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CORE PRINCIPLES OF AN ISLAMIC-BASED TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM (IBTEC):
IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMMES IN THE MUSLIM WORLD
BY
SAHEED AHMAD RUFAI
A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the
requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education (Curriculum and Instruction)
Institute of Education
International Islamic University Malaysia
JULY 2011
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ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to derive core principles of an Islamic-based teacher education curriculum (IBTEC) from the primary and secondary sources of the Islamic education, and also from critiques of the current practices of teacher education institutions. The study pursued this by investigating in the context of today the essential needs of an effective Muslim teacher, and what should be the components and structure of an IBTEC. In order to establish the suitability of the IBTEC, the study investigated the strength and deficiencies of the dominant Western teacher education models as well as the merits and shortcomings of the dominant Islamic teacher education model. The study, which is conceived of as an Islamic response to Muslims’
call for a teacher education programme that they can truly call their own, revealed the frantic efforts they have made so far in that direction. It discovered that though they were committed to the idea of proffering an ideologically independent model, the end product of their efforts is a model that may be regarded as either a wholesale importation or an Islamic model that is heavily diluted with secular ingredients.
Accordingly, the study took a practical step towards what is largely known in educational parlance as curriculum design with a view to proffering an alternative model derived from the Islamic heritage that is capable of taking care of the inadequacies in both the dominant Western and the dominant Islamic models The designing of the alternative offered by this study was grounded on the rationale that it was the incursion of secularism in the form of materialism and utilitarianism into the Islamic educational tradition that changed its landscape. The comparative evaluation of the models revealed some indebtedness of the dominant Islamic model to the dominant Western model. The comparative evaluation also revealed that the dominant Islamic model offers some idea to the IBTEC and also has several merits which make it more relevant to the Muslims than are the Western models. The end- product of the study is an Islamic-based teacher education curriculum (IBTEC) model whose core principles were derived from the Qur’an, Hadith and contemporary scholarship on the professional practices of teacher education.
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APPROVAL PAGE
The dissertation of Saheed Ahmad Rufai has been approved by the following:
...
Rosnani Hashim Supervisor
...
Sidek Baba Internal Examiner
...
Saedah Siraj External Examiner
...
Siti Rafiah Abd Hamid Chairman
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DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted as a whole for any other degree at IIUM or other institutions.
SaheedAhmad Rufai
Signature………. Date ………..
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INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA
DECLARATION OF COPYIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF FAIRUSE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH
Copyright© 2010 by Saheed Ahmad Rufai. All rights reserved.
CORE PRINCIPLES OF AN ISLAMIC-BASED TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM (IBTEC): IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER EDUCATION
PROGRAMMES IN THE MUSLIM WORLD
No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder except as provided below:
1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research may only be used by other in their writing with due acknowledgement.
2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes.
3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieval system and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other universities and research libraries.
Affirmed by Saheed Ahmad Rufai
……… ……….
Signature Date
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For
My loving and caring parents
Who graciously laid the foundation of this academic attainment But are not alive to witness its materialization.
May Allah be pleased with them.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Alhamdulillah, for the successful completion of this doctoral work.
My profound appreciation is due to my supervisor, Professor Dr. Rosnani Hashim for her kind guidance, thorough supervision, unfailing support, inexhaustive patience, rewarding understanding, consistent efforts and sophisticated scholarship from which I benefitted much in the course of my research and even thereafter. Allah, indeed, instrumentalized her in making a humble learner of me, and I am heavily indebted to her.
My gratitude also goes to the members of my supervisory committee namely Professor Dr. Ratnawati Moh’d Asraf and Associate Professor Dr. Yedullah Kazmi for their meticulous observations and critical comments on the work.
I am indebted to both the academic and administrative staff of the Institute of Education, especially former Director, late Associate Professor Dr. Ahmad Marzuki, current Director, Dr. Siti Rafiah Abd. Hamid, and others such as Professor Sidek Baba (who was my Internal Examiner), Professor Dr. Nordin Sahari, Dr. Mohyani Razikin, Dr. Ismail Hassanein Ahmed Mohammed, Dr. Ismail Ahmad Sheikh and Dr. Siraje Seekamanya.
