Cultural Reproduction,Segmented Assimilation and the Religious Schooling Experiences of Immigrants at an Islamic Academy: Learning By Choice

Abstract

A case study research design was employed to examine the cultural reproduction, segmented assimilation and religious schooling experiences of immigrant Muslim parents and students at an Islamic day school. Research Site: The research site was the Nur Islamic Academy, a Pre-school-12th grade licensed private Islamic day school located in a north-eastern city in the United States. The student body composition was 55% immigrant and 45% African-American Muslims. The school was an edifice in an urban Arab enclave. This ethnic neighborhood was experiencing capital flight, uneven development and urban decay. Research Questions: Three core questions guided this study. What is the functionality of Islamic schooling as a vehicle of cultural reproduction? How do religiosity and the presentation of Islamic rituals serve students and families as opportunities for affirmation? What experiences carry the immigrant's identity? Research Design: The case study research design consisted of interviews, an immigrant student focus group, attitudinal parental survey, observations and archival investigations. Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework of this study was cultural reproduction. Segmented assimilation, urban, ethnic, Muslim and immigrant identity theories were incorporated throughout this discourse. Data Analysis: Content Analysis methodologies were used to classify transcribed audio-taped interviews,observations and archival investigations into themes. The targeted population of this study did not respond well to survey data collection. Therefore the survey results were inconclusive. Outliers were identified and noted. The interpretations, conclusions, and discussions were supported with a literature synthesis. All participants were anonymous Findings: The findings of this study suggest that the Muslim expatriates in this urban immigrant settlement consciously used Islamic schooling as an institutional mode of intergenerational cultural reproduction. They elected to carry and hold their home cultures and Arabian heritage as they nestled into this urban landscape. Conclusions:The Nur Islamic Academy created an ethos that affirmed the parents, students and community member's Islamic belief system and Arabian heritage. Parents and students choose religious schooling as a means to ward-off the downward mobility that they associated with their neighborhood schools. Staff members and parents related that they have forgone full mainstream assimilation. Their preference was to actively participate in selective acculturation and incorporation processes as a segmented component of their day to day lives. 1. The Nur Islamic Academy and all other individual, organizational and institutional names are pseudonyms to maintain their anonymities.