Educational and cultural adjustment of ten Arab Muslim students in Canadian university classrooms

• Main Author: Abukhattala, Ibrahim
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: McGill University 2004
• Subjects: Arab Canadians > Québec (Province) > Montréal > Attitudes; Arabs > Québec (Province) > Montréal > Attitudes; College students > Québec (Province) > Montréal > Attitudes
• Online Access: http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=84872

Arab Canadians are a heterogeneous and frequently misunderstood group whose educational background and cultural heritage have received little attention in the scholarly literature. In multicultural Canada, educators, curriculum developers, textbook authors and policy makers rely on available literature to inform their decision-making processes. Mainstream media, as a source of information and insight, do not fill this need. === In this inquiry, I examine the cross cultural and educational experiences of ten Arab undergraduate students in two English-language universities in Montreal. Participants were from Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco and have been in Canada for three to seven years. === Classic qualitative methodological tools of in-depth interviews, participant observation and document analysis were employed to record, analyze and interpret the experiences of these students. In order to give voice to these students' insights and experiences, a narrative approach is used in presenting and interpreting the data. === Seven themes identified as educational issues emerged from the analysis: Student-Teacher Relationship; Teaching Methodology; Democratic dialogue in the classroom; Teaching and learning foreign languages; Examinations; Research and Library Facilities; and Problems encountered in interactive classroom. Two themes, identified as cultural issues, emerged: Canadians' Perceptions of Arabs and Muslims from the perspectives of the participants; Islamic dress (hijab) and Sex-segregated relationships. === The analysis revealed differences in culture, language, and social and educational systems between these students' countries of origin and Canada as the major sources of these students' positive and negative experiences. The study concludes that Canadian educators can assist these students by becoming aware of their home culture, different learning styles, frustrations in adjusting to school life and in overcoming cultural shock; and by helping them adjust to Canadian educational system and learn about the Canadian culture.