Understanding Muslim Girls' Experiences in U.S.: Interpreting The Social Studies Courses and the Curriculum

Abstract

The qualitative study investigated Muslim female high school students' experiences in an American high school and their interpretation of the social studies curriculum, especially in U.S. history courses. This study took place in a high school where majority of the population was White American students but also included Muslim population in the Midwest in U.S. The research data were collected via participant observation and individual interviews between February 2006 and June 2006. Some of the findings showed that the Muslim girls believed that the U.S. history curriculum presents only American perspective and lacks multiple perspectives on historical events and race, ethnicity, religion, and the girls' status as immigrants influenced the Muslim girls' choice of topics in U.S. history courses

Keywords

• Muslim female students,social studies education,critical race theory,identity

ABD’deki Müslüman Kız Öğrencilerin Okul Deneyimlerini Anlamak: Sosyal Bilgiler Dersleri ve Öğretim Programına İlişkin Yorumları

Öz

Bu nitel araştırmada Amerika Birleşik Devletleri’nde ABD lisede öğrenim gören Müslüman kız öğrencilerin okuldaki deneyimleri ve onların sosyal bilgiler ve Amerikan tarihi öğretim programlarına ilişkin düşünceleri incelenmiştir. Bu araştırma okul nüfusunun çoğunluğu beyaz Amerikalı öğrencilerden oluşan ancak Müslüman nüfusu da barındıran ABD’nin Orta Batı eyaletlerinden birinde bulunan bir lisede gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırmanın verileri, katılımcı gözlem ve bireysel görüşmeler yoluyla Şubat 2006 ile Haziran 2006 tarihleri arasında toplanmıştır. Araştırma bulgularına göre Müslüman kız öğrenciler, Amerikan tarihi öğretim programında yalnızca Amerikan bakış açısının var olduğunu belirtmişlerdir. Ayrıca, Müslüman kızların bu derslerde anlatılan tarihsel olaylarda çoklu bakış açılarına yer verilmediğine inandıkları görülmüştür. Göçmen statüleri ile onların ırk, etnik grup ve dini inançlarının Amerikan tarihi derslerinde ilgi gösterdikleri konuların seçiminde etkili olduğu da araştırmanın bulguları arasındadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Müslüman kız öğrenciler,sosyal bilgiler eğitimi,eleştirel ırk teorisi,kimlik

Kaynakça

1. Afridi, S. (2001). Muslims in America: Identity, diversity and the challenge of understanding. New York: Carnegie Cooperation of New York. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED465008)
2. Ahmed, S. & Ezzeddine, M. (2009). Challenges and Opportunities Facing American Muslim Youth. Journal of Muslim Mental Health, 4(2), 159-174.
3. Aydın, H. (2013). Dünyada ve Türkiye’de çokkültürlü eğitim tartışmaları ve uygulamaları. Ankara: Nobel.
4. Banks, J. A. (2001). Multicultural education: Historical development dimensions and practice. In J. A. Banks & C. A. McGee Banks (Eds.), Handbook of research on multicultural education (pp.3-24). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
5. Banks, J. (2008). An introduction to multicultural education. Boston, Mass.: Allyn & Bacon.
6. Barnes, C. J. (2006). Preparing preservice teachers to teach in a culturally responsive way. The Negro Educational Review, 57(1,2), 85-100.
7. Benn, T. & Jawad, H. (2003). Muslim women in the United Kingdom and beyond: Setting the scene. In T. Benn & H, Jawad (Eds.), Muslim women in the United Kingdom and beyond: Experiences and images (pp. xiii-xxv). Leiden; Boston: Brill.
8. Bourdieu, P. (1973). Cultural reproduction and social reproduction. In R. Brown (Ed.), Knowledge, education and cultural changes (pp. 56-69). London: Tavistock.

