African Immigrants' Experiences in American Schools by Mthethwa-Sommers Shirley;Harushimana Immaculee;

Author:Mthethwa-Sommers, Shirley;Harushimana, Immaculee;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
Published: 2012-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

African-born Students’ Religious-based Experiences

As explained above, in postcolonial Africa, the majority of Africans practice a hybrid form of African spirituality and Christianity and/or Islam. Therefore, most African-born students live in households where both institutionalized and noninstitutionalized religions are practiced concomitantly. There is a dearth of research on how practice of either Christianity or hybridized Christianity impacts school experiences of African-born students in America. Conversely, there is growing research on African-born students who are Muslim and their experiences in schools (Basford, 2008; Mthethwa-Sommers & Kisiara, 2015). Evidence shows that practice of Islam has a deep impact on African immigrant children’s school adaptation. Many African-born students who identify as Muslims experience a cultural mismatch between their religion and school culture. Cultural mismatch occurs when students experience incongruity between their cultural practices and school cultural practices. It is salient to point out that African-born students who are Muslim are diverse in accordance to their countries of origin and cultural identity. As stated above, Islam practiced in African countries is informed by the individual country’s culture, traditions, and belief systems. Therefore, there is no singular or monolithic Muslim identity. Just like Christianity has various denominations, Islam has different sects such as Sunni and Shiite, and many other sects. Additionally, some students may identify with their country of origin and not their religious affiliation. For example, a student may identify as Nigerian, or Sudanese, or Somali, even if she or he is Muslim. Nevertheless, knowledge of students’ religious background is essential for teachers to develop culturally informed ways of interacting. Lack of knowledge of religious tenets can be deleterious to students, as it proved to be in the case of a high school teacher who punished a female Muslim student for not wearing shorts in her gym class (Elnour & Bashal-Ali, 2003). Elnour and Bashal-Ali’s research reports that it was not until the student’s parents reached out to the school to explain how the school requirement was not only a cultural mismatch but also inappropriate from their religious perspective that the teacher realized her mistake. While the teacher had been adamant that she treated all her students equally, she needed to understand that treating students equally was not the same as treating students equitably. School rules, which in many cases endorse Western middle-class values, are likely to be in conflict with non-Western immigrant students’ cultural principles. The school rule may stipulate that no students are allowed to wear hats in school, in which case a Muslim student who wears a hijab may be understood as not adhering to the school rule. Treating students equally would mean enforcing the “no hat” rule without regard for religion; treating students equitably, in contrast, would mean enforcing the “no hat” rule while making a provision for religious freedom and students’ spiritual needs. Thus, school officials need to create a school environment that makes African-born Muslim students feel integrated, as they have reported that: (a) their spiritual needs are being silenced, (b) their experiences are invisible in the curriculum, and (c) their presence is the source of American uneasiness and tension.

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