Profile
Sharifa S. Abukar obtained a M.A. in Psychology from Wayne State University and an Administrative Services Credential from the University of San Diego's Educational Leadership Development Academy. She is currently a doctoral candidate in the Joint Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership at the University of California, San Diego and California State University, San Marcos. She was the founding principal of the only private Islamic school in San Diego, California and was also the founding principal of a charter school for underserved children of refugees and immigrants living in San Diego. Her research focuses on how school environments, peer pressure, and attitudes in the dominant society impact Muslim American students’ educational experiences, identity, and sense of self worth. Her study contributes to the corpus of literature that focuses on ethnic, racial, gender, or religious identity in adolescents. In her dissertation, she explores all of these factors as they interact in complex ways and pertain to the educational experiences of Muslim American students. Sharifa strives to building bridges of understanding between Muslim Americans and the general population in the wake of 9/11. She has been a guest lecturer and has given presentations in public school classes, at police officer trainings, in university teacher preparation courses, at administrators' meetings and conferences such as AERA and ACSA, and through life-long learning opportunities such as Elderhostel. In the future, she would like to be involved with action research to promote cultural competency in school environments.
