Muslim American identity under siege: Muslim students' perspectives of American high schools.

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20193921

Muslim students journey through American public schools with the understanding that their religious identity differs vastly from the hegemonic culture that umbrellas the schooling experience. Given the social climate of the country and the media propaganda of Islamophobia, Muslim Americans negotiate their identities when the contexts they are surrounded by are diametrically opposed. Muslim students strive be citizens of their schools and as a result undergo an acculturation process that is embodied in a spectrum of experiences ranging from isolation, marginalization, assimilation, all the way to acculturation. Muslim student identities are limited in representation either implicitly or explicitly in school curriculum, infrastructure, or visuals in schools. Knowledge of these experiences empowers educational policy makers, teachers, administration, peers, and anyone else who impacts schools. Gaining a better understanding of how Muslim identity can be nurtured and developed will lessen the acculturation stress thrust on children. Achievement gaps will persist if only the knowledge gap is cultivated. It is equally important to emphasize identity development to raise contributing confident global citizens.