Other notable individuals whose support I cannot fail to acknowledge here include Alhaji and Alhaja M.K. Ayanwale, Dr. Abdul-Lateef Adegbite, Prof. T.G.O.
Gbadamosi, Dr. Abdul-Lateef Mobolaji Adetona, Dr. Ismail Abdus-Salam, Dr.
Shafeeq Hussain, Alhaji Ahmad Fawzi, as well as the consistent duo of Mr. A.
Adebiyi and Mr. A. Onapajo. I fervently pray Allah to reward them all.
I am grateful to my darling wife, Qudrah Oluwatoyin Abiola, who faithfully maintained the serenity of the homefront throughout the period of my study, and to our children, Saleem, Amirah, Yasirah, and our little ‘Aliyyah, for their endurance.
Ours now is a blissful reunion after the rigorous pursuit of a doctorate in far away Malaysia. Alhamdulillah.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract …….………..……...….…... ii
Abstract in Arabic ...………..………….……….. iii
Approval Page ...………..……...…... iv
Declaration ……...………... v
Copyright Page ..………..………... vi
Dedication ………….………..………... vii
Acknowledgements …..……….……...…... viii
List of Tables ………….………..….………… xii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY..……….. 1
Background of the Study ………... 1
Statements of Problem ………..…... 5
Purpose of the Study ………... 9
Research Questions ……….…... 10
Previous Literature ………... 10
Theoretical Framework ……… 20
Significance of the Study ………... 21
Methodology of the Study... 22
Limitations of the Study………... 29
Organisation of the Study ……….….……….. 31
CHAPTER TWO: TEACHER EDUCATION IN THE ISLAMIC TRADTION……….…...……. 33 Introduction ………...………... 33
Teaching and Learning in Islamic History ………... 33
Teachers in Islamic Tradition………... 37
Subjects Taught ………... 38
Kuttab……….. 41
Elementary Education……….. 42
Curriculum of Higher Education………. 43
The Roles and Responsibilities of the Teachers……….. 48
Classification of Teachers……… 50
Requirements and Qualifications of a Teacher……… 55
Teacher’s Methodology………... 58
Ethics of Students and Teachers………... 62
Accreditation of Teachers………. 64
Decline in the Status of Teachers in Muslim Settings………... 67
Muslim Teacher Education Curricula across the Ages………. 70
The Status of Teachers in Muslim Settings Today……… 73
Educational Crisis among Muslims of Today………... 77
Conclusion………. 77
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CHAPTER THREE: CORE PRINCIPLES OF AN ISLAMIC-BASED TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM MODEL….……….
82
Introduction……….……….. 82
Curriculum Design……….……… 83
Curriculum Design Models……….………... 89
The Concept of Principles in Curriculum Design……….. 91
The Concept of Cores Principles in Curriculum Design ...………... 92
Islamic Educational Philosophy……….… 92
Sources of Islamic Principles………. 93
The Islamic-Based Teacher Education Curriculum (IBTEC)………... 95
Core Principles of the IBTEC……… 97
Elaboration of the Core Principles of the IBTEC……….… 100
Aims of the IBTEC………... 119
Concluding Analysis….……… 114
CHAPTER FOUR: A DESIGN OF AN ISLAMIC-BASED TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM……… 121 Introduction……… 121
Aims of the IBTEC Curriculum………. 124
The IBTEC Curriculum……….. 124
The IBTEC Curriculum Content……… 134
Knowledge Structure of IBTEC……… 135
General Education……….. 139
Professional Education………... 142
Specialized Education……… 143
General Knowledge of the Muslim Teacher……….. 145
Professional Knowledge of the Muslim Teacher……… 147
Specialized Knowledge of the Muslim Teacher………. 148
Teaching Practicum...………. 150
Practical Programmes………. 151
Curriculum Structure………. 154
Major and Minor Courses………... 163
Teacher’s Pedagogy……… 165
Teaching Practice……… 172
Evaluation in the IBTEC………... 173
Conclusion………. 177
CHAPTER FIVE: A COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF THE IBTEC WITH DOMINANT WESTERN AND DOMINANT ISLAMIC TEACHER EDUCATION MODELS……….. 179
Introduction……….. 179
Teachers’ College, Columbia University Model.……… 180
Teachers College Mission and Standards……… 182
The University of Wisconsin, Madison Model……… 184
Vision……… 185
Goals………. 186
Strategies……….. 186