9. Elnour, A. & Bashir-Ali, K. (2003). Teaching Muslim girls in American schools. Social Education, 67(1), 62-64.
10. Epstein, T. (1998). Deconstructing differences in African-American and European- American adolescents’ perspective on U.S. history. Curriculum Inquiry, 28(4), 397-423.
11. Epstein, T. (2001). Racial identity and young people’s perspectives on social education. Theory into Practice, 40(1), 42-47.
12. Gay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching. New York: Teachers College Press.
13. Gay, G. (2002). Preparing for culturally responsive teaching. Journal of Teacher
14. Gay, G. (2014). Kültürel değerlere duyarlı eğitim. Hasan Aydın (Çev.). Ankara: Anı.
15. Glesne, C. (2014). Nitel araştırmaya giriş. Ali Ersoy ve Pelin Yalçınoğlu (Çev.). Ankara: Anı.
16. Haddad, Y. Y., Smith, J. I., & Moore, K. M. (2006). Muslim women in America: The challenge of Islamic identity today. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
17. Halagao, P. E. (2004). Holding up the mirror: The complexity of seeing your ethnic self in history. Theory and Research, 32(4), 459-483.
18. Howard, T. C. (2001). Telling their side of the story: African-American students’ perceptions of culturally relevant teaching. The Urban Review, 33(2), 131-149.
19. Howard, T. C. (2003a). The dis(g)race of the social studies: The need for racial dialogue in the social studies. In G. Ladson-Billing (Ed.), Critical race theory perspectives on social studies: The profession, polices, and curriculum (pp. 27-43). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
20. Howard, T. C. (2003b). Culturally relevant pedagogy: Ingredients for critical teacher reflection. Theory into Practice, 42(3), 196-202.
21. Howard, T. C. (2004). “Does race really matter?”: Secondary students’ construction of racial dialogue in the social studies. Theory and Research in Social Education, 32(4), 484-502.
22. Kirkwood, T. F. (2002). Jamaican students of color in the American classroom: Problems and possibilities in education. Intercultural Education, 13(3), 305-313.
23. Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
24. Ladson-Billing, G. (2003). Lies my teacher still tells: Developing a critical race perspective toward the social studies. In G. Ladson-Billing (Ed.), Critical race theory perspectives on social studies: The profession, polices, and curriculum (pp.1-11). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
25. Lebowitz, J. (2016). Muslim American youth in the post 9/11 public education system. American Cultural Studies Capstone Research Papers, Paper 6. 17. 08. 2016 tarihinde http://cedar.wwu.edu/fairhaven_acscapstone/6 adresinden erişilmiştir.
26. Lee, S. J. (2005). Up against whiteness: Race, school and immigrant youth. New York: Teachers College Press
27. Lincoln, Y. S. & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
28. Merry, M. S. (2005). Advocacy and involvement: The role of parents in western Islamic schools. Religious Education, 100(4), 374-385.
29. Nimer, M. (2013). The North American Muslim resource guide: Muslim community life in the United State and Canada. Newyork: Routledge.
30. Olsen L. (1997). Made in America: Immigrant students in our public schools. New York: The New Press.
31. Sarroub, L. K. (2001). The sojourner experience of Yemeni American high school students: An ethnographic portrait. Harvard Educational Review, 71(3), 390-414.
32. Soriano, E. (2015). Reinventing education in a global world. Encarnacion Soriano (Ed.), Rethinking education for a global, transcultural world içinde (s. 41-62). Charlotte, N. C.: Information Age Publishing.
33. Subedi, B., Merryfield, M. M., Bashir-Ali, K. & Gunel, E. (2006). Teachers' and students' experiences in working with religious issues in U.S. Schools. In Farideh Salili and Rumjahn Hoosain (Eds.), Religion in Multicultural Education (pp. 215-238). Greenwich, CN: Information Age.
34. Zine, J. (2006). Unveiled sentiments: Gendered Islamphobia and experiences of veiling among Muslim girls in a Canadian Islamic school. Equity & Excellence in