Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), this study explored the unique experiences, needs, challenges, and coping mechanisms of six Muslim-American students attending public high schools in the Midwestern United States. Three distinct themes emerged from the participants’ interviews and artifacts: (a) climate: experiences of school culture, including relationships with the school personnel and peers, engagement with the school culture, and challenges associated with Islamophobia; (b) intersections: experiences with multicultural identities influenced by familial, communal, societal, and political factors; and (c) resilience: experiences with navigating challenges impacted by peer interactions, self-advocacy, and community support. We discuss these themes and offer implications for school counselors to enhance culturally competent practices, advocate for social justice, and foster inclusivity to support the holistic development of Muslim-American students in public schools.
Abu KhalafN.WoolweaverA. B.MarmolejosR. R.LittleG. A.BurnettK.EspelageD. L. (2023). The impact of Islamophobia on Muslim students: A systematic review of the literature. School Psychology Review, 52(2), 206–223. https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2022.2075710
2.
AhmedS. (2012). Adolescents and emerging adults. In AhmedS.AmerM. M. (Eds.), Counseling Muslims: Handbook of mental health issues and interventions (pp. 251–280). Routledge.
3.
AhmedS.PatelS.HashemH. (2015). State of American Muslim youth: Research & recommendations. Family and Youth Institute.
AntonetteL.TahounL. (2014). American Muslim identity: Negotiating the Ummah and the American public-school system. In SaliliF.HoosainR. (Eds.), Growing up between two cultures: Problems and issues of Muslim children (pp. 119–143). Information Age.
6.
ArfkenC.AhmedS.Abu-RasW. (2013). Respondent-driven sampling of Muslim undergraduate U.S. college students and alcohol use: Pilot study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 48(6), 945–953. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-012-0588-4
7.
AroianK. J. (2012). Discrimination against Muslim American adolescents. The Journal of School Nursing: The Official Publication of the National Association of School Nurses, 28(3), 206–213. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059840511432316
8.
BalkayaM.CheahS. L.TahseenM. (2019). The mediating role of multiple group identities in the relations between religious discrimination and Muslim-American adolescents’ adjustment. Journal of Social Issues, 75(2), 538–567. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12326
9.
BarakatM. (2018). Advocating for Muslim students: If not us, then who?Journal of Educational Administration and History, 50(2), 82–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220620.2018.1439903
10.
BasfordL. (2010). From mainstream to East African charter: Cultural and religious experiences of Somali youth in U.S. schools. Journal of School Choice, 4(4), 485–509. https://doi.org/10.1080/15582159.2010.526859
11.
BasitA.HamidM. (2010). Mental health issues of Muslim Americans. The Journal of IMA, 42(3), 106–110. https://doi.org/10.5915/42-3-5507
12.
BaysuG.CelesteL.BrownR.VerschuerenK.PhaletK. (2016). Minority adolescents in ethnically diverse schools: Perceptions of equal treatment buffer threat effects. Child Development, 87(5), 1352–1366. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12609
13.
BirhanuA.LatimerK.LizP.SantosL.SladeT.WellsA. (2023). Anti-racist art activities for kids. The Quarto Group.
14.
BonetS. W. (2011). Educating Muslim American youth in a post 9/11 era: A critical review of policy and practice. The High School Journal, 95(1), 46–55. https://doi.org/10.1353/hsj.2011.0013
BryanJ.Moore-ThomasC.Day-VinesN. L.Holcomb-McCoyC. (2011). School counselors as social capital: The effects of high school college counseling on college application rates. Journal of Counseling & Development, 89(2), 190–199. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2011.tb00077.x
ChanC. D. (2018). The lived intersectional experiences of privilege and oppression of queer men of color in counselor education doctoral programs: An interpretative phenomenological analysis (Publication No. 10743740)[Doctoral dissertation, The George Washington University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
20.
ChenB.SaeedM. A. (2019). International Muslim students: Challenges and practical suggestions to accommodate their needs on campus. Journal of International Students, 9(4), 933–953. https://doi.org/10.10.32674/jis.v9i3.753
21.
CreswellJ. W. (2016). 30 essential skills for the qualitative researcher. Sage.
DupperD. R.Forrest-BankS.Lowry-CarusilloA. (2015). Experiences of religious minorities in public school settings: Findings from focus groups involving Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, and Unitarian Universalist youths. Children & Schools, 37(1), 37–45. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdu029
24.
Ermis-DemirtasH. (2021). Advocating for Muslim American students in school settings: Practical recommendations for school counselors and educators. In RaushM.GalloL. (Eds.), Strengthening school counselor advocacy and practice for important populations and difficult topics (pp. 41–61). IGI Global.
25.
FarmerL. B.ByrdR. (2015). Genderism in the LGBTQQIA community: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 9(4), 288–310. https://doi.org/10.1080/15538605.2015.1103679
HandfordC.MarreroA. D. (2022). Racial trauma in the school system: Naming the pain. Routledge.
29.
HaqueA.KamilN. (2011). Islam, Muslims, and mental health. In AhmedS.AmerM. A. (Eds.), Counseling Muslims: Handbook of mental health issues and interventions (pp. 3–47). Taylor & Francis.
