Role of the workplace in Bangladesh-born migrants' participation in Australian society

This thesis aims to show how the kitchen workplace functions as a critical stepping stone or learning space that helps migrants (in this case Bangladesh‐born migrants) to participate in the socio‐cultural and economic milieu that distinguishes their new homeland of Australia. I have drawn upon Bangladeshi migrants’ narratives to detail the accounts of those who have experienced and are currently experiencing this often obstacle prone trajectory. The participants in this study entered Australia on student visas that allow them to stay in Australia temporarily during their period of study. Those holding student visas, unlike other visa holders, cannot access many of the social benefits and services the government extends to Australian citizens and permanent residents. Thus, in the process of maintaining their visa conditions, student visa holders are solely responsible for their tuition fees, living costs and other expenses during their period of study in Australia. The participants in this study, in their attempts to contend with what seems an endless number of obstacles that confront them upon arrival in their new homeland, endeavour to earn sufficient money to support their daily requirements and study expenses. Often by accessing friendship networks, some take part-time paid work in restaurant kitchens. For many, the camaraderie they share in the kitchen workplace plays a major role in their participation process. This thesis, as well as detailing the participants’ premigration expectations and aspirations, focuses on their settlement experiences. The participants’ narratives challenge some of the extant assumptions held and espoused by migration studies and popular opinion.