Learning from the Experience of Muslim Students in American Schools: Towards a Proactive Model of School-Community Cooperation

Drawing on interviews with Muslim parents, students, and teachers in a Midwestern city, as well as one of the author's (Sabry's) own experiences as a member in the local Muslim community, this paper documents and describes the challenges faced by Muslim youth in U.S. schools. Grounded in the theoretical framework of cultural mismatch, the paper presents key themes of the interviews with regards to the areas of curriculum, instruction, and home-school relations. Based on these findings, and using Banks' Multicultural Education Dimensions, a proactive model of cooperation between the families of Muslim students and the public school system is proposed. The paper concludes by urging other scholars to investigate the schooling of Muslim students in the U.S. and encouraging members of the Muslim community to share their U.S. schooling experiences. Notes 1It is important to acknowledge that the Muslim community is not monolithic; some variation exists in interpretation of the Islamic mandates that will differentially influence Muslim youth's experience with cultural mismatch (see CitationAl Ani, 2003).