A groundbreaking study published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications sheds new light on the academic journeys of first-generation minority women navigating graduate education in Israel. This research delves deeply into the lived experiences of Palestinian Muslim women who overcame cultural, linguistic, and institutional barriers to successfully complete a specialized graduate program in school counseling. Employing a rigorous phenomenological methodology, the study articulates a nuanced understanding of how these women interpret and make meaning of their educational paths amidst complex socio-political dynamics.
The researchers chose a phenomenological approach grounded in the traditions of Colaizzi (1978) and contemporary principles outlined by Allman et al. (2024). This methodology emphasizes capturing the subjective realities of individuals by focusing on their unique perspectives rather than imposing external frameworks. By identifying shared themes within participants’ narratives, the authors crafted a vivid portrayal of the essence of these women’s graduate school experience. Phenomenology’s commitment to bracketing researcher biases further ensured that participants’ voices remained authentic and central to analysis.
This study focused on a purposive sample of ten Palestinian Muslim women living in Israel. They had just completed their final year in a graduate counseling program specially designed to offer an Israeli-accredited degree. This cohort was unique: most lacked fluency in Hebrew, came from predominantly Arabic-speaking backgrounds, and had initially low readiness for graduate studies relative to mainstream student populations. Despite these challenges, they persisted, motivated by the barriers they faced due to unaccredited undergraduate degrees from non-Israeli institutions that precluded them from professional employment in Israel.
Demographic data reveal rich contextual layers shaping these women’s educational experiences. The participants ranged in age from 25 to 47, with a mean age of 35.3 years, reflecting a mature, diverse student body juggling multiple roles. Seven were married, eight had children, with families spanning from infants to adult offspring. Socioeconomic backgrounds varied, though most reported average or above-average family incomes. Yet, significant educational gaps persisted in their families of origin: nine of the ten participants were first-generation college students, with parents often lacking formal education or possessing only elementary schooling.
Importantly, the researchers also provide insight into the familial and cultural context influencing these women. Most participants came from large families with numerous siblings, some of whom had pursued higher education. Fathers typically engaged in blue-collar employment, while mothers predominantly assumed homemaker roles. This interplay between traditional family expectations and individual academic aspirations situated the participants at a crossroads of cultural continuity and personal ambition. Their stories illuminate the strategies they employed to negotiate these sometimes conflicting demands.
The research team itself brought a nuanced cultural sensitivity to the study design and analysis. Comprising two female instructors from the graduate program, their positionalities were carefully acknowledged through a bracketing process. The first author is an Israeli Christian Palestinian familiar with the Arab-Palestinian community but not a first-generation student; the second author is a Jewish qualitative researcher experienced in working with Arab students. This conscious effort to identify and mitigate personal biases epitomizes best practices in qualitative phenomenological research, enhancing the trustworthiness of findings.
Data collection combined demographic questionnaires with semi-structured interviews conducted in Hebrew—the shared academic language. Interviews lasted about an hour, allowing for deep reflection and detailed accountings of each woman’s lived experience. All interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and rigorously analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. The iterative approach included validating thematic clusters by returning to participants for feedback, ensuring descriptions accurately reflected their perspectives.
Colaizzi’s method guided the research through an intricate seven-step process. Starting with immersive reading to grasp holistic content, the second author extracted meaningful statements from transcripts. Subsequent steps involved assigning interpretive meanings to these statements and grouping them into thematic clusters reflecting shared experiences. Themes that recurred across at least half the participants were considered significant, emphasizing patterns without neglecting individual variation. The process culminated in rich, textured descriptions capturing the phenomenon’s complexity and a distilled essence representing core elements of the graduate experience.
The findings underscore the resilience and determination these women exhibited in overcoming structural challenges. From linguistic hurdles to navigating accreditation barriers and integrating into academic culture foreign to their own, participants forged paths that transcended mere academic achievement. Their narratives portrayed a dual process of acculturation and self-affirmation, negotiating identity within societies that often marginalize minority populations. This dynamic highlights graduate education as both a site of opportunity and a contested space requiring significant emotional and cognitive labor.
Moreover, the participants’ reflections reveal how tailored institutional support facilitated their success. The specially designed graduate counseling program served as a critical gateway, bridging their unaccredited undergraduate degrees with valid professional credentials. Through selective admission criteria, prerequisite courses, and customized academic scaffolding, the program addressed initial readiness deficits and cultural dissonances. This model exemplifies how educational institutions can enact equity-minded policies to foster first-generation minority women’s inclusion and success.
The study also contributes to broader discussions on first-generation college student experiences globally, especially within minority communities facing intersecting social inequities. It challenges deficit-oriented narratives by showcasing not only barriers but also the rich sources of strength and community resilience fueling academic persistence. The insights generated have profound implications for policy makers, educators, and scholars dedicated to dismantling systemic obstacles and promoting inclusive, empowering graduate education environments.
Furthermore, by situating the participants’ experiences within the socio-political milieu of Israel’s complex cultural landscape, the research illuminates the intersection of ethnicity, language, gender, and education. It highlights the nuanced realities Palestinian Muslim women navigate as they claim space in higher education systems historically dominated by other demographic groups. This contextualization enriches understandings of minority students’ educational experiences, going beyond generic models to incorporate localized dynamics unique to Israeli society.
In sum, this rigorous qualitative investigation opens new horizons for appreciating the complexities embedded in first-generation minority women’s pursuit of graduate education. It melds theoretical sophistication with on-the-ground narratives to offer a comprehensive portrait of their challenges, adaptations, and triumphs. Such scholarship is urgently needed to inform equitable educational reforms globally, especially as increasingly diverse student populations demand learning environments attuned to their distinct histories and needs.
The methodological rigor, cultural insight, and ethical engagement demonstrated serve as exemplary standards for future qualitative studies exploring marginalized groups’ academic experiences. By centering participant voices and employing phenomenology’s depth, the researchers reveal the multifaceted realities behind statistics and policy reports. Their work not only advances academic knowledge but also holds transformative potential for reshaping institutional practices toward genuine inclusion.
As societies worldwide grapple with questions of access, equity, and representation in higher education, the stories of these ten Palestinian Muslim women resonate powerfully. They embody the possibilities when targeted support meets individual determination, illustrating how graduate education can become a catalyst for social mobility and cultural affirmation. This study thus stands as a compelling testament to resilience, community, and hope amid adversity.
Subject of Research: The graduate school experiences of first-generation Palestinian Muslim minority women in Israel participating in a specialized school counseling academic support program.
Article Title: Graduating together: the experience in graduate school of first-generation minority women who participated in an academic support program.
Article References:
Tannous-Haddad, L., Hadar, E. Graduating together: the experience in graduate school of first-generation minority women who participated in an academic support program. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 12, 1417 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05808-6
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