Systems of Social Identity: Citizen Identities Shaping Female Jordanian and Syrian Refugee Students in Amman's Public Schools

Abstract

This study explores displacement, socialization, resistance, and citizenship by examining citizen identity formation of female schoolchildren and youths at three government (public), double-shift schools in Amman, whereby Jordanian girls attend school in the morning and Syrian refugee girls attend in the afternoon. Because Jordan (along with Lebanon) has the greatest influx of Syrian refugees in the world, school serves as a critical site for interrogating how systems of identity are upheld or altered for children and youths as a result of migration. Qualitative data from 12 focus groups with 90 students (36 Jordanians and 54 refugees) reveal a strong Arab Islamic identity. While Jordanian girls express support for king and country that exhibits pride in their Jordanian national identity, the majority of Syrian refugee girls feel a strong sense of alienation and displacement in Jordan. While proud of Jordan's role as a refugee host state to Arabs fleeing political persecution and societal destruction, some of the female participants acknowledge that Jordan may have reached its maximum capacity to assist despite its commitment to Arab unity.