Experiences of Arab heritage youth in US schools and impact on identity development

Abstract

To fulfill the promise of inclusive school environments that support all students, it is necessary to understand the mechanisms by which discrimination and support occur in the school setting and how these mechanisms impact student development. The current study explored ways schools facilitate supportive or marginalizing experiences for first generation Arab heritage youth in the United States and investigated how these experiences impact acculturative experiences and identity negotiation for these students. Focus groups were conducted with 21 Arab American early college students and community dwellers. Qualitative analyses revealed three mechanisms by which the school setting uniquely impacts Arab heritage student's identity negotiation in high school: 1) peer and teacher discrimination; 2) school curriculum treatment of Arab history and culture; 3) and broader school structures that allow for student cultural expression. Implications and suggestions for School Psychologists are discussed.

Keywords

acculturation Arab American youth identity development school support

Acculturative experiences of Arab heritage youth in US schools

When immigrant youth feel supported by their school system that sense of support can facilitate positive acculturative processes and emotional well-being (Motti-Stefanidia, Pavlopoulosa, & Asendorpf, 2015; Tropp et al., 2016). Furthermore, a perceived sense of support and belonging for immigrant youth has been shown to serve as a protective factor against depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder and increase academic success (Fazel, Reed, Panter-Brick, & Stein, 2012; Motti-Stefanidia et al., 2015). On the other hand, experiences of discrimination in the school setting can negatively impact academic trajectories and psychological well-being for culturally diverse youth by hindering student ethnic identity development and acculturative processes at critical developmental time periods (Ahmed, Kia-Keating, & Tsai, 2011). Schools are charged with serving all students that enter their doors, and each child has a right to an education that helps them to fulfill their full potential and develop their unique identities (United Nations General Assembly, 1989). To fulfill this promise of inclusive school environments that support the positive development of all students, it is necessary to understand the mechanisms by which discrimination and support occur in schools and how these mechanisms impact student development. The current study seeks to explore ways schools facilitate supportive or marginalizing experiences for first generation Arab heritage youth in the United States (US) and investigate how these experiences impact acculturative experiences and identity negotiation for these students.

Arab heritage youth in the US experience unique contentions due to strained political relationships between the US and Middle Eastern countries, as well as widely proliferated stereotypes regarding Arabs broadly and Arab Muslims more specifically perpetuated in Western media and news outlets (Ahmed et al., 2011; Wingfield & Karaman, 1995). Negative stereotypes of those from the Middle East in mainstream US media have created an antagonistic environment in the US for those with Arab heritage (Bayoumi, 2009; Wingfield & Karaman, 1995). This context is reflected across settings, including the school setting (Wingfield & Karaman, 1995). Research within the past decade indicates that 47% of Americans hold negative attitudes towards Arabs (Arab American Institute, 2014) and about 58% of Arab American emerging adults report that they have experienced ethnic discrimination (Arab American Institute, 2014).

Arab and Arab Americans are a diverse group of individuals whose ethnic heritage spans 22 countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Arabs have been immigrating to the US since the late 1800s and there are currently somewhere between 1.5-3.5 million individuals of Arab heritage living in the US (US Census Bureau, 2010; Zogby, 2001). Questions about racial reporting for Americans with Arab heritage provide one explanation for the wide range of population estimates. Regardless, even relying on the lower estimates of Americans reporting Arab heritage, this number represents a 96% increase since the 1990s (US Census Bureau, 2010).

Arabs and Arab Americans are a religiously diverse cultural group. The two most common religions represented among Arab heritage individuals in the US are Christianity and Islam. Christian Arabs have been immigrating to the United States since the mid 1800s and share similar religious values with non-Arab Christian Americans (Goforth, Nichols, Stanick, Shindorf, & Holter, 2017; Semaan, 2014) The question of religious heritage impacts the degree to which Arabs and Arab Americans prescribe to their ethnicity (Haboush, 2007; Howell & Jamal, 2009; Sheldon, Oliver, & Balaghi, 2015). Research indicates that Muslim Arab Americans are more likely to identify with their Arab heritage than Christian Arabs (Amer & Hovey 2007; Awad, 2010; Nassar-McMillan et al., 2011; Sheldon et al., 2015; Shyrock & Lin, 2009,). As a result, Muslim Arab Americans tend to maintain more cultural traditions such as specific collectivist ideology (Awad, 2010). The contradiction of these collectivist values with American individualistic values, along with potentially more visible religious symbols such as the hijab for women or beards for men, mean that Muslim Arab or Muslim Arab Americans, as compared to their non-Muslim Arab or Arab American peers are oftentimes more vulnerable to discrimination (Awad, 2010). However, the preservation of traditional values varies among Arabs and Arab Americans and is largely dependent on level of acculturation (Awad, 2010).

