Muslim students in public schools, education and the politics of religious identity

grantor: University of TorontoThis study uses ethnogtaphic research methods to examine Sunni Muslim students and experiences as a religious minority in the public school system in Canada. Dominant norms and values are encoded into school policies, practices and curriculum. Many of these create areas of contention for Muslims. For Muslim students, the fundamental incompatibility between Islamic ideology and praxis and the secular public school system can create dissonance, alienation, and in many cases, a desire to conform to the cultural practices within schools and society, at the expense of an Islamic way of life. This study, however, focuses on those students who strive to maintain an Islamic identity and lifestyle and will examine how this informs their educational experiences. The focus will also be upon how education has become an arena for contemporary cultural politics, and how Muslims use their religious identities to challenge Eurocentrism in school policies practices, and curriculum.M.A