Abstract
This article examines government approaches to public communications at the time of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with a focus on how one state government body, namely, the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education in Australia, has engaged with key stakeholders at a time when home–school communications has been heavily impacted by COVID-19. Through analysis of the Department’s ‘owned’ online communications platforms, such as websites, podcasts and social media, the article specifically focuses on how the Department has represented and invited engagement among its culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) stakeholders with a view to understanding the extent to which it has been able to create a sense of connection and belonging for parents and caregivers. It shares examples of positive practice by the Department as well as suggestions for further research that may help uncover best practices for multicultural and multilingual government–stakeholder engagement.
Highlights
This article examines government approaches to public communications at the time of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with a focus on how one state government body, namely, the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education in Australia, has publicly engagedMedia International Australia 178(1)with key stakeholders at a time when home–school communications has been heavily impacted by COVID-19
This study aims begins to fill these gaps by considering how stakeholders from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds have been included, through their written, visual or audio representations of their voice in stories, comments, and clips in the official digital media created and curated by the NSW Department of Education
While one media release during the COVID-19 period when parents were encouraged to keep their children at home indicated that schools would ‘communicate directly with parents on what learning options are available using their communication methods such as the school website, newsletters, emails and other online tools’ (Latest Schools Info, 2020), it did not share any specific indicators of how parents or students from language backgrounds other than English (LBOTE) or English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) backgrounds would be engaged in this process
Summary
As the public body that oversees the largest education system in Australia ( one of the largest education systems in the world), and the largest single organisation in Australia across public and private sectors (Bagshaw and Nicholls, 2016), the NSW Department of Education offers a pertinent case for examining concepts of organisational communication, listening and voice, as well as representation and inclusion in the context of this global pandemic It shares pertinent examples of positive practice by the Department while suggesting that there is room to grow in terms of more consistent engagement across cultures and languages which may foster a greater sense of inclusion. The education sector has been massively affected by COVID-19 with the suspension of face-to-face teaching for various periods of time for many students across the globe
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