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Licensing Requirements……… 187
Teacher Standards……… 187
Comparative Evaluation……… 189
Aims……….. 190
Curriculum Structure……… 192
Curriculum Content……….. 194
A Comparison of the IBTEC and IIUM Teacher Education Model……… 197
Vision……… 198
Mission……….. 198
Programme Objectives……….. 200
Curriculum Structure and Content……… 201
Curriculum Content………... 203
Minor Courses………... 205
Comparative Analysis on IIUM and IBTEC……… 205
Discussion of Table………... 208
CHAPTER SIX: SUMMARY, IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS….. 211
Summary of the Study……….. 211
Implications for Theory and Practice……… 215
Implications for Future Research……….. 217
Conclusions……….. 218
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……….. 222
APPENDIX I: CLASSIFICATION OF SCIENCES IN ISLAM……... 230 APPENDIX II: TEACHERS COLLEGE PROGRAMME IN TEACHING OF SOCIAL STUDIES………
233 APPENDIX III: MISSION AND VISION STATEMENT AND LICENCING REQUIREMENTS FOR TEACHERS AT UNIVERSITY WISCONSIN, MADISON………
235
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LIST OF TABLES
Table No. Page No.
2.1 Summary of the Features of Teacher Education in Various Periods 72 4.1 An Overview of the IBTEC Curriculum for a 3 ½ -4 Year
Programme
157
4.2 University Requirement (General Knowledge) of IBTEC 159 4.3 Faculty Requirement (Professional Education) of the IBTEC
159
4.4 Practical Programmes of the IBTEC 163
5.1 Curriculum Components of the Columbia Model of Teacher Education
183
5.2 The Comparative Credit Hours and Percentages of the IBTEC and the Western Models As Represented By the Teachers College Columbia Model
193
5.3 A Comparison of the Curriculum Structures of the IIUM and the IBTEC
202
5.4 University Required Courses (General Education) 203 5.5 Institute Required Courses (Professional Education) 204 5.6 Programme Required Courses for Islamic Education (Major) 204 5.7 A Comparison of IBTEC, IIUM and Western Models 207
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CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Teachers occupy a prominent place in any educational system. They are even said to be the life wire of the system. In the educational parlance, they are also said to be a major determinant of the quality of their products (i.e. students). This thinking has indeed led some to rationalize that for any society to realize its developmental goals, adequate attention must be paid to its educational system which itself has teachers as its pivot.
Teacher preparation, as is known today, started in the United States in 1848 in high schools (Larabee, 1992). Those high schools contributed significantly in preparing teachers, for the elementary schools of the day. As time progressed, they became known as normal schools when they assumed more responsibility for teacher preparation.
According to Meyers and Saul (1974), the metamorphosis of the normal schools into the university by either joining the existing faculties of education or becoming full-fledged faculties within the universities themselves only took place between the years 1860 and 1950 in North America and later in Europe. This explains why Larabee (1992) states that “over the period of some one hundred years, the task of preparing teachers moved form the high school to the university.” Marvin (1992) however traces the origins of the problem of teacher education to that transition period of one hundred years. Teachers used to be regarded as responsible only for the transmission of the knowledge of the previous generation to the present. In the modern
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world, however, there have been changes in philosophy and curriculum. Such changes demand a new breed of teachers who can withstand modern challenges. That explains why teacher education is expected to be cognizant of such challenges, aspirations, and demands of the society. Unless necessary modifications are made on their preparation programmes, teachers may not be able to adequately fulfill their changed role.
