Arab American parents’ perceptions of their children’s experience in the USA: a qualitative study

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine Arab American parents’ perceptions of difficulties their children experience in the USA. Both Arab American children born outside the USA who later moved to the country and children born in the USA to Arab parents were examined. Fifty Arab American families were interviewed in two areas in the State of Michigan. Data were translated from Arabic to English, and then analysed according to specific themes. Results revealed that the most common difficulties are language acquisition and emotional and social adjustments. The least frequent problem is using technology. Additionally, results showed that children who live in concentrated populations of Arab immigrants have fewer problems than those who live in less concentrated areas. The implications of results for educators, school psychologists and new Arab immigrants are presented.

KEYWORDS:

• Arab American children
• acculturation
• emotional adjustments
• social adjustments
• language adjustments

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Jamal Ahmad is an assistant professor in the Department of Child Education at the Hashemite University, Jordan. He earned his Ph.D. in Elementary and Early Childhood Education from the University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, USA, in 2011. His research interests include school readiness, literacy development in the early years, the influence of immigration and culture on early childhood education, childrens rights and current issues in early childhood education.