HaskinsN. H.JohnsonL.FinanR.EdirmanasingheN.Brant-RajahnS. (2022). Latinx and Asian trainees counseling white clients: An interpretative phenomenology. Counseling Education and Supervision, 61(2), 112–128. https://doi.org/10.1002/ceas/12229
32.
HassanyS. F.BorgenR. (2022). Muslim career considerations. In BorgenR. (Ed.), Career development for diverse clients (pp. 85–93). Cognella.
33.
HaysD. G.SinghA. A. (2012). Qualitative inquiry in clinical and educational settings. Guilford.
HaysD. G.WoodC.DahlH.Kirk‐JenkinsA. (2016). Methodological rigor in Journal of Counseling & Development qualitative research articles: A 15‐year review. Journal of Counseling & Development, 94(2), 172–183. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12074
36.
HodgeD. R.ZidanT.HusainA. (2016). Depression among Muslims in the United States: Examining the role of discrimination and spirituality as risk and protective factors. Social Work, 61(1), 45–52. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swv055
37.
HouriA. K.SullivanA. L. (2016). Meeting the needs of Muslim American students. Communique, 45(3), 8–10.
38.
Isik-ErcanZ. (2015). Being Muslim and American: Turkish-American children negotiating their religious identities in school settings. Race Ethnicity and Education, 18(2), 225–250. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2014.911162
39.
LebowitzJ. (2016). Muslim American youth in the post 9/11 public education system [Capstone research paper. Western Washington University]. https://cedar.wwu.edu/fairhaven_acscapstone/6/
40.
Lebrun-HarrisL. A.ShermanL. J.MillerB. (2020). State-level prevalence of bullying victimization among children and adolescents: National survey of children’s health, 2016-2017. Public Health Reports, 135(3), 303–309. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033354920912713
41.
Lopez-PerryC.WhitsonL. (2022). Engaging in political leadership and macrolevel advocacy: School counselors leading for student mental wellness. Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy, 9(2), 87–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/2326716X.2022.2085214
42.
LoweS. R.TineoP.BonumweziJ. L.BaileyE. J. (2019). The trauma of discrimination: Posttraumatic stress in Muslim American college students. Traumatology, 25(2), 115–123. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000197
43.
MahalingappaL.RodriguezT. L.PolatN. (2017). Supporting Muslim students: A guide to understanding the diverse issues of today’s classrooms. Rowman & Littlefield.
44.
MillerR. M.Barrio MintonC. A. (2016). Experiences learning interpersonal neurobiology: An interpretive phenomenological analysis. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 38(1), 47–61. https://doi.org/10.17744/mehc.38.1.04
NietoS.BodeP. (2018). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education. Pearson.
48.
OberoiA. K.TrickettE. J. (2018). Religion in the hallways: Academic performance and psychological distress among immigrant origin Muslim adolescents in high schools. American Journal of Community Psychology, 61(3–4), 344–357. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12238
49.
OcampoA. X.DanaK.BarretoM. A. (2018). The American Muslim voter: Community belonging and political participation. Social Science Research, 72, 84–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2018.02.002
50.
OsbornC. J.WestE. R.NanceW. Z. (2017). Experiences of counselors-as-clients in counselor education. Counselor Education and Supervision, 56(2), 112–129. https://doi.org/10.1002/ceas.12066
51.
PietkiewiczI.SmithJ. A. (2014). A practical guide to using interpretative phenomenological analysis in qualitative research psychology. Psychological Journal, 20(1), 7–14. https://doi.org/10.14691/CPPJ.20.1.7
52.
RattsM. J.GreenleafA. T. (2017). Multicultural and social justice counseling competencies: A leadership framework for professional school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 21(1b), 2156759X1877358. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X18773582
53.
RizwanR.WilliamsA. R. (2015). Only the wind hears you…The experiences of Pakistani girls in a primary school: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Educational and Child Psychology, 32(2), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.53841/bpsecp.2015.32.2.36
54.
SarroubL. K. (2002). In-betweenness: Religion and conflicting visions of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 37(2), 130–148. https://doi.org/10.1598/RRQ.37.2.2
55.
SewardD. X.KhanS. (2016). Towards an understanding of Muslim American adolescent high school experiences. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 38(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-015-9252-5
ShahN. (2019). Counseling Muslims: Handbook of mental health issues and interventions. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 33(4), 340–344. https://doi.org/10.1080/87568225.2018.1510890
SilvaD. (2017). The othering of Muslims: Discourses of radicalization in the New York Times, 1969–2014. Sociological Forum, 32(1), 138–161. https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12321
61.
SirinS. R.FineM. (2007). Hyphenated selves: Muslim American youth negotiating identities on the fault lines of global conflict. Applied Developmental Science, 11(3), 151–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/1088869070145465
SmithJ. A.FlowersP.LarkinM. (2022). Interpretative phenomenological analysis: Theory, method and research (2nd ed.). Sage.
64.
StubbsB. B.SalleeM. W. (2013). Muslim, too: Navigating multiple identities at an American university. Equity & Excellence in Education, 46(4), 451–467. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2013.838129
65.
StuderJ. R. (2015). The school counselor as an advocate and leader. In StuderJ. R. (Ed.), The essential school counselor in a changing society (pp. 363–388). Sage.
66.
TabahiS.KhayrL. (2021). Anti-Muslim racism and U.S. schools: Recommendations for practice, policy, and advocacy. Children & Schools, 43(1), 3–8. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdaa033
