ARAB-MUSLIM TRANSNATIONAL FAMILES AND THEIR CHILDREN’S EXPERIENCES OF EDUCATION: INVESTIGATING ISSUES OF LANGUAGE, IDENTITY AND SCHOOLING IN LETTERKENN, COUNTY DONEGAL, IRELAND

This study sought to explore how research into transnational and migrant families
might benefit from an account of Arab-Muslim families and their children's experiences
in dynamic and conflictual contexts. Ten transnational families and their
children narrate their lives as part of transnational families. From their stories
and the analysis thereof, we learn how they negotiate the unique positions they
occupy in transnational families and gain insight into how their cultural identities
are shaped. This study also explores shared and distinctive transnational family
experiences which were identified despite the small size of the sample, and emphasizes
how each family and each child possesses unique resources with which they
confront familial and sociocultural challenges. This study argues that social scientists,
educators, and policymakers concerned about migration have much to learn
from these experiences. This research also suggests that Arab-Muslim transnational
families and their children's voices and lived experiences can help reframe current
understandings of the effects of immigration and education systems on families in
Ireland and internationally, and identifies several implications for future research
and theorizing about the civic participation and engagement of children whose parents
are transnational migrants.