The Role of Gender, Religion and Friendship in the Perception of the “Other”: An Investigation of Secondary Students in Australia

This paper reports some results from a large scale national study of attitudes towards Islam and Muslims amongst Australian secondary students. Wide-spread negative stereotypes and the relatively new presence of the Muslim community in Australia tend to suggest non-Muslim students may not be well informed, while the longstanding multicultural posture of educational policy suggests otherwise. Variation in response between boys and girls, religion or non-religious affiliated also revealed a high level of significance. Specifically girls and students in non-religious schools were more accepting of Muslims. It was found that having a friend who is Muslim is significantly associated with reduced prejudice towards Muslims. While non-Muslim students agree that acceptance of Muslims does not come easily in Australia, school does not emerge as a site for change. The findings show Australian students are generally ignorant about Muslims and Islam, and few believe that schools are filling the gaps in their knowledg