Previous research suggests that Muslim women can experience particular problems when taking physical education (PE) lessons, for example with dress codes, mixed-teaching and exercise during Ramadan and they can face restrictions in extra-curricular activities for cultural and religious reasons. The area is underresearched and there is little evidence of comparative studies that explore similarities and differences in crossnational experiences, which is the aim of this paper. Two studies conducted in Greece and Britain that explored the views of Muslim women on school experiences of physical education are compared. Both studies focused on diaspora communities, Greek Turkish girls and British Asian women, living in predominantly non-Muslim countries. Physical education has national curriculum status and a similar rationale in both countries but with different cultures of formality and tradition, which impacted on pupils’ experiences. For the British women religious identity and consciousness of Islamic requirements were more evident than for the Greek women. Differences in stages of acculturation, historical and socio-cultural contexts contributed to less problematic encounters with physical education for Greek Muslims who appeared more closely assimilated into the dominant culture.
Source: World Journal of Islamic History and Civilization
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