Research Objectives & Agenda

I am interested in how collegiate environments support the development of religion and spirituality. All too often, the topic of religion gets swept under the rug even though religion is one of the strongest societal forces America is experiencing today. Christian hegemony is entrenched in our day-to-day life, yet many educators, especially those at public and nonsectarian institutions, would rather avoid the topic entirely rather than engage in its complex dynamics. The opportunity for learning about ourselves, each other, and the very core of the Republic is lost. As a Muslim student coming from Syria, my time in college was poignantly influential to how I came to see and understand myself and the people around me, and sparked my interest in interfaith learning and development.

I joined the team at the Ohio State University to work on the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey (IDEALS), a nationally representative mixed-methods study representing 122 campuses including 18 in-depth case studies. I have focused a portion of my research on a specific outcome which is the appreciative attitudes toward religiously minoritized communities. For example, using IDEALS data, my coauthors and I showed how growth occurs in Muslim appreciation after one year in college and across four years. In the paper I co-authored in Research in Higher Education about the development of appreciative attitudes of non-Muslims toward Muslims in the first year of college, my colleagues and I used hierarchical linear modeling to parse out the effects of individual-level and institutional-level factors on the appreciation of Muslims. This analytical choice allowed us to speak about student engagement at the micro-level (e.g., number of programs attended) and the institution at the macro-level (e.g., number of inclusive policies, institutional culture of appreciation), thus supporting conclusions and implications for policy and practice at both levels.

Throughout my research on religion and spirituality from IDEALS, a recurring pattern emerged: students experience productive dissonance in classroom environments that appear to be safe places for students to engage in difficult conversations. The outcomes of such dissonance are dependent on the faculty’s ability to make space for diverse attitudes to emerge. I intend to continue my work on religion and spirituality in higher education, but to expand my scope to focus more on classroom environments and interactions, specifically as they relate to how students interrogate, challenge, and change (or maintain) their beliefs.

Another research focus that is apparent in my efforts, presentations, and publications is on issues related to queer and trans (QT) students in higher education. While at the University of Vermont, I worked with Dr. Jason Garvey on launching the Queer and Trans People in Education (QTPiE) research team. Four years later, I rejoined the team as a Research Affiliate and worked with colleagues on numerous projects including a pending grant proposal to the National Science Foundation entitled A Mixed-Methods Examination of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual High School Student STEM Identity, School Climate, and Postsecondary STEM Pursuits. In addition, I led the effort to write a paper about campus climate and perceptions of QT students who attend a religiously affiliated institution of higher education. The analysis focused on understanding campus climate using individual-level dimensions such as campus engagement, and institutional-level dimensions such as compositional diversity. The paper has been accepted at the upcoming conference for the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) and is currently under review in an academic journal. This paper bridges the gap between religion and spirituality and gender and sexuality and provides a foundation for future research focusing on sectarian institutions. Religiously-affiliated institutions are a promising area for suture research and I have garnered the experiences and the connections needed to undertake significant research throughout my academic career.

In addition, I have gained substantial experience in quantitative data analysis and interpretation. I honed my quantitative research skills by taking two general linear model courses that cover regression and ANOVA and an advanced course in multilevel modeling. I have put the skills gained in those courses into practice by using IDEALS longitudinal data to conduct analyses about the role of higher education in nurturing worldview diversity; enhancing intergroup understanding and appreciation; and achieving pluralistic outcomes such as global citizenship, commitment to leadership, and goodwill toward others. For example, during ASHE 2022, I will be presenting with colleagues a paper that uses linear growth modeling of longitudinal data to examine the appreciation of Muslims as a 4-year developmental outcome. This example along with others from my research portfolio demonstrates my ability to work with and conduct quantitative research.  

My dissertation research uses a constructivist grounded theory approach to examine how queer Muslim college students integrate their religious and sexual identities. The study builds on two large bodies of research: 1) sexual identity development theories that seldom consider the role of other identities such as religion in identity formation and 2) religious identity development theories that do not always explicitly account for intersections of sexual identities. In my dissertation, I focus on the process of identity integration which is crucial for the healthy formation of young adults. To do so, I use a rigorous protocol of intensive interviews and object solicitation and an iterative analytical approach consistent with the trustworthiness measures of grounded theory research. I hope that the knowledge gained from this research illuminates how collegiate environments contribute to psychosocial development as a key outcome of higher education.