The Role of the Mother of Adolescent Muslim Girl in Public High School in the US - Case Study Example

The Role of the Mother of Adolescent Muslim Girl in Public High School in the U.S Section Introduction The place of adolescent Muslim girls in American society has raised considerable debate over years. In turn, this has attracted significant number of researchers and scholars owing to the disparity and challenges observed. Particular attention has been given to the role of mothers to young adolescent Muslims girls studying in public high school. The researcher sought to investigate the role played by mothers of adolescent girls in public school in a broader context by considering the topic in a Muslim context in relation to the challenges and disparities observed. This was intended to understand the richer framework of the experience of adolescent girls in public high school (Krueger & Casey, 2015). The choice of the study area was found to be favorable as it presents a forum where adolescent Muslim girls are faced with various social challenges in all aspects of their lives. Overall, the study was intended to determine the role played by the mothers of Muslim adolescent girls studying in public high school. Section 2: Participant selection 1) Number and participants characteristic; the sample size selected for the study was ten mothers, and they represented the individuals who were to provide adequate research data on the topic. These individuals were purposively selected for meeting the required criteria. The criteria were based on being a Muslim mother and having a child enrolled in public high school in one of the regional school. The researcher chose a smaller sample size to allow in-depth participants data collection (Krueger & Casey, 2015). The demographic data considered in this section was primarily based on the mothers of Muslims adolescent girls and ways to identify them. 2) The participants’ selection process was based on religious, cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity for the Islamic religion. In addition, the participants’ selection process considered different regional backgrounds for the sample size. The selected group was reached through a phone call. The researcher chose them primarily to share their opinion on challenges facing their children in public high schools such as racial discrimination, social issues and learning disparity as compared to the boys. The researcher noted that the mother played a crucial role to help their daughters counter many challenges such as wearing of hijabs as opposed to class members professing to different religion during this transition period (Krueger & Casey, 2015). 3) Ethical issues were made clear to the respondents. First, all participants contacted over the phone were informed over about the intentions of the study. The privacy and confidentiality of the information to be provided were guaranteed by limiting the information for academic purpose only. It was made clear to the respondents that no incentives were to be given for participating in the study. Eliminative questions were used to avoid areas with conflicting interest. To avoid biased responses, the recruitment was made on attitudes and behavior of the participants (Krueger & Casey, 2015). Verification of the participants data such as contact information, follow up letter were done prior to the study as all participants were well known and could be easily traced. Relevant information on the participants was obtained from Islamic centers reference rooms. The time for discussion was limited to two hours where the participants could interact and share their opinion on the subject matter. Besides, five minutes were allocated to each participant to participate independently for comparison of the results. 4) To successfully drive the respondents give the right data, I brought all the participants to discussion room where it was easy to judge their responses. There are set rules in Islamic Center Academy that were important to follow for the success of the study. For instance, I was supposed to reach the head through an email to allow me select the participants whose information was not to be disclosed. The email was sent back with the contact names. After that, I had to call back or send an email to the respondent to book an appointment. Section 3: Moderator A) External modulator characteristics Islamic Center Academy with the assistance of Professor Dr. Valk acted as external modulator. The center deals with Muslim mothers making it suitable to outline characteristics of participants recruited for research. Based on the interaction the institution has with Muslim mothers, it has greater understanding of the target group religious beliefs and cultural habits such as dressing codes and doctrines relating to Islamic religion. For instance, Muslim culture reserves special respect to the religious leaders. On the other hand, Professor Valk, being the head Curricular & Instructional studies department understood the issue relating to focused group discussion. She has hands-on skills having participated in a number of focused group discussions. They both ensured the required information was obtained for the study. B) Moderator’s degree of familiarity with research context Having served for many years at the helm of public high school in American society, Professor Dr. Valk has a clear picture of the role of mothers to Muslim girls in American public high school. It is reasonable to argue understands well the challenges facing young Muslim girls hence better placed to understand the responses of the adolescent mothers. Giving Professor Valk a chance to assist in the research was an added advantage owing to the wealth of experience. The wealth of experience and her solid educational background will be harnessed to understand better the problem of the study. The primary role dedicated to her, however, was to help in research logistics such as time planning discussion sessions and managing the group discussions (Boothman, 2008). The institution has also been there for many years proving useful on issues relating to mothers engaged in this study. C) Moderator’s