Thinking about “Islam educationally” and “education Islamically”: What this means for the future of Islamic schooling in Australia

25 September 2018

Islamic school educators are unsung heroes who play vital roles within our school communities. Often this role is all encompassing, sometimes self-inflicted, on account of their passion for education and their commitment to the lives of students and families. Beyond their control are the mounting pressures and demands of the teaching profession. One major pressure is the bombardment of commercial solutions for “quality teaching and learning” providing “expert advice” to our very own classroom experts on “what works”, what makes a “good teacher” and what amounts to “good teaching”? Little of this ‘sage advice’ addresses the unique contextual challenges for Islamic school educators. Three key challenges include: 1) the absence of a framework for practice for a clear understanding of learning and teaching within a faith-based Islamic school; 2) a professional language that can talk within the faith’s education tradition and likewise within contemporary education practice; and 3) tools and strategies that merge both the faith and educative vision of the school, thereby assisting educators in making those all-important real-time educative decisions in classrooms. A framework that would address these challenges would assist Islamic schools’ educators, as the experts of their own teaching contexts and with expert knowledge of their Muslim learners, to think about “Islam educationally” and “education Islamically” (Sahin, 2018). Faith thereby informs and shapes more seamlessly and holistically educators professional practice; providing alignment and coherence within an Islamic school, avoiding faith being ‘ad hoc’ or an ‘add on’. An Islamic pedagogy is one hopeful framework for Islamic school educators, representing a faith-based pedagogy for an Islamic faith-based school. Participants in this public lecture will walk away with a clearer understanding for the potential of an Islamic pedagogy and tips for how to avail from it in their practice.

PRESENTED BY:

Dylan Chown is a Research Fellow at CITE/UniSA. Dylan’s PhD research focuses on Islamic pedagogy in practice within Australian Islamic schools. Dylan draws upon twenty years’ experience in the field of education combining roles of teacher, HOD, principal, consultant, researcher and lecturer. He is a co-editor of the book: Islamic schooling in the West: Pathways to renewal (Palgrave MacMillan).