Using grounded theory, this study seeks to develop a framework for understanding how schools facilitate or hinder healthy acculturative processes for first generation Arab heritage youth. Grounded theory methods allow researchers to engage with the data systematically, and to use data to develop theories and frameworks for understanding reciprocal effects between individuals and larger social bodies (Charmaz, 1996; Creswell & Poth, 2018). Grounded theory provides a systematic approach to help address gaps in research (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) such as understanding the impact of the school setting on the positive development of Arab and Arab American youth. Furthermore, grounded theory encapsulates use of an interpretive, constructionist tradition where analysis is constructed from the personal experiences of those directly impacted by the described relationships (Charmaz, 1996; Levers, 2013), in our case Arab heritage youth who attended US schools.

Ethnic identity development and acculturation for Arab heritage youth

Ethnic identity development involves the exploration of one's ethnic culture and internalizing its values (Quintana, 1998). This definition is informed by Phinney's theoretical model (1990), which explains that ethnic identity is multifaceted, encompassing dimensions of exploration, sense of affirmation, and sense of resolution. Because ethnic identity contributes to an individual's overall sense of identity, it may contribute to feelings of belongingness with an in-group. In-groups can provide psychological and social benefit, including security, stability and social support (Sheldon et al., 2015; Tajfel & Turner, 1986). As such, individuals may feel motivated to identify with their in-group, to maintain positive psychological benefits.

Several factors influence identity development for immigrant youth. For example, the immigration process can play a significant role. This is because ethnicity is often taken for granted among those who live in environments whose familial culture is consistent with the society around them. For others (such as ethnic minority Americans), identity development is impacted as differences between their home and host culture are realized. According to the Rejection-Identification Model (Branscombe, Schmitt, & Harvey, 1999), individuals are more likely to identify with their ethnic minority group if it is perceived as devalued or rejected by the ethnic majority group. This response to negative majority group attitudes is known as ‘reactive identity’ (Rumbaut, 2008).

As noted above, almost half of Americans hold negative attitudes towards Arabs, and over half of Arab young adults report experiencing ethnic discrimination (Arab American Institute, 2014). These numbers provide evidence for negative out-group attitudes about the Arab population in the United States. Thus, following the Rejection-Identification Model (Branscombe et al., 1999) Arab Americans may be more likely to identify with their ethnic in-group and reject main stream US culture in response to ethnic discrimination. Adherence to an ethnic in-group and rejection of main stream US culture can impact many factors. Overall, it is not until an individual has explored, accepted and internalized cultural values of both their heritage and host cultures, that an ethnic identity is achieved (Gonzalez et al., 2017; Phinney, 1990; Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014). The process of ethnic identity development is shaped and guided by experiences of acculturation (Matsunaga, Hecht, Elek, & Ndiaye, 2010).

Acculturation is the process of navigating value systems from the culture of origin and those of the majority culture (Berry, 2003). Acculturation may have positive or negative mental health outcomes. Successful acculturation may result in a healthy self-esteem, strong health, and a clear sense of identity. Conversely, a maladaptive acculturative process may result in identity confusion, anxiety, and higher risk for developing clinically significant mood disorders (Amer & Hovey, 2007; Graves, 1967). In general, the facilitation of an individual's acculturative process is dependent upon how similar or different the culture of origin is to the host culture (Schwartz, Unger, Zamboanga, & Szapocznik, 2010). Another factor in the acculturative process is the attitudes an individual holds about the culture of origin and host culture. According to the acculturative stress model, the individual attitudes held influence psychological adjustment (Ahmed et al, 2011; Berry, Kim, Minde, & Mok, 1987).

For some, the process of acculturating to a host culture may be a smooth and positive experience. Others may experience acculturative stress, which stems from any stress reaction due to intercultural contact, or the cultural adaptation process including experiences of discrimination (Berry et al., 1997; Zvolensky, Jardin, Garey, Robles, & Sharp, 2016). The concept of acculturative stress originates from the stress and coping theory, which suggests that as stress increases, an individual's ability to cope or readjust is overburdened (Lazarus, 1993). These stressors may occur at any point during the acculturative process, be it through learning new and different cultural expectations, enduring experiences of discrimination and prejudice, and/or balancing elements of a culture of origin with the majority culture (Berry, 2003). Acculturative stressors may overburden an individual and thereby deplete their psychological resources (Sirin, Ryce, Gupta, Rogers-Sirin, & 2013).

Though it is important to understand how the acculturative process unfolds among Arab Americans (Awad, 2010; Erikson & Al-Timimi, 2001; Nassar-McMillan & Hakim-Larson, 2003) relatively few studies have taken steps to actually do so. One of the first studies to measure acculturation among Arabs was conducted by Faragallah, Schumm, and Webb (1997). In their study, Faragallah and colleagues suggest that level of acculturation to the host culture increases with how old an immigrant was when they immigrated, length of time living in the United States, and importance of maintaining cultural values and traditions (Faragallah et al., 1997). Other studies have taken steps to emphasize socio-demographic and environmental factors that may influence acculturation among Arabs, however the majority of these studies are based on small-sample surveys (Amer & Hovey, 2007). This makes the generalizability of these studies questionable, while the survey nature of these studies limits the power of this research to explain socio-environmental factors that impact these processes.

