With partners:
Student Snapshot 1
MALE STUDENT: I’ve seen some Aussies, they swear to their mum. I think, how could they swear to their parents? I would never swear to my parents. Most of the ones I know, they all have like step-dads and step-mums.
FEMALE STUDENT: Yeah, like in our backgrounds, like Arab, it’s not good for us to get divorced. For Aussies, they don’t care. Like they get divorced, get another husband. For us it’s not good…
Student Snapshot 2
MALE STUDENT: … all the Aussies, they always wag and they swear at the teachers. They don’t care what they do.
FEMALE STUDENT: They’re not disciplined from when they’re young.
FEMALE STUDENT: Because our parents are strict on us we respect other people. We don’t swear at our parents, our teachers, like they do. And because their parents don’t care, some of them, their parents don’t care what they do, they just let them, they think they are right.
FEMALE STUDENT: I wouldn’t say shoosh to my mum.
Student Snapshot 3
FEMALE STUDENT: My neighbour she’s got a baby, she’s only 16 years old. She’s onto her second.
INTERVIEWER: Is she what you’d call an “Aussie”?
FEMALE STUDENT: Yeah, she is. Her mum lives with her. She’s got, like, in and out guys in the house.
MALE STUDENT: That’s like in my street. Everyone’s Aussie and everyone takes drugs, they smoke choof.
INTERVIEWER: What do you think the difference is here? Why do you think “Aussies” do whatever they like?
FEMALE STUDENT: Because we have respect for our parents. Like, we don’t act up, we don’t swear. And if we do, we get hit and we learn our lesson. We don’t get kicked out.
FEMALE STUDENT: Aussies, their parents let them go out till any time. Like, I would love to go to more places, like shopping, but I’m hardly allowed to go. But Aussies, they can go to the city, clubbing…
Student Snapshot 4
INTERVIEWER: Do you think the Aussies are as motivated as you? Do you think they want to work hard at school?
FEMALE STUDENT: They don’t care.
MALE STUDENT: They’re always wagging and always out the back smoking.
FEMALE STUDENT: All they care about is moving out of the house. They can’t wait till they get out of their house.
FEMALE STUDENT: No, not all of them.
FEMALE STUDENT: Yeah, most of them. Like, if you compare Arabs to Aussies, us we don’t have babies till we’re married. They have babies at 16 years old. It’s like they don’t care.