Aishah Sabki

The madrasah concept of Islamic pedagogy

As higher education has become increasingly internationalized, with unprecedented cultural and religious diversity, there seems to be a call for a more heterogeneous understanding of educational thought. Our research supports a need to broaden our understanding of higher education traditions in pedagogy by looking beyond our contemporary university institutions. Raising our understanding of higher education madrasahs offers one such route. Our theoretical research offers an insight into the characterising concepts of Islamic pedagogy that are represented by the interplay between memorization, orality and the use of the written word in supporting the learning process. The notion of Islamic pedagogy is defined from a madrasah perspective, which requires empathy with the Islamic premise of the inseparable nature of knowledge and the sacred.

Cognitive Learning Styles and Digital Equity: Searching for the Middle Way

This research is driven by a desire to understand the lifelong learner in the context of styles of learning and the emerging implications of technology enhanced learning for digital equity. Recognising cognitive learning styles is the first step educators need to take in order to be most effective in working with students of diversity and bridging across formal and informal settings. Learning environments as a characterising feature of learning styles have undergone unprecedented change over the past decade with learning environments now blending physical and virtual space. To support the increasing diversity of learners pedagogy has to be fair, culturally responsive, equitable and relevant to the ‘virtual generation’. This, in turn, will inform our understanding of the ‘middle way’ in recognising cognitive learning styles, associated cultural context, and the implications to digital pedagogy equity.

An insight into Islamic pedagogy at the University of al‐Qarawiyyin

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into teaching practice of the University of al‐Qarawiyyin, Morocco, with a particular focus on Islamic pedagogy.Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted daily participant observations of “teaching circles” over a seven‐month period. The participant observation was achieved from engaging in the daily life of al‐Qarawiyyin and from developing relationships with teachers and students of the university.Findings – The fieldwork has shown that teaching methods of particular significance are based on the characterising concepts of knowledge and the sacred; and on the development of skills such as orality (both seen as oral transmission from teacher to students and as a traditional mode for transmitting knowledge in the Arab cultures) and memorisation of the sacred text. Islamic pedagogy is understood by the way these aspects are woven together.Originality/value – The paper demonstrates that what is unique to the Islamic pedagogy of al‐Qarawi...

The Use of IT in Freight Forwarding in the UK

A survey undertaken in May 1993 analysed UK companies of various sizes, i.e. small, medium and large, in order to have a representative sample of freight forwarding companies. The response gave a good indication of the impact of IT on freight forwarding, an important part of the distribution system. The questionnaires were generally completed by managing directors, chief executives and information systems managers. The research undertaken concentrates on the movement process of freight and in particular how IT has affected the freight forwarding industry in the UK in terms of the technology used, the effect on staff at all levels within such an organization and a firm′s competitive position in the marketplace.

Islamic Pedagogy and Embodiment: An Anthropological Study of a British Madrasah

This anthropological study of a higher education British Madrasah was undertaken to increase our awareness of the spectrum of sensory experiences that shape Islamic pedagogy. We started our anthropological study from an Islamic premise of the inseparable nature of knowledge and the sacred. Pedagogy is defined as not a matter of simple methods and technique but as a holistic approach that deals with the capacity to form the human person. Islamic pedagogy is represented by the heartfelt interactions between the teacher and learner through orality, facilitating memorization, and the didactic approach towards sacred texts. This research has explored the sensoria of a British Madrasah from a spiritual approach and this provides the foundation for shaping our understanding of the madrasah concept of Islamic pedagogy. An Al-Ghazali’s mystical-theoretical approach toward learning is evident in this research in defining the madrasah as a spiritual rather than social construct, and is optimized by the embodiment of learning.

The Face of Digital Literacy for Muslim Teenage Girls: A Comparative Study of Bradford Muslim Girl Schools.