The role of schools in supporting ethnic identity development and acculturation for Arab American youth

For immigrants and other generational ethnic minority youth, the school setting may serve as their primary interaction with US culture, hosting interactions between cultural heritage and mainstream US culture (Kumar, Warnke, & Karabenick, 2014). These experiences occur via classroom curriculum, and by virtue of a school being an environment that facilitates the building of relationships with other peers, teachers, and staff (Cemalcilar, 2010). Historically, schools have acted as agents of assimilation for immigrant and ethnic minority youth. Although the American educational system was founded with many goals in mind, preserving a monolithic vision of ‘American culture’ (envisioned by the system's White, Christian, male, upper class founders) has been an especially relevant goal during periods of intense industrialization and immigration (Oakes & Lipton, 1999; Sadovnik, Cookson, & Semel, 2013). Angela Valenzuela (1999) has named such assimilationist processes ‘subtractive schooling’. In her work with Latino immigrant youth, Valenzuela argued that immigrants and US born minority youth are often seen ‘by schools and society as lacking the linguistic, cultural, moral, and intellectual traits the assimilationist curriculum demands’ (p. 4) and that schools do not view immigrant and minority cultures, languages, and practices as resources. Valenzuela claimed that schooling for these youth is a subtractive process which divests them of ‘important social and cultural resources, leaving them progressively vulnerable to academic failure’ (p. 3).

Beyond posing risks of academic failure, these assimilationist processes can contribute to a lack of perceived support, or otherness, and may serve as a significant source of stress. In fact, in a sample of 240 Arab American high school students, a strong relationship among perceived discrimination, acculturative stress, and mental health was evidenced (Aroian, Templin, & Hough, 2014). Feelings of otherness tend to manifest among ethnic minority students who encounter experiences of discrimination and victimization, of which their ethnic-majority peers do not (Quintana & McKown, 2008; Verkuyten, & Martinovic, 2006). It is important for schools to be mindful of ethnic minority students in the classroom because it is through school-based interactions that minority youth adjust to culture specific values and develop attitudes about the mainstream culture (Schwartz et al., 2010). Critical pedagogical scholars who advocate for culturally relevant or reality pedagogies, or for calling upon students' funds of knowledge in the classroom point to the importance of affirming immigrant and ethnic minority youth cultures and supporting the acculturative process (Emdin, 2016; González, Moll, & Amanti, 2005; Ladon-Billings, 1995).

In general, when students feel supported by their school systems, that support can facilitate positive academic achievement, emotional well-being, and acculturative process (Motti-Stefanidia, Pavlopoulosa, & Asendorpf, 2015; Tropp et al., 2016). Indeed, a perceived sense of support and belonging has been shown to serve as a protective factor against depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (Fazel, Reed, Panter-Brick, & Stein, 2012). Social acceptance of Arab American students by their peers has been shown to have a positive, direct impact on acculturation, whereas perceived social rejection can adversely impact an Arab American youth's sense of belonging and acculturation (Tabbah, Miranda, & Wheaton, 2012). Experiences of discrimination have also been shown to negatively impact ethnic identity development (Matsunaga et al., 2010). In schools, instances of discrimination and prejudice have increased toward Arab youth since September 11 (Ibish, 2001; Read, 2008; Zogby, 2001). Overall, Arab student school experiences may positively or negatively impact both ethnic identity and acculturative development.

While acculturation has been a popular area of research, few studies have taken steps to understand experiences of acculturation and how acculturation impacts identity development, among Arab heritage individuals. Even fewer studies have examined how school experiences enhance or encumber these processes, which is unfortunate as acts of discrimination and prejudice towards Arab heritage youth in schools has increased since September 11 (Abdelkarim, 2003; Bayoumi, 2009; Haboush, 2007). The current study took an exploratory step to understand Arab American students' experiences in US schools, and how these experiences influenced their identity development, and overall adjustment. Using a grounded theory approach, this study seeks to create a framework for understanding mechanisms by which schools impact acculturative and identity formation processes for first generation Arab youth in the US.

Method

Participants

A final sample of 21, first generation Arab and Arab American youth participated in this study. All participants were either born in an Arab country or have at least one parent who was born in an Arab country. Participants reported Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian heritage. Each participant completed at least high school in the US. Participant ages ranged from 18- to 23-years-old, and ten participants identified as female. Furthermore, 12 participants identified as Muslim and nine as Christian.

