Lived Experiences of Islamic High School Graduates in The Chicagoland Area: A Phenomenological Study
Islamic high schools have existed in the Chicagoland area for a number of years. There has been no study studying the impact of the schools on the lives of graduates. The purpose of this study was to describe, analyze, and reflect on lived experiences of graduates of Islamic high schools in the Chicagoland area. The aim of this study was to give a voice to students who lived the experience of attending and graduating from an Islamic high school in the Chicagoland area. This qualitative phenomenological study focused on the experiences of six graduates from three Islamic high schools in the Chicagoland area of the U.S. The graduates were asked about their general experiences and also asked about some of the challenges students faced in college in terms of identity, drugs, alcohol, pre-marital physical relationships, and Islamophobia. Based on the analysis of the responses of the graduates revealed four themes to include life-long lessons learned; life-long relationships developed; students who felt academically prepared, but socially unprepared; and schools that overprotected the students. Based on the results, recommendations were provided and legal, political, internal, and external implications of the study assessed.|Keywords: Islamic schools, graduates, dissertation
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