Intercultural communication and Muslim American youth in US school contexts

Abstract

Effective intercultural communication is highly valued in political, professional, and academic contexts. Universities even offer courses focused on the cultural dimensions of interpersonal communication. Despite the multicultural, globalized world we live in, there is still a great deal of misunderstanding and lack of cultural/intercultural communication in many societies which has caused a great deal of conflict on individual and societal levels. Nowhere can this misunderstanding and lack of intercultural communication skills have a more powerful impact and serious negative repercussions than on students. In many school contexts around the world, this issue is still not being addressed on the administrative or curriculum levels. In the USA some teachers and administrators, and even curricula are insensitive to many of the cultural differences that exist in today's classrooms despite the introduction of multicultural education. This chapter examines the effects of the lack of understanding and ineffective intercultural communication of teachers and administrations toward Muslim American students in US school contexts. There are gaps and shortcomings in the academic system that need to be recognized and examined to prevent a cultural divide that already exists in the larger social context created by politics and the media. Teachers and academic leaders are the most important factors that governments and agencies should be focusing on when it comes to building cultural understanding and effective communication between cultures.