Participants were recruited using convenience and snowball sampling. Invitations to participate in the study were sent to Arab American affiliated organizations at a university in the Midwest with permission to forward study information to other potential participants. These sampling techniques were chosen in order to reach the largest number of potential participants by addressing specific barriers to study recruitment within the Arab and Arab American community. Arab heritage youth are difficult to identify due to issues with racial category reporting as well as potential fear of Arab heritage individuals disclosing their identity (Wingfield & Karaman, 1995). Furthermore, many Arab cultural groups, for example those in the Palestinian diaspora, utilize community organizations to maintain contact with others in their cultural diaspora (Naber, 2012). By starting with Arab student organizations and recruiting participants to contact other participants, researchers were able to reach a larger sample.

Study design

A focus group approach was utilized for a number of reasons. Focus groups offer a platform where participants can share their experiences, and potentially receive validation, understanding and/or acceptance from their peers. This cultivates a communal-collective orientation, which has been shown to be an important coping strategy for those hailing from collectivistic cultures (Inman, Tummala-Narra, Kaduvettoor-Davidson, Alvarz, & Yeh, 2015; Yeh & Inman, 2007; Tummala-Narra, Inman, & Ettigi, 2011), such as Arab Americans. Indeed, focus groups encourage participants to interact with each other, which can trigger memories or create thoughts that would not have been generated in an individual context, resulting in a more in-depth discussion of the topic (Inman et al., 2015; Krueger & Casey, 2000). Focus groups are particularly effective in exposing features and issues within cultural groups (Hughes & DuMont, 2002), which is an aim of this study. Because Arab Americans are a widely unexamined population in research and thus have not engaged the research process as often as other minority populations, offering a platform for them to feel heard and directly contribute to the examination of issues important to them can increase satisfaction, trust and support for the research process.

A total of four focus groups, with five to six members in each group, were held. Each focus group lasted about an hour. Participants in the first three focus groups were all undergraduate students attending a university in the Midwest, and the fourth focus group was a mixed group of post-graduates and current undergraduate students. Three groups were conducted in the Primary Investigator's (PI) laboratory on campus. Each focus group was scheduled during the general workday for the sake of participant convenience. The fourth focus group was scheduled after work hours, at a local and well-known library to participants. All focus groups were moderated by the second author, and notes were taken by the first author. The first two authors are Arab Americans, with connections to the Arab American community in the city the focus groups were conducted in. They conducted all focus groups and data analysis. This facilitated access to the population and helped earn the trust of participants. By sampling current and post-graduate college students, researchers were able to access a larger pool of first generation Arab Americans who are more likely to be affected by experiences of acculturation such as discrimination (Shammas, 2017).

Measures

Demographics

Collected during the pre-screening portion of the study, the demographics questionnaire collected information about age, gender, and what country each participant attended high school.

Focus group interviews

Each focus group was guided by the same set of questions, as suggested by Krueger (2002). Points of conversation were derived from literature on Arab American school-based support and discrimination. The ice-breaking question used for each group was ‘What does being Arab American mean to you?’. Other questions focused on school experiences, for example asking participants to share times they felt supported by their schools and times they did not feel supported by their schools. Each group's last guided question was ‘Suppose you had one minute to talk to a school superintendent about being Arab American in US schools. What would you say?’.

Data analysis

Each focus group was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim by the first author, and two research assistants. Data analysis was guided by grounded theory analysis, a framework involving multiple stages of collecting, refining and categorizing data (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Researchers utilized this method for a number of reasons: First, theories explaining the experiences of Arab heritage youth in US schools and potential impact on student outcomes are sparse. While some descriptive studies exist documenting experiences of discrimination for Arab and Arab American students, there are none to the researcher's knowledge that provide a theory for the role of schools in either facilitating positive or further marginalizing experiences for Arab and Arab American students. Those theories of school experiences that address minority youth in the United States do not address significant factors specific to the Arab American experience. Grounded theories ‘offer insight, enhance understanding and provide a meaningful guide to action’. (p. 374; Yeh & Inman, 2007). As suggested in grounded theory, constant comparisons were utilized, allowing the researcher to develop concepts from the data by coding and analysing it at the same time (Kolb 2012; Taylor & Bogdan, 1998). Grounded theory analysis allows research to begin with raw data and end up with the emergence of substantive theories (Kolb, 2012).

Analysing data began with open coding, followed by axial coding and then selective coding (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Constant comparison was used to examine core themes and categories, and to evaluate similarities and differences across focus groups. During open coding, small paragraphs, sentences and words were examined to develop potential themes. Once themes were identified, links between themes and subthemes became clear. This resulted in the development of themes in this analysis (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Themes and categories were discussed between the first and second author throughout this process until a consensus was reached.

