Attitudes of Arab Third-Culture Kids Toward Learning Arabic for Religious Purposes

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the attitudes of third-culture Arab children toward learning the Arabic language for religious purposes and to examine the significance of differences in their responses according to the variables of gender and age group. This was conducted in light of the importance of the Arabic language in strengthening their connection to their cultural and religious identity and fostering a sense of belonging to Arab and Islamic culture among members of this group. The study adopted a descriptive-analytical approach. The study sample consisted of (17) Arabic language learners from third-culture Arab children who were born to two Arab parents in Western countries and raised there. To collect data, the researcher used a questionnaire consisting, in its final form, of (20) items distributed across several domains related to participants’ attitudes toward learning Arabic and using it in religious contexts. The results showed that third-culture Arab children had positive attitudes toward learning Arabic for religious purposes, reflecting their recognition of the importance of Arabic in understanding religious texts and practices and strengthening their connection to their cultural identity. The results also indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in the mean responses of the participants regarding their attitudes toward learning Arabic for religious purposes attributable to gender. Similarly, no statistically significant differences were found attributable to age group. These findings indicate a general convergence in the attitudes of the participants, regardless of differences in gender and age group.