Abstract
Despite strong debates about the role of Islamic education in Western societies, very little is known about the ways these schools can affect how Muslim children feel about these societies and themselves. This research examined how the self-esteem and national identification of Islamic schools students in a non-Muslim country (N = 707; Mage = 10.02; SD = 1.25; 56.9% girls) depend on their perceptions of religious discrimination and the student-teacher relationship, as well as their teachers’ religious background and implicit religious attitude. Children reported substantially more religious discrimination against their group than against themselves. Religious discrimination was associated with lower self-esteem and weaker national identification, whereas a close bond with the teacher was associated with higher self-esteem and stronger national identification. Children with a non-Muslim teacher reported more national identification than students with a Muslim teacher, but less so if this teacher had a comparatively positive attitude toward Muslims. Results provide insights on how self-esteem and national identification can be encouraged within the context of Islamic education.
Highlights
Muslims are among the most discriminated groups in current day Western-Europe where many people hold the view that Islam is an alien religion and incompatible with mainstream values (Hagendoorn and Sniderman 2007; Strabac and Listhaug 2008)
Rather than comparing the impact of Islamic versus non-Islamic education, the study investigates how children’s self-esteem and national identification are associated with teacher-related factors within Islamic schools, and it examines whether these factors can counteract the negative impact of children’s perceptions of religious discrimination directed against themselves and their peers
Children’s overall perceptions of religious discrimination were associated with lower self-esteem, but unexpectedly the difference between group and personal discrimination had no significant effect which indicates that the impact of the latter was not substantially stronger than that of the former. These findings indicate that religious discrimination undermines Muslim children’s self-evaluations presumably because it conveys a negative message about their religious identity which they come to internalize (Harter 1999)
Summary
Muslims are among the most discriminated groups in current day Western-Europe where many people hold the view that Islam is an alien religion and incompatible with mainstream values (Hagendoorn and Sniderman 2007; Strabac and Listhaug 2008). The present research makes a unique contribution to the literature by examining how teachers in Islamic schools can affect both the self-esteem and the national identification of their Muslim students (aged 8–14 years). Both self-esteem and national identification are crucial adjustment outcomes for children who live in a country where their religious group is highly stigmatized. This research could inform practical attempts to help Islamic school students cope with discrimination and to promote high self-esteem and a sense
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