Muslim College Students' Negotiation of Ramadan and Academic Responsibilities

Despite Islam being one of the fastest growing religions across the U.S. (Ayers, 2007), 48% of American Muslims polled by the Pew Research Center in 2017 shared that they had personally been victims of discrimination due to their religious identity (e.g., individuals from other ethnic backgrounds acting suspicious of them, being physically threatened and/or attacked; Mohamed, 2021). Furthermore, in 2021, the Pew Research Foundation reported that Americans were more likely to share that Muslims face "a lot" of discrimination as opposed to other religious groups such as Jews or Evangelical Christians. Therefore, the present mixed-methods study explored how 24 Muslim college students negotiate their religious and academic responsibilities during Ramadan. The present study aimed to address the following research questions via both qualitative and quantitative methods: (1) What academic and campus climate challenges do Muslim college students face during Ramadan? What is the relation between students' ethnic identity and campus climate experiences?; (2) How do these academic and campus challenges impact Muslim college students' Ramadan observance? How do these campus challenges impact their academic performance?; (3) How do Muslim college students attempt to address Ramadan challenges? Have their self-advocacy efforts been successful?; (4) How do Muslim college students view current campus accommodations and policies regarding religious observance? What changes would they want to see? Participants qualitatively shared their experiences of attending college during Ramadan and additionally completed quantitative questionnaires assessing their views of campus climate and safety, attitude toward Islam, and their ethnic identity. Twenty-one participants (88%) described Ramadan as highly important and assisting their growth in different ways (e.g., emotionally, physically, spiritually, academically). Participants reported mid-level ethnic identity scores (M=3.30, SD=0.37) as well as high attitudes toward their religion (M=4.56, SD=0.54). Further, there was a significant, inverse correlation between Ethnic Identity and Positive Campus Climate. Participants with higher ethnic identities provided a lower rating for their positive campus climate assessment (r(13)=-0.60, p=0.018). Though 17 participants (77.2%) noted that fasting during Ramadan and attending college was difficult for them, 15 participants (65%) were committed to their Ramadan observance and therefore did not change the way they fasted while attending college. Instead, those students made proactive efforts to negotiate those challenges and maintain their religious observance while attending college. Although 19 participants (95%) had never spoken to an administrator about their college's religious accommodation policies, 12 participants (66%) reported feeling comfortable speaking to faculty members about such accommodations. Most importantly, 15 participants (83%) felt supported by their fellow peers and likewise 9 participants (53%) felt supported by faculty members. While prior research explores Muslim college students' challenges during the month of Ramadan, the present study shifts focus by additionally analyzing the agentive ways in which Muslim college students attempt to address and mediate the difficulties of Ramadan observance on college campuses. Though this study's strengths-based approach offers a significant contribution, the study should be interpreted in light of limitations related to time constraints, participant recruitment and demographics, quantitative analyses, and the online platform which was utilized for data collection. The study then concludes with a discussion on how universities and school psychologists can better accommodate and support Muslim students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]