degree of familiarity with research context The fact that Professor Valk is a Muslim made her an excellent choice for a moderator. Besides that, she is experienced in the field of research, and she is quite familiar with the topic under study. She has served in the curricular and instructional department passing through the various American education systems as a girl and a mother. She perfectly fitted the personality criteria in many Muslim culture and doctrine. Some of the quality she possesses includes supportive skills, a revered leader, and administrator as well. (D) Process for recruiting moderator Professor Valk with her expansive experience in the group focused topic; she can give and get information in regard to how a particular group perceives a given issue in the study. She was phenomenal with her insights on why certain opinions added weight to the area of study while others did not carry much importance. Her communication skills coupled with the knowledge of focused group dynamics worked well for the productive results. For instance, she could dramatically pause and assess her participants and adequately respond to participants’ comments. Through her communication skills and knowledge in group discussion, she gained the target audience confidence. Eventually, she was able to control and moderate the focused group effectively (Boothman, 2008). Section 4: Interview Guide ‐ (A) List of primary and secondary questions 1. What measures do you as a parent take to ensure your adolescent daughter is safe out there? Do you know any of her friends? What kind of friends does she like hanging out with? How often does she get in touch with other people? How can you rate her social life? Does she have a boyfriend? Who is her best friend? 2. How do you monitor your daughter’s sexuality? What kind of people does she hang out with? Does she hang out more with females friends that she does to male friends? If she engages in sexual behaviors, does she use protection? 3. Do you have any method or way that can effectively monitor your daughter’s development with regards to education? What are the areas of her academic preferences? Is she more to academics than physical activities and how can you rate the two? By nature, is she is an academician, what are her favorite subjects? 4. How often do you talk to your daughter about her personal life? Do you spend some quality time with your daughter when she is free? How do you approach this subject over her personal life? From your observation, is she comfortable or uncomfortable talking to you about her personal life? Would you say her personal life is on the right track? 5. Does your daughter know who she is in terms of talents, skills or any special ability? Do you help navigate to discover her potential areas? Does she even know if she has talents or not? If so, which ways does she use her talents? (B) A brief narrative paragraph providing a rationale for sequencing of questions Professor Valk, with her experience in the topic as well as being a Muslim and a mother at the same time understands the role of adolescent Muslim girls in American Public high schools hence she acts as the moderator. She has a post in the American high school curriculum. Her profound experience, role in society and education background makes her understand challenges facing Muslim girls and the role played by their mothers. The interview questions will be directed to all respondents with each having an equal chance of responding to these questions. The researcher deemed it right to design a nametag for the respondent for easier reference besides creating a picture of professionalism. Each participant will be given a maximum period of ninety minutes to respond to the questions. Videotapes will also be recorded at the focused group. Each participant will introduce themselves to other members of the focused group before the meeting commences. I will start by asking open-ended questions and close with close-ended questions. This will ensure I do not limit the respondents in terms of responses and contributions they would wish to share on the subject matter. The most important question will be “how do you ensure the safety of your daughter?” This is the question that I will ask the audience first. Section 5: Conducting the Focus Group ‐ The questions in the focused group discussion will be set at the same level. From the advice of the moderators and learning experience, I’ll maintain an eye contact to gauge the level of honesty from the responses given by the participants. Every participant stands an equal chance of answering the questions. I’ll provide paper for those who wish to take some notes. To ensure that the time is used effectively, no participant will be allowed to carry or eat food as the discussion proceeds. The name tag will help each person be called by name rather than appearance. (B) Use of observers and recordings I will record the discussion and conversation before and after the focus group. These recording will be necessary synthesizing crucial information that could have escaped my mind during the actual discussion. Besides, this information will be recorded for further reference. The recording can also be kept for future reference. Only necessary data will be taken from the recordings. (C) Special issues Any special issue that might crop up will be handled by the experienced moderator. Such issues that I’ll call upon the help of the moderator include identifying the areas to focus during the actual discussion, how to structure the group discussion and synthesis of the information. In case anything happen that had not be planned, there will be a contingency plan. For instance, one of the participants might fail to show up or get sick. With the help of the institution, I’ll call upon another respondent to replace her. In case the research materials fail to be adequate, I’ll have extras in reserved in my research files. . . . References Krueger, R. A., & Casey, M. A. (2015). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research Boothman, N. (2008). How to make people like you in 90 seconds or less: By Nicholas Boothman. New York: Workman Pub Read More