Cross-Cultural Schooling Experiences of Arab Newcomer Students / Intercultural Reciprocal Learning in Chinese and Western Education (PDF)

"There are few books that illuminate deeply the value of youth voice during this momentous time in education, with its centrality on Canadian diversity, new immigration, culture, and identity across and betwixt nations. This volume focuses on four Arab newcomer youths and their stories of school and home, from their realities of relocation to their refugee and immigration experiences-all while they navigate their place in the world. The voices, laid out with meticulous accuracy and stylistic prose by the author, capture what is vital for educators of every discipline to hear and know, towards a more open mindset and fresh practice in all schools globally."
-Darlene Ciuffetelli Parker, Professor, Faculty of Education, Brock University, Canada

"Elkord analyses the narratives of a number of students, giving the reader a rare glimpse into the lives of immigrant youths both at school and at home. The reader learns of their challenges, hopes, and fears. The resultis a study that would be useful for educators and policy-makers concerned with issues of diversity and inclusiveness in today's rapidly evolving school environment."
-Tom P. Najem, Professor of Political Science, University of Windsor, Canada

This book presents Arab immigrant youths' voices through storytelling that reveals the challenges and achievements they experience at school and at home in a Canadian educational context. While Arab immigration to Canada dates back to the late eighteenth century, Canada has witnessed a significant rise in Arab immigration rates over the last twenty-five years, marking the fastest growth among all immigrant groups.These stories highlight the complexity of Arab-Canadian youths' cross-cultural schooling experiences and provide valuable opportunities for reciprocal learning among all stakeholders in Canadian schools. With an educator's vision, Elkord foregrounds the tensions between Arab youths' home and school experiences to help build bridges and make high school less opaque to Arab immigrant students and their parents, while offering insights into multicultural education and resources for teacher education.