LAUSR

ABSTRACT This paper explores the ways an elite girls’ secondary school context influences one Vietnamese Australian schoolgirl's engagement with interculturality. As well as thinking about and interacting with others respectfully and equitably, interculturality encompasses thinking reflexively about the influence of one's own background, and systems of power, on such thoughts and interactions. Analysis is based on interviews conducted with Kate (a pseudonym) when she was in Years 7–9 of secondary school and aged approximately 12–15 years old. I argue that Kate's awareness of ways she is minoritised and/or marginalised at school help her to identify and critique structural racism. However, I also highlight that Kate's relative success within Kirkswood College's highly competitive academic environment impedes her ability to critique inequity. This is because her take-up of discourses of self-improvement and meritocracy potentially hinder her ability to recognise structural bias.