Establishing data trustworthiness

A major threat to the validity of qualitative research is the researcher's subjectivity and self-reflexivity (Yeh & Inman, 2007). Because both authors of the study are Arab Americans who lived through their own unique experiences in their education, the authors took steps to minimize insider bias ensuring the data accurately represented the participants' voices. During the development of this study, researchers identified both their biases and expectations of themes that may emerge, and how this could affect data analysis and interpretation. Both Arab American authors reflected on their own experiences as students in the US school system and discussed how other participant experiences were relatable or different from their own. Both authors expected a fair amount of covert discrimination against Arab American students by non-Arab peers to be reported, specifically related to terrorism and 9/11. Both authors also expected the school experience to be more positive among Arab American students who had stronger Arab American peer support systems and among Arab and Arab American students whose teachers and staff supported them. To eliminate bias in interpretation of data, the researchers independently identified themes, and discussed findings together. Staying close to participants' words and highlighting quotes in the data set that reflected participant voices was another strategy to maintain a fair interpretation.

As another point of establishing data trustworthiness, adequacy of data was acquired by gathering data until a point of saturation was reached. Generally, three to seven focus groups reach 90% saturation, or 12–16 interviews (Guest, Bunce, & Johnson, 2006; Namey, Guest, McKenna, & Chen, 2016). With this, four focus groups with a total of 21 participants were utilized. Furthermore, researchers established a codebook through open coding of the focus groups. After the first two focus groups, the two primary researchers both coded the transcripts and met to discuss findings and to develop a shared understanding of major codes to create the codebook. This process was iterative, and as researchers used the codebook it was refined to reflect ongoing information. Researchers independently conducted final coding, using codes on identified segments of text. Coding agreement was assessed across these identified segments of text. Analysis of agreement indicated 98% convergence of coding on established segments.

Results

This study sought to develop a framework for understanding the experiences of Arab heritage students in US schools, and ways schools facilitate acculturative processes for Arab heritage students. Qualitative analyses revealed three mechanisms by which the school setting uniquely impacts Arab heritage student's acculturative processes and subsequent identity negotiation in high school. These three mechanisms included peer and teacher discrimination, school curriculum treatment of Arab history and culture, and broader school structures that allow for student cultural expression. These mechanisms are outlined in Figure 1 and explained below.

Figure 1.

School impact on acculturative experiences and identity negotiation for first generation Arab heritage youth.

Arab heritage students' experiences of discrimination from teachers and peers around their ethnic identity impacts how they relate to their Arab identity

Participants who faced discrimination from school staff generally responded by either attempting to minimize their Arab identity, or by wanting to educate those around them about their culture. A participant from focus group #2 reported that when he immigrated to the United States, he faced a lot of discrimination from teachers and school staff, noting:

In my high school, they wouldn't even ask questions, they would wait for me to slip up just a little bit to kick me out of class.

He went on to discuss discomfort in switching value systems from a school in his home country, Lebanon, to starting school in the United States.

It's a weird cultural shift when you move here [from Lebanon], I got into a lot of fights, I didn't speak English so I didn't know how to tell them to stop. But I was never ashamed of who I am. I came in, I loved speaking Arabic in front of them. I loved doing it. Because I wanted to show them who I was.

This student's overall reaction to this cultural shift could be interpreted as resistance of conforming to US culture and maintaining pride in his Arab heritage. Other participants in the focus group seemed impressed by his persistence in maintaining his identity and trying to share it with those around him. However, other participants didn't share his sentiment and minimized broadcasting their Arab identity in schools. Another participant in the same focus group who is both Arab and Muslim shared,

I wouldn't do anything. I wouldn't pray [in school]. My city is 96% white. I would never wear a hatta (an embroidered square of cloth, traditionally worn as a headdress by Arab men; also a symbol of Palestinian nationalism) when I was in high school.

A participant in another focus group wondered out loud how Arab heritage students can feel supported and successful:

Seeing as how the teachers treat them, you know with this already preconceived notion about how their parents aren't even going to show up to conferences, how these Arabic people act uncivilized.

In focus group #3, there was another Arab and Muslim student who was also the only Arab in her school. Unlike the participant above, this student felt comfortable embracing her identity. She shared that she felt comfortable wearing a hijab in school (veil for the hair and neck worn by Muslim women) only because her teachers offered her support. For this student, hijab serves as a reminder ‘to be strong, because, like, I’m different but not in a bad way. I’m different like in a good way’. She shared with the group that even though she faced discrimination and bullying amongst peers after deciding to wear the hijab,

Teachers supported me, which was really nice because I needed that. If the teachers didn't support me, I don't know, like, I … I don't know what would have happened. A lot of my teachers let me know, like, ‘If anybody bugs you about it, anyone, like, is saying stuff about it, let me know’. They, like, you know, reassured me that they had my back which I really appreciated.

Among participants who attended schools with a significant Arab heritage student population, a subtheme emerged: Teachers tend to endorse the belief that Arab heritage students are not invested in their education. Sometimes teachers' negative stereotypes affect student interactions with their peers. A participant from focus group #1 shared that a teacher told his brother,

You're just going to work in your family's gas station or something like that. I know you don't care about school.