This paper is grounded in a qualitative approach, to call forth the views of Muslim teenage girls on their access and use of learning technologies for inclusive educational practice. The 45 Muslim teenage girls, aged 14–19 years old, from three British Muslim girls schools participated in this empirical study. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection and the data were analysed using template analysis, matrix analysis, and cross-case analysis. The pupils had strong aspirations that learning technologies and computers should support their learning and attainment, but their access and use to supporting technologies was mixed. It was found through a comparative analysis of the data that all the Muslim teenage girls that entered Muslim schools felt secure and performed competently. Furthermore, the educational success of School A was attributable to educational norms and values relative to the provision of digital resources and skilled teaching staff. The educational experiences of School B and School C were more variable due to access to digital technologies, provision of digital contents and skilled teaching staff. Furthermore, this research study seems to highlight a marked difference between the Muslim School environment and the social context of teenage girls outside the educational setting.

“Black Day to Freedom”: informal multicultural education initiative: Supporting expressions of refugee identity by migrant artists

Purpose – “Black Day to Freedom” project was the culmination of five years of performance ethnography research that continues today in various forms through BeyondLabels. The title “Black Day to Freedom” came from an asylum seeker participating in a “free verse” workshop where all participants expressed their views on globalisation, social movement of people and identity. “Black Day to Freedom” his title, provides an insight into his perceptions of life and this framed a need to conduct further research into providing a voice for refugees and asylum seekers through informal multicultural education and associated visual arts expression.Design/methodology/approach – The research follows a performance ethonographic perspective into the informal multicultural education project specific to exploring expressions of identity of refugee by migrant artists.Findings – The informal multicultural education initiative specific to exploring expressions of identity of refugee by migrant artists was highly personalised a...

Understandings of Islamic pedagogy for personalised learning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore what is believed to be a deep connection between Islamic pedagogy as a way to cultivate personal learning experiences. The paper discusses the relationship between the characterising features of Islamic pedagogy and personalised learning that remains central to Islamic institutional developments. The paper concludes by highlighting the importance of the embodiment of knowledge in Islamic pedagogy for personalised learning. Design/methodology/approach – The endeavours to define the characterising features that represents the relationship between Islamic pedagogy and knowledge embodiment. Findings – The paper proposes that Islamic pedagogy is dependent on both a personalised approach towards teacher and student embodiment. From an Islamic perspective, embodiment has a physical and spiritual dimension where prophecy is retained and is inherent to existence and daily practice. Without the embodied learning the Islamic approach towards pedagogy is seen to disco...

Developing an e‐commerce solution: a case study of TimeXtra

The paper focused on the design and development of the TimeXtra e‐commerce solution including: front end interaction, mid‐end integration and back‐end support infrastructure. Our focus in this paper is e‐commerce Web services enabling communities of transaction. The Web services by facilitating direct interaction between the customer and TimeXtra created an online transaction market. This connectivity has served to act as a powerful solution that has transformed the traditional value chain in creation of a successful Web services e‐commerce model.

Differences in access to information and communication technologies: Voices of British Muslim teenage girls at Islamic faith schools

Purpose Most research on information and communication technologies (ICT) differences has been related to gender and ethnicity, and to a lesser extent religious affiliation. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this field of research by situating the discussion in the context of British Muslims and extending current research into ICT differences beyond gender and ethnicity. Design/methodology/approach This paper explores the ICT differences in access and use by British Muslim teenage girls at Islamic faith schools, and ICTs’ perceived influence on learning. The qualitative research was undertaken by conducting 45 semi-structured interviews with British Muslim teenage girls in Islamic faith schools. Findings The study provides tentative findings that Islamic faith schools are not only framed by the wider diverse Muslim community, but also by the supplementary schooling of madrasahs. The findings suggest that the home use of ICTs was reinforced rather than compensated for by the Islamic faith schools. This seemed to inhibit many pupils’ access to online educational resources. The authors found that didactic instruction was prevalent and this provided tentative insights into the types of digital inequity experienced by many pupils. Originality/value The research into ICT differences in the UK adopted the premise that the unity in Muslim identity increasingly transcends ethnicity and gender in the Muslim community.