Reclaiming ME (Muslim Educator): Examining the Experiences of Muslim American Teachers

• In Event: Centering Teachers of Color

Abstract

The Muslim-American teacher experience is under-represented in the growing body of research on teachers of color. Given the academic research that speaks to the ways in which systems of oppression and bias – anti-immigrant, anti-Black, anti-Muslim – are reproduced in school communities, we examine the experiences of Muslim-American teachers. Our research questions are informed by theories of intersectionality, research on teachers of color, and anti-Blackness and Islamophobia. The purposes of this study are to: 1) identify the strengths Muslim teachers bring to their teaching practice; 2) uncover the challenges Muslim teachers face in the context of sociopolitical tensions fueled by national and global anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim discourses; and 3) identify potential mechanisms that retain or pushout Muslim-American teachers.

Authors

• Mayida Zaal, Montclair State University

• Manar Hussein, Montclair State University

• Chedia Ayari, Montclair State University