Racial Identity Construction of Arab American College Students
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RACIAL IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION OF ARAB AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS: MOVING BEYOND INVISIBILITY A dissertation submitted by Nina Monan Shoman-Dajani to Benedictine University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Higher Education and Organizational Change Benedictine University August 2016 RACIAL AND ETHNIC IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION OF ARAB AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS: MOVING BEYOND INVISIBILITY A dissertation submitted by Nina Monan Shoman-Dajani to Benedictine University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Higher Education and Organizational Change This dissertation has been accepted for the faculty of Benedictine University ___________________________ Louise Cainkar, Ph.D. ___________ Dissertation Committee Director Date ___________________________ Mathew Woolsey, Ed.D. ___________ Dissertation Committee Chair Date ___________________________ Nadine Naber, Ph.D. ___________ Dissertation Committee Reader Date ___________________________ Sunil Chand, Ph.D. ___________ Program Director, Faculty Date ___________________________ Eileen Kolich, Ph.D. ___________ Faculty Date ___________________________ Ethel Ragland, Ed.D., M.N., R.N. ___________ Dean, College of Education and Health Services Date Copyright by Nina Monan Shoman-Dajani, 2016 All rights reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My deepest gratitude and love is extended to my husband Sam Dajani for giving me the space and support I needed to achieve one of my biggest goals. My sweet children, Mona, Salah al-Dean (“Dino”), and Jabreel, who showered me with kisses and hugs when I needed them the most and kept each other busy when mommy was doing “her work,” hold a special place of appreciation in my heart. My Shoman and Dajani families, I cannot thank you enough for your support and encouragement. My mom, Mona Shoman, I thank you for always believing in me and for expressing your pride in me, even from a distance! You may be far away but I always feel your love. Dr.Samia Shoman, I thank you for the long chats, giving me advice, listening to me vent, and for supporting me throughout this process. My Ben U Cohort, also known appropriately as the “Gladiators,” I connected with you all in our own ways: Kiana, Carol, Savannah, Dana, Nicole, Jermaine, Heather, Mandy, Bright, Jon, Cesar, Jenny, and Brad. We shared so many great moments together filled with lots of laughs and memories that I will always treasure. I learned so much about higher education from all of you, and I am thankful for such an awesome cohort to share this journey with. I extend special thanks to Angela Ryan for being there for me every step of the way, sharing resources, and for paving the way for our cohort. Dr. Ryan, you are a selfless leader I truly admire. iii Dr. Iman Saca, thank you for the great internship opportunity with the Saint Xavier University Middle Eastern Studies Program and for providing me with the opportunity to teach subjects I am passionate about! Your support of my professional goals is truly appreciated. I hold in high regard my instructors at Benedictine University and program directors Dr. Chand and Dr. Kolich for creating an environment that truly prepares higher education leaders to be the kind of change agents we need to tackle the tough issues we face in U.S. higher education. Dr. Sunil Chand, you may never know the impact you have had on me, but I assure you that you are a mentor I am sincerely grateful to have in my life. Your encouraging words, the rigor you infuse into the program curriculum, the ongoing leadership you display, all of these are reasons that reminded me I chose the right doctoral program. Dr. Louise Cainkar, I could not have asked for a better director for my dissertation committee. When I chose my topic, I knew your expertise was exactly what I needed on my committee and I was thrilled when you said yes! You have been with me every step of the way, guiding and challenging me, mentoring me throughout the process, and I will be forever grateful. Your dedication and professionalism throughout my dissertation journey will never be forgotten. Dr. Nadine Naber, the impact you have made and continue to make through your courageous scholarship paves the path for researchers like me to find the resources needed to conduct worthy research on the Arab American community. Thank you for providing me with invaluable feedback that bolstered my research and writing. iv Dr. Matthew Woolsey, you are the best dissertation chair EVER! Without your continuous support, constant motivational words, and sincere commitment to my work, this challenging process would have been much more difficult. Thank you so much for your assistance, your time, and positive energy. You have been a wonderful friend and mentor to me throughout this process. The students who I have worked so closely with at Moraine Valley for the last seven years have taught me so much, especially my Arab Student Union crew. ASU— you have proven that Arab American college students are not invisible and never will be. Much of my research inspiration came from you, our Arab American community, and from my children who will face the same challenges you have as Arab American youth in the U.S. I am truly grateful to have the support of amazing colleagues at Moraine Valley Community College who have sincerely shown an interest in wanting to learn more about the Arab American population. I am confident my research will be useful as we not only assist our Arab American students, but also all of our students who are struggling to be seen and heard. v DEDICATION For my children, Mona, Salah al-Dean (“Dino”), and Jabreel. And to all the students struggling to be recognized. Stay strong and remain proud of your roots. To my father, Sam Shoman, may he rest in peace. He taught me to always speak the truth, fight for justice, and stand up for the voiceless. His legacy is honored through this work. PREFACE This study and the results discussed in my dissertation are the compilation of research that was gathered during fall 2015. Although the dissertation process was at moments exhausting, it was at the same time, extremely fulfilling, rewarding, and exhilarating. As I conducted each one-on-one, in-depth interview with the participants, I immersed myself in their stories, listened attentively, and felt extremely grateful and privileged to have access to the personal experiences they shared with me. As I compiled and analyzed my data, I felt an immense sense of accomplishment from my ability to make a new contribution to education research—specifically, to provide higher education with an in-depth look at the racial identity construction of Arab American college students. Although there were many similarities in the stories I heard from my participants, each individual was unique and articulated their lived experiences in the style, tone, and language they felt fit best. All participants were candid, did not shy away from answering questions, and were fully engaged during the interviews. As an Arab American myself, there is no doubt that I felt a connection on a personal level to my research. I often felt misunderstood as an Arab American Muslim college student, especially during my undergraduate years. I found this research to be somewhat cathartic because I was able to relate to many of the stories I heard in my interviews. Even though I attempted to bracket my personal beliefs during the interviews, I felt the emotions of both happiness and sadness, and at times, the frustration of my participants as they shared their personal stories. I could feel their pride as the vii students articulated their fondness for their Arab heritage and was moved by their commitment to helping their local communities. As an administrator in a community college that happens to serve a very large Arab American student population, I knew my research focus was needed, and it is my hope it will be utilized to better serve our students over the long term. My Arab American background influenced my research topic choice, but was not my only motivation to conduct a study on Arab American college students. There were several factors that I considered and various influences that inspired my research. As a student of higher education and organizational change, I of course wanted to make a contribution to education research that would fill a void. Knowing there is very little research on Arab American college students, I felt that my topic was timely and much needed. I was also motivated by many of the Arab American students I worked closely with as the club advisor to the Arab Student Union (ASU) at Moraine Valley Community College. Prior to the completion of my dissertation, I served as the club advisor to ASU for six years. I worked with dozens of motivated Arab American students as well as recent arrivals from various Arab countries to plan events on campus that ranged from panel discussions on social and political topics, to cultural events that ranged from fashion shows to film festivals. The students cared deeply about challenging the stereotypical negative images of Arabs and Muslims in the media and in U.S. popular culture. Semester after semester, year after year, regardless of their gender, family country of origin, religious beliefs, the students bonded and often referred to each other warmly as “ASU family.” My colleagues often asked me questions about the Arab American community and from the attendance at workshops I held that focused on viii getting to know our Arab American students and the communities from which they came, I knew there was great interest in the topic. As a mother of three children who are being raised to be proud of both their American and Arab heritage and one day will be college students (God willing), I knew the results of this study had the kind of longevity that would still be useful even when my young children enter higher education.