During the 1950s and 1960s, there were a number of debates over the need for the improvement of teacher education in the Western world especially the United States of America (Haynes, 1975). It is interesting to note that these debates have taken place in the contexts of two differing traditions of teacher education in the Western world namely that which “stressed the mastery of pedagogical methods and was associated with the normal schools and the preparation of teachers for elementary schools”, and that which “stressed the need for rigorous academic training which was usually provided by liberal arts colleges and universities for secondary school teachers” (Haynes, 1975: 15).
In specific terms, the 1950s witnessed efforts targeted at disbanding the Colleges of Education in the largest universities, “on the grounds that they lacked academic rigour, and to transfer the responsibility for teacher training to other more rigorous departments of the universities” (p.15). The outcome of such efforts was that in the latter part of 1950’s the quality of teacher education programmes was again put to question as part of the general reaction to the hitherto unsatisfactory quality of teacher education. According to Weiss (1969: 6), the most widespread controversy among teacher educators emanated from the “suggestions made by Count (1963)” in his attempt to stimulate a national debate among educators and laymen on the question of how to educate the teachers of American youth. The debate continued steadily until 1966 and consequently, Count was “disappointed with the tangible changes resulting
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from the debate”, as only “few institutions altered their programmes to implement Conant’s recommendations while the book did stimulate some experimentation in the field of teacher education” (Weiss, 1969: 6).
It was in quest for better quality in teacher education that the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) began in the 1950s studies of teacher centers with a view to offering an ameliorative proposal (Lessinger, 1970).
However, the enthusiastic pursuit of improvement of the quality of teacher education towards the end of the 1960s has drawn its inspiration from Britain which has since been battling with similar challenges in her Colleges of Teacher Education which is why the American experience in this regard has often been described as a replication of the Britich experience in teacher education. In the two different settings, scholars and researchers have continued to work frantically towards the evolution of what may be accepted as a satisfactory quality in teacher education which is why, as will be demonstrated later in this study, the models dominant in such settings may not be accepted as ideal or adequate for the training of Islamic teachers whose religious orientation, teachings, and ideology are totally different from those of the Western- oriented teachers.
In the Islamic tradition, teachers are held in high esteem in view of the belief that as men of knowledge they rank next to the prophets. Aside from the professional role of imparting knowledge, teachers in Islam are also regarded as mu’addibun that instill and inculcate adab in their students. In the Islamic tradition, the society can only be sustained and advanced on the basis of faith, knowledge and education. This explains why the role of teachers “assumes the highest importance in the educational system and in society in general” (Nakosteen, 1964). This important role accounts for
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the importance attached to teachers’ faith, character and conducts, in addition to their knowledge, skills, and other prerequisites.
The degree of respect accorded the teacher in the early centuries of Muslim education was determined by two factors namely where he taught, and the level at which he taught. In countries such as Persia, for instance, reverence for the teacher had a long tradition in Zoroastrian education, and this tradition continued into the Islamic period. Similarly was reverence for the teacher increased through secondary and higher education, while elementary teachers commanded less respect because of their modest learning (Makdisi, 1981). The little respect accorded teachers at elementary level is itself a product of the thinking that that level of education seems to have attracted mediocre minds.
During the early centuries of Islam, there were only six types of teachers namely the muallim, the mu’addib, the mudarris, the sheikh, the ustadh, and the imam.
Alongside these categories of teachers were private tutors and muayyids, who were assistants or junior instructors (Makdisi, 1981). At each of these levels, a teacher fulfilled the role of a guide. Such a role was later given a theoretical justification by Muslim educational theorists such as Ibn Sina and Al-Ghazali (al-Naqib, 1993). The role of teachers, according to them, extends beyond transmission of knowledge and encompasses guidance and counseling, especially at pre-college level and on the choice of career. Closely related to this is the Muslim teachers’ role in the promotion of freedom of inquiry, scholarship and intellectual excellence.
The methods of instruction included formal delivery of lecture before the students. The teacher read from prepared manuscripts or from a text which he explained before entertaining questions and contributions from the students. Students
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were encouraged to question the teacher’s statements and even to differ with him provided they had evidence to support themselves with.
As time progressed, Muslim education which initially encouraged debