecting their freshmen and not being objective through a race. Affirmative action may be undermining the black community’s self-respect because they may tend to feel inferior or not good enough to acquire direct admission on the grounds of merits[9]. On the other hand, the majority may tend to feel discriminated because they are required to work extra so that they can acquire the same chances given on the basis of race to certain people while theirs is grounded on merits.

Methodology and Design

A Research design can be described as the structural plan that is developed and utilized for the aim of investigation the designed research questions. On the other hand, the research methodology is an investigation plan that seeks to acquire answers to the general questions of the study[10]. This study will thus use random sampling strategy as the study’s descriptive design. This will be purposed at investigating whether, how and why Australian universities use of affirmative action can be categorized as self-defeating. The study’s methodology will mainly seek to conduct an investigation of affirmative action within Australian universities self-defeating nature which results in inefficiency in its fight to create equality. Data will be acquired from primary as well as secondary sources which will include interviews, surveys questionnaires, books, peer-reviewed articles, and journals. This approach will seek to generate maximum as well as reliable information within the shortest period while observing cost, reliability, accessibility and dependability.

Research Method

In addition, the study will utilize both Simple Random Sampling and a qualitative in a combination of a quantitative approach that lies within the descriptive design which was selected with the objective of ensuring that biases do not occur. The qualitative design that will be utilized in the study will incorporate the utilization of questionnaires, interviews as well as online surveys. The queries that will be utilized in the interview, survey and questionnaires with be open and closed-ended. This is to ensure that maximum, dependable and accurate information that suits the objective of the study is acquired[11]. In addition, this will seek to ensure that the answers are narrowed down for easier summary and analysis to create uniform data that directly answers the research questions. Random sampling will be utilized fully in the study in order to ensure equality while selecting the target populace. Random sampling can be defined as crucial for the study because it will mainly seek to ensure that all the given responses are dependable and accurate so that the study’s efficiency can be increased.

Random sampling works in ensuring that all the members of a given populace are involved without discrimination which might alter the results. The study will incorporate students and staffs within a number of universities and every member will have opportunity but only the suitable candidates will participate. Both the qualitative and quantitative approaches will be seeking to present answers to the self-defeating nature in general of affirmative action within the Australian universities. The acquired data will contribute in gathering adequate information and this will be supportive in creating more improved understanding of the equality issue on the grounds of utilization of affirmative action. The descriptive approach was selected because it has high potential of generating accurate data, therefore, it will be objected at developing a meaningful purpose set through purposive population sampling through the use of survey, questionnaires, and interviews. On the other hand, the qualitative approach will mainly be utilizing measurable data in the formulation and uncovering of a number of patterns within the study. This will mainly incorporate detailed investigation.

The study will utilize a mixed methodology that incorporates random sampling, qualitative as well as quantitative design so that maximum information can be exploited from the study’s respondents. In addition, this methodology is essential in the provision of direct information that can be utilized in making a comparison for accurate analysis[12]. The findings will, therefore, offer a more firm ground that can be utilized as a form of reference in creating solutions to the issue of racial preference while utilizing affirmative actions in the universities. This will be accomplished through providing future researchers with a range of approaches and grounds for through investigation for more improved recommendations. The incorporation of a mixed approach is essential to maintaining dependability and realness as the acquired responses and reviews can be analyzed afterward based on the availability of adequate and valuable information. Racial preference and the fight for equality is a rather sensitive matter and therefore the study will offer confidentiality to the responses by acquiring consent and observing all the ethical issues such as not revealing the responses and also ensuring that the respondents are free to make a withdrawal from the investigation at will.

Research Approach and Design

The study will additionally conduct a systematic review of the existing literature in offering justification to the established theories that will be created through qualitative research. This will seek to create fresh findings that are grounded on existing studies and the direct responses acquired from the study’s respondents. The study will utilize an inductive study approach. Based on the approach theories the study starts with making particular observations which are then utilized in the creation of general findings, concepts, and conclusions that are acquired from the study. The study plans on accommodating an inductive method because it considers the general context of where the active effort are required in research and it is also suitable for a low sample that leads to the production of qualitative data. The created theories can, therefore, be justified with the utilization of systematic review that offers support to any raised claim thus creating dependability of the study’s results and the question that is under investigation.

Study Setting and Target Population

The study populace will be selected from several universities within the Australian state based on their incorporation of affirmative action in making admission decisions. The setting will, therefore, offer more dependable information from the staffs and students. The general backgrounds of the institutions will be of the essence of the study since it will be useful in determining the general impact of affirmation action use on student’s admission and whether the strategy has acquired significant change and why it is a self-defeating strategy. This will help in establishing why racial preference is destructive as compared to the use of merits. The institutions setting will be useful in solving the presented question by the study based on the backgrounds on embracing diversity. Given that the institutions accommodate minority and the majority groups in equal chances this will be useful in generating concepts to the manner in which equality can be acquired.

Sampling

Objective sampling will be utilized for the study in developing the study’s sample under investigation. This method originates from non-probability sampling approaches where the sample population is generally selected on the grounds of expertise, experience as well as relations[13]. In this study, the selected target holds direct relation with affirmative action use which is the primary phenomenon that is being investigated and this will offer rich data. The target populace for the study will mainly be the institutional leaders and students. The study will, therefore, use students from both the minority and the majority groups in equal nature to balance the responses in general for reliability and also in ensuring that biases do not occur. A list of at least a hundred students and 10 leaders will be utilized which will be acquired from the institution's databases with the school's consent.

A sampling of the research populace will be necessary on the grounds that it is associated with reduced cost, availability as well as accessibility in referent to all the targeted elements. In addition, sampling is crucial to this study on the ground that it is linked to increased processing speed as well as information analysis of all the acquired data as compared to other strategies that are characterized by complexity. This will, therefore, play part in the eradication of biases as well as ensure efficiency and reliability of the study. The sample that will mainly be tested is that of leader’s ad students with more than two working and learning years respectively. This is because based on their experience the probability of getting reliable information in regard to the affirmative action issue is particularly high. On the grounds of this experiences, they will have the necessary capability of answering the research question. The language background of the sample will be English which will work in ensuring that the researcher is not faced with challenges during the interpretation process. Information misinterpretation may lead to inaccuracy given that acquiring an expertise interpreter is quite expensive. Thus the sample populace will be selected on the grounds of their period of learning or working in the institution and minority or majority group.

Data Collection Strategies and Instruments

The research will gather data from a systematic review of the current literature and the use of questionnaires and interviews. For the systematic review scholarly books, peer reviewed articles and journals will be utilized based on their credibility. This will be essential in offering valid and varied justification to the raised claims from the acquired qualitative data.  On the other hand, questionnaires will be distributed prior to the conduction of interviews from the respondent’s emails which will be returned to the researcher’s address after completion. The reminders of the tasks will be accomplished through the use of mobile direct messages which will seek to ensure that the specified study period is not altered. After the one week period where the respondents will be filling their questionnaires interviews will take place on the online platform due to convenience, time as well as being cost efficient. The summary and analysis parts will be conducted individually by the researcher in enhancing confidentiality. Filling the consent form will ensure that these privileges are offered to the participants without fail and that the purpose of the study has been achieved. Interviews will mainly be carried out in differing periods to create more time for analyzing the acquired data. This will be accomplished through direct questions to the participants while recording their responses to consume less time.

For the objective of the study’s research question the study will utilize detailed interviews and questionnaires which will be structured half-way. The objective of this approach is to establish the feelings, views as well as the general emotions of the researcher[14]. This approach is advantageous since it will create direct interactions with the respondents. In addition, this will be useful in reducing the non-responsive level as the interview will mainly seek to be interactive rather than objective as this may be too formal which may affect the general ability of the participants. In addition, unstructured interviews are more effective because they create flexibility in regard to the interview’s flow which creates more room for generating conclusions that were initially not anticipated to be acquired in regard to the investigation subject. This will, therefore, be conducted while ensuring that the interviews do not necessary shift from the specified goals of the study.

The questionnaire will be utilized as the interview guide in order for the researcher to be able to guide the responses towards the general fulfillment of the study’s aims. This will create ways through which additional questions can be formulated to maximize the feedback. Participants will be encouraged to offer their views of subjects that the research might not have noted and they feel are essential. This is to ensure that they acquire a sense of being valued and their opinions being respected. In addition, this will help in creating a pleasant and smooth flow of the interviews.

Data Analysis Plan

The acquired data from the primary sources such as interviews as well as questionnaires will mainly be analyzed with the use of content analysis. The data will be acquired in this particular nature to enable a comparison with the information acquired from the existing literature. On the other hand, the existing literature will thus be analyzed with the use of a systematic review. The analysis approach is crucial since it is useful in decreasing the general length of the gathered data as it offers simplification while generating those results that can be evaluated and measured using quantitative approaches. In addition, both systematic evaluation and content analysis provide the researcher with increased capability of structuring data acquired structurally in a way that is mainly objected at fulfilling the objectives of the study. However, this strategy is usually limited by human mistakes because the acquired data might be misunderstood thus creating false assumption which therefore requires adequate governance.

Ethical considerations

This study is a subject to a number of ethical issues given that it is a sensitive matter. As mentioned prior all the respondents will be required to present their filled acceptance in reference to their decision to participate via a completed signed consent as well as an introductory letter. The objective of using the approach is mainly to ensure that all the participants understand that their participation n is fully voluntary, it will only be utilized for scholarly rather than commercial use and that they are permitted to make withdrawals from the study without giving any reason and during any given stage. In addition to the above, the researcher will ensure that the participants are not harmed emotionally since the study will mainly seek to create as well as maintain comfortable surrounding for the responses.

Study Limitation

The sample populace can be categorized as large which will present challenges in the analysis of data but it is essential in enhancing dependability. In addition focusing mainly on qualitative research might not allow adequate measurement of the issue being investigated and most of the participants might withdrawal from participating due to the feeling that they might be betraying their institutions. Others may offer inaccurate data as a form of protection which will affect the research credibility.

Conclusion and Recommendations

It is apparent that affirmative action offers a significant protection mainly to the vulnerable groups in the society against being discriminated while attempting to acquire learning opportunities. However, affirmative action within the Australian universities seems to be self-defeating because it ignores the practice and the consideration of merits and focuses on racial preference. Hard-work, good grades, as well as merits, should be the grounds of consideration to ensure that the majority groups do not feel discriminated upon. Equality implies to the offering of opportunities to all on the grounds of merits for effectiveness to be achieved by considering intellectual levels. Affirmative action should not be utilized as a form of compensation while punishing others to work extra hard to acquire similar opportunities. The study should seek to balance both the primary and the secondary investigation so that a balance of concepts can be generated. It is clear that for the effectiveness of affirmative action to be achieved racial preference as the dominating force should be loosened to create better grounds for assessing individual abilities.

 

            References

Alison M. Konard & Hartmann, L. (2002). Gender differences in attitudes toward affirmative action program in Australia: effects of beliefs, interests and attitudes toward women. Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Antonisamy, B., Solomon, C., & Prasanna, S. P. (2010). Biostatistics: Principles and practice. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Education.

Eveline, J. (1994). Normalization Leading Ladies and Free Men, Affirmative Actions in Sweden and Australia. Elsevier Science Ltd. pp. 157-167.

Lim, W. M. (2013). Research Methodology: A Toolkit of Sampling and Data Analysis Techniques for Quantitative Research. Place of publication not identified: Grin Verlag.

Mark C. Long. (2007). Affirmative Action And Its Alternatives In Public Universities: What Do We Know? Wiley Publication. Public administration review, pp. 315-330.

Palmer, R. (2010). The Perceived Elimination of Affirmative Action and the Strengthening Of Historically Black College and Universities. Sage Publication, Inc. Journal of black studies pp. 762-776.

Sheridan, A. (1998). Patterns in the policies: Affirmative action in Australia. Pp.243-252, Doi: 10.1108/09649429810237088.

Tavakoli, H. (2013). A Dictionary of Research Methodology and Statistics in Applied Linguistics. Tehran: Rahnamā.

Vogt, W. P., Gardner, D. C., & Haeffele, L. M. (2012). When to Use What Research Design. New York: Guilford Press.

 

[1] Palmer, R. (2010). The perceived elimination of affirmative action and the strengthening of historically black college and universities. Sage Publication, Inc. Journal of black studies pp. 762-776.

[2] Palmer, R. (2010). The perceived elimination of affirmative action and the strengthening of historically black college and universities. Sage Publication, Inc. Journal of black studies pp. 762-776.

[3] Palmer, R. (2010). The perceived elimination of affirmative action and the strengthening of historically black college and universities. Sage Publication, Inc. Journal of black studies pp. 762-776.

[4] Sheridan, A. (1998). Patterns in the policies: Affirmative action in Australia. Pp.243-252, Doi: 10.1108/09649429810237088.

[5] Eveline, J. (1994). Normalization Leading Ladies and Free Men, Affirmative Actions in Sweden and Australia. Elsevier Science Ltd. pp. 157-167.

[6] Palmer, R. (2010). The perceived elimination of affirmative action and the strengthening of historically black college and universities. Sage Publication, Inc. Journal of black studies pp. 762-776.

[7] Mark C. Long. (2007). Affirmative action and its alternatives in public universities: what do we know? Wiley publication. Public administration review, pp. 315-330.

[8] Alison M. Konard & Hartmann, L. (2002). Gender differences in attitudes toward affirmative action program in Australia: effects of beliefs, interests and attitudes toward women. Plenum Publishing Corporation.

[9] Eveline, J. (1994). Normalization Leading Ladies and Free Men, Affirmative Actions in Sweden and Australia. Elsevier Science Ltd. pp. 157-167.

[10] Vogt, W. P., Gardner, D. C., & Haeffele, L. M. (2012). When to use what research design. New York: Guilford Press.

[11] Tavakoli, H. (2013). A dictionary of research methodology and statistics in applied linguistics. Tehran: Rahnamā.

[12] Antonisamy, B., Solomon, C., & Prasanna, S. P. (2010). Biostatistics: Principles and practice. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Education.

[13] Lim, W. M. (2013). Research methodology: A toolkit of sampling and data analysis techniques for quantitative research. Place of publication not identified: Grin Verlag.

[14] Antonisamy, B., Solomon, C., & Prasanna, S. P. (2010). Biostatistics: Principles and practice. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Education.