This paper is concerned with the experiences of Muslim students attending secondary schools and an elite university in England. The research explores how Muslim young men's identities are defined by their social and cultural locations. It is argued that identity is multi-dimensional. It intersects and overlaps with several categories of difference including ethnicity, social class, gender, linguistic, cultural and religious affiliations. These exist simultaneously in daily interactions. They are fluid, interconnected, complex and not always easy to disentangle. Ethnography and grounded theory are used to capture the experiences of Muslim young men at a time when educational opportunities and career choices exist alongside disengagement with education and society. For these students the idea of success, though important, is problematic. Real success is tied not just to proven academic ability, but also to finding fulfilment through negotiating a carefully maintained balance between the private and public, secular and religious, individual and community-based expectations. Experiences linked to social class position are fore-grounded. When these intersect with race and grace, a complex picture emerges where young men from Pakistani Muslim background feel that they are both outsiders and insiders in a country where they were born and educated. This exploratory study captures a complex multi-layered world where race is not the only lens through which lived realities can be understood. Exploring the ways in which personal agency and individualism are set against structural inequalities, make it possible to unravel some of the experiences of this under-researched group. The paper looks at how Muslim young men make sense of their experiences and why they feel so strongly that they are not understood.
A national emphasis in Britain on community cohesion and citizenship has highlighted the need to explore understandings of difference within and between communities, particularly in school contexts. This paper reports on the first phase of a larger project exploring pupils' understandings and experiences of identity and diversity within secondary schools. Questionnaires were collected from 51 Year 8 pupils in two urban and ethnically diverse secondary schools in England. The findings suggest that pupils have a complex range of views about identity, diversity and Britishness.
In recent decades, immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers have sought a new way of life in large numbers, often leaving their countries of origin behind in search of places that offer a better way of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate how elementary and middle school students in state schools in Reading, England (primarily speakers of Asian languages), and Richmond, Virginia (primarily speakers of Spanish), were supported academically, when most children's first language was not English. The authors were interested in exploring whether or not there were cultural or structural differences in the way each country helped or hindered these students as they progressed through the school systems. Three UK schools in a district of approximately 100,000 and three US schools in a district of approximately 250,000 were the focus of this exploration from 2000 to 2003. Findings indicated that there were cultural and legislative differences and similarities. Teachers and administrators in both countries attempted to provide services with limited and sometimes diminishing resources. Community support varied based on resources, attitudes toward various ethnic groups, and the coping strategies adopted by these groups in their new environments. Marked differences appeared with regard to the manner in which assessments took place and how the results were made available to the public.
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