Another participant in focus group #1 shared an instance where her principal meant to compliment her, but in doing so caused her to stand out from her Arab heritage peers:

At the scholarship award ceremony, I was the only [Arab student] sitting there. None of my Arabic friends were around me and the principal enjoyed pointing that out and you would think that's supportive, but it made me feel sad, I didn't really like that.

Participants discussed how the stereotype of Arab heritage students not caring about school motivated them to maintain distance between themselves and their Arab heritage student peers. Many expressed this thought verbatim, others eluded to this phenomenon more subtly. One participant shared,

Part of me didn't want to be part of that community. I didn't want to be associated with those traits that would make me seem like I didn't care about school.

Another participant (focus group #2) shared,

Me taking a lot of honors classes and stuff, I don't know there were just barely any Arabs in class, and also kind of that whole thing.

This same participant also shared that when she began communicating with her Arab heritage student peers toward the end of her high school career, social support from those with similar ethnicity helped her embrace her Arab identity.

Once I started talking to Arab [peers] more toward like the end of high school, I felt like I fit in a lot more. That's when you become proud of yourself and who you are and how you identify yourself, instead of hiding.

One participant compared the Arab American minority experience to another ethnic minority group, African Americans,

You know the way black folks are stigmatized by a lot of these schools that have minority [students]? That's how Palestinian Americans specifically, at the school we went to [are treated], and so there was a dichotomy where like you said, I want to be recognized as Arab American, but I don't want to be associated as a minority.

This same participant insightfully shared,

If teachers set the example that to make sure that they're not cracking jokes at a race or that they make it a point to the other students in the class that we're going to treat this student of this race/religious background and not just Arabs fairly … It's a big thing for teachers to not single them [ethnic minority student] out.

The way Arab culture and history is addressed in classroom curriculum cultivates feelings of exclusion among Arab heritage students

Across all four focus groups, there was a strong sentiment of feeling under-represented, misrepresented or simply not represented in classroom curriculum. Participants shared that teachings of Arab history focused on Egypt (e.g., pyramids, sphinx, etc.), oil and terrorism. A participant referred to Arab history teachings in the classroom as ‘the most insignificant history that I’ve learned’. One participant noted that ‘they [teachers] don't even mention it’. Other participants chimed in with head nods and agreement. One participant shared,

Anything we knew about our culture was from our families or what we did on our own time.

A bit of frustration with this topic could be sensed, particularly from a participant who remarked the following about Arabs and Arab Americans in high school history courses:

We're making quite a difference in the United States, as Arab Americans'. But they don't teach you about that.

A participant from focus group #2 calmly, but with profound effect said,

We just learned about terrorism in the US and that was basically our Arab unit.

Four participants between two focus groups expressed times where they felt represented in the classroom, and these instances occurred in school systems where the Arabic language was taught as a foreign language, or the school hosted a ‘culture day’. Participants who went to these schools reported feeling supported, or that it was ‘pretty cool’. One discussed how he felt supported during the month of Ramadan, when his teacher would take time to explain to his class what the month was about, and how he was able to engage alternative activities during lunch time.

For participants who did not attend schools who took an active role in educating the student body about Arab culture, these participants reported taking on an ‘educator role’ when it came to their culture and history, with the goal of undoing inaccurate stereotypes. Arab students exhibited efforts to combat what they perceive as negative or missing representations of Arab culture by acting as cultural ambassadors and engaging in labor cognitively and emotionally to educate others regarding Arab culture and history.

Some participants were very enthusiastic about educating others about their culture. One of our participants shared whenever he would visit Lebanon during summer breaks, he would return to school and share his experiences with his teachers.

They were amazed by my vacation but a couple of weeks later it was like I never told him.

Others utilized school activities such as Model United Nations, class projects, and class discussions to educate peers. Though participants almost unanimously verbalized that they did not mind teaching others about their culture, some also discussed how they wish they didn't have to. Some endorsed fear in sharing their culture with others'. The moderator and note taker felt the impression that some participants were attempting to stay positive about being an educator of their culture, even if they did not enjoy the role at all times. This can be picked up on in the quote below:

I was okay with it, but at the same I just wished that they already knew, you know. I wished there was another adult that was already them [non-Arab students] teaching these things, because when you're 16, [you want to] just enjoy being 16. But at the same time, I didn't mind. I just wished people knew already.

The obligation to educate and undo stereotypes was especially pronounced among Arab heritage Muslim female participants who wear hijab, perhaps because they fit the more stereotypical model for ‘how an Arab looks’. In focus group #4, a participant notes:

I feel like as an Arab, as a Muslim I have to like always try to, what's the word? Like, undo the stereotypes, you know? I feel like I always have to try to be like super nice, super kind, always smiling, I can't frown because someone could be like oh look at that angry Muslim, you know what I mean?' I also feel like I have to be extra nice to people because I wear the headscarf and all… especially whenever there's a terrorist attack I just feel like I have to be overly kind to people, I always have to smile at people, even though there's some days, like, I just don't want to talk to anyone, I still feel like, if I’m not exactly cold but not overly nice, I just feel like, ‘Oh, my God, this person probably thinks all Arabs are like this’, and I feel so bad, you know.

