Acculturation preferences of primary school children of Muslim faith from different Arab ethnicities : an exploratory study

This thesis is formed from two papers: a systematic literature review and an empirical research study. The first, a systemic literature review, explores and critically discusses the current research into acculturation, specifically research into acculturation approaches adopted by children of minority groups and their families and perceptions of the majority host group. It further considers research focusing on minority group members of Muslim faith. It critically explores the effect of acculturation approaches on prosocial adaptation in children and on academic achievement or school success. The second, an empirical research study, explores the acculturation approaches adopted by children of Muslim faith from four different Arab ethnicities (Somali, Saudi, Yemeni and Libyan), as well as their perceptions of the approach to acculturation adopted by their families and White British peers. Prosocial adaptation and academic progress was also explored in order to identify any correlations between the approach to acculturation and adaptation. This small exploratory study did not find any relationship between the approach to acculturation (of self and outgroup) and prosocial adaptation and academic achievement. However, findings tentatively suggest that children of Libyan and Yemeni ethnicities adopt less co-evolved approaches to acculturation and also perceive their families and White British peers to ascribe to less co-evolved approaches to acculturation. It also found positive correlations between resilience and academic progress and between age and level of isolation and loneliness. Limitations of this exploratory study are discussed and recommendations made for further research. Implications for the practice of educational psychology are presented.