Since their immigration to the United States, Arab Americans have faced discrimination and stereotyping, especially through the mainstream media. After the events of September 11, 2001, these stereotypes progressed and reports of discrimination significantly increased. As reported by Ibish (2003), incidences of political injustice and ethnic hate crimes, after 9/11, have resulted in dire consequences for Arab American families, especially for their children in the public schools. Following the attacks, Arab American children and adolescents in the K-12 school system faced discrimination and violence from their classmates, teachers, and other school staff.
The purpose of this study was to investigate multiple domains of self-concept in Arab American adolescents in relation to their school experiences, including discrimination, self-perceived teacher and classmate social support, and actual teacher-perceptions. Self-concept was measured by using the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents (Harter, 1988). Results indicated that half of the sample experienced some form of discrimination, either personal or someone the subjects knew. Experiences of discrimination were significantly related to students’ Scholastic Competence and Physical Appearance. Self-perceived classmate support was significantly related to all domains of self-concept. Teacher related variables, however, deemed less significant, except for behavioral aspects of self-concept. Implications of these results are discussed as well as strategies for how to provide positive relationships with Arab American students and families will be outlined.