This comment was met with agreement and understanding amongst the other focus group participants.

Students describe formal opportunities within the school context for cultural expression as critical to their sense of belonging

Each focus group ended with a discussion about what participants would say to their superintendent, if they had the opportunity to speak to them about being an Arab American in US Schools. Across all focus groups, a theme of wanting to share their culture with the goal of respect and understanding from school staff and classmates emerged. A student from focus group #1 wondered aloud:

What efforts has the superintendent made to make sure that the school is an inclusive place? Can Arab Americans celebrate their culture in the school? Do they feel comfortable? Are there teachers that are emblematic of who they [Arab Americans] are? Who represent[s] them?

Other focus group participants expressed that they would like to see multicultural competency training for educators and staff,

To educate teachers on ways to show less prejudice towards them [Arab American students.

Another student even lamented the lack of general diversity in school staff and faculty, noting the following.

I wish there were more like, Black school counselors and Arab school counselors and teachers just people or adults who understand.

Another participant laments the few opportunities they had to express their cultural identity to school staff.

Be more considerate and listen. Be more personable with the students. Be open minded about what they have to say. I never had the chance to express my problems [at school] because they [school staff] never heard my side. They never even asked me about being Arab.

Multiple participants suggested that formal school-based multicultural activities would be an excellent way to share cultural customs and values with each other. A common suggestion was for schools to host out-of-the-classroom multicultural activities as a constructive way for Arab heritage students to share their culture with other students. Participants who attended schools that have implemented cultural activities in and out of the classroom praised their effects. This occurred in focus group #4, where there were several individuals who attended the same high school, around the same time. These individuals identified not only cultural events outside of the classroom as having a positive impact in acceptance of Arab American students, but offering Arabic as a language, too. They reported that these instances of cultural representation have helped ‘familiarize the culture with all the other people’.

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Arab American youth in US schools and better understand school mechanisms that facilitate acculturative processes and identity development for first generation Arab heritage students. Although current literature has examined factors impacting the acculturative processes among various ethnic minority groups, very few studies have focused on how these constructs unfold among Arab American youth and none to the researchers' knowledge have articulated school mechanisms that impact these constructs within this population. It is important to understand the interplay of these concepts because it is through school based interactions that Arab heritage students adjust to and develop attitudes about mainstream US culture (Schwartz et al., 2010). Furthermore, these school-based interactions can have a direct impact on student mental health and academic success (Ahmed et al., 2011; Fazel et al., 2012; Motti-Stefanidia et al., 2015). By taking steps to understand how social contexts (in this case schools) can influence identity negotiation, the focus is shifted from simply discussing individual acculturative experiences to emphasizing the significant interaction between individuals and their social contexts (Inman et al., 2015; Viruell-Fuentes, 2007).

In line with previous research, results of this focus group indicate that external social factors within schools impact Arab heritage student's identity negotiation and acculturative processes (Ahmed et al., 2011; Fazel et al., 2012; Kumar et al., 2014; Motti-Stefanidia et al., 2015; Tabbah et al., 2012). Student perceptions of support or discrimination can have a significant influence on Arab heritage students' identity negotiation process (Ahmed et al., 2011). Participants of the current study reported several reactions to experiences of discrimination. A group of students reported holding on strongly to Arab customs and practices. Conversely, other students reacted to discrimination by attempting to minimize their Arab identity and blend in more with their non-Arab classmates. These students took on a more assimilatory practice in effort to distance themselves from inaccurate stereotypes. One narrative that impacted students' perceptions of themselves and their cultural identity included teachers endorsing a belief that Arab American students are not invested in their education. This specific stereotype from teachers was strongly endorsed across our focus groups. While previous research points to a less influential impact of teacher discrimination on student academic self-concept (Tabbah et al., 2012) participants of this study noted that teachers are uniquely influential in that they set the tone of the classroom and inter-ethnic interactions. Previous research highlights the importance of peer group norms for cross-ethnic interactions on the quality of peer relationships (Tropp et al., 2016). Despite exposure to discrimination, a third group of participants embraced a balanced dual identity, engaging and discussing values and practices from both their heritage and US cultures. Students in this category reported exposure to other Arab heritage peers and school support as critical to developing a feeling of balanced identity.

Another factor that plays into Arab heritage student support in schools is representation in classroom curriculum. Focus groups revealed a strong negative sentiment about the exclusion of both Arab accomplishments in history courses, and the contributions of Arab Americans specifically in US history. A few focus group participants shared that if Arabs were mentioned in the classroom at all it was while learning about the pyramids in Egypt or when Arabs were discussed as terrorists. This fostered feelings of exclusion among Arab heritage participants. In response to this, Arab heritage students often engaged in labor cognitively and emotionally to spread knowledge about their culture among peers and school staff. Though many students expressed pride in representing their culture, feelings of resentment were also expressed. For example, one participant expressed feeling pressured to constantly maintain a pleasant demeanor out of fear that if they (Arab heritage student) had a less than overwhelmingly positive interaction with a non-Arab individual, then the non-Arab individuals' impression of the Arab heritage student would be generalized to the entire Arab American populous.

Students who were most satisfied with their school systems were those who had school-based opportunities to share their cultural identity with others in a positive way. When Arab heritage students are offered platforms of inclusion, where their culture is being represented or they have school support in disseminating information about their culture, Arab heritage students reported feeling supported and more comfortable in embracing a healthy balance between heritage and host cultures. It is possible that the formal acknowledgement and support of cultural expression could remove fear that engaging in these actions might be met with rejection and further stereotyping (Birman, Chan, & Weinstein, 2007; Roche & Kuperminc, 2012) and simultaneously increase a sense of school belonging (Brown & Chu, 2012). Students lamented the lack of cultural diversity in school staff, equating this with the lack of understanding from school staff on the difficulties of negotiating cultural identity and fewer opportunities for cultural expression.

Limitations and future directions

Several limitations of the study should be acknowledged in interpreting results. A snowball sampling method was utilized, which likely influenced the populations reflected in this sample. Though snowball sampling is often utilized in Arab heritage research, replicating the study with a more random sample could lead to more diversity in the data. In addition, this study was conducted with students who have graduated high school, and were either currently enrolled as undergraduates, or have obtained at least a bachelor's degree. With this, participants were retroactively recalling their experiences in school. Further research should be conducted with Arab Americans students who are currently in different grades, so as to capture experiences as they unfold, and to shed insight on how these experiences affect Arab American students at different points in their acculturative process. In the future, multimethod study designs should also be utilized, to develop accurate quantitative measures of acculturation for Arab American youth. These can be used to assess for acculturative stress and contribute to understanding and supporting positive development in this demographic.

Another limitation of this study is that students were recruited from one university and therefore one geographic region within the US. Though participant's Arab heritage spanned many countries the general acceptance of Arab and Arab American youth in this community differ than experiences of Arab and Arab American's in other parts of the US. Therefore future research might explore similar topics with Arab heritage youth across different regions of the US.

Implications and recommendations

The findings of this study hold significant implications for understanding how interactions in school influence identity development for Arab heritage youth. The experiences that Arab American youth face in school may understandably increase levels of acculturative stress among Arab American adolescents (Aroian et al., 2014; Khouri, 2016). Consequently, these experiences impact mental health. Indeed, issues of acculturative stress leave Arab American youth vulnerable to developing manifestations of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, such as anxiety, depression, hostility, and delinquency (Amer & Hovey, 2007). If a healthy identity formation process is supported, acculturative stress may be avoided, which in turn positively effects mental health.

School psychologists are designated child advocates who are expected to provide culturally responsive practices (Goforth, Pham, Chun, Castro-Olivo, Yosai, 2016; National Association of School Psychologists, 2010). Indeed, school psychologists play a critical role in facilitating a supportive environment for Arab American students to acculturate healthily. Interventions by school psychologists can occur at the system and individual levels. At the systems level, school psychologists can invite school staff to examine their biases, either as an open suggestion or through structured cultural competency trainings or meetings. In disseminating information about Arab culture and perhaps religious practices of some Arabs (Islam), it is important to be cautious that stereotypic information is not perpetuated (Goforth et al., 2016). School psychologists can work with school staff to review curriculum coverage of Arab history and culture, and provide formal opportunities within the school setting for students to express themselves culturally. Participants in this study offered multicultural celebration days as one school practice that supports youth from diverse cultural backgrounds. On an individual level, school psychologists can intervene to foster a safe and inclusive learning environment (Haboush, 2007). School psychologists should be mindful of both the student's, and the parent's, level of acculturation, as it may affect both the student and their family's willingness to seek academic and/or psychological support. In addition, attention should be paid to how receptive Arab American students and their families will be to communication and following through with interventions.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Supplemental material

Supplemental material for this article is available online.

Author biographies

Khadeja Najjar is a doctoral student of Counseling Psychology at Cleveland State University. Her research experiences have focused on issues of minority mental health in Arab American populations, including coping mechanisms, emotion regulation, acculturative stress, and identity development.

Shereen C. Naser is an Assistant Professor at Cleveland State University. Dr Naser's research is focused on using a social justice lens to develop best practices for culturally sensitive, school based, universal structures and supports that address the behavioral and emotional challenges faced by children.

Katie Clonan-Roy is an Assistant Professor at Cleveland State University, in the College of Education and Human Service's Department of Curriculum and Foundations. Her research takes on intersectional and critical perspectives and focuses on the intersections of education, adolescent development, and gender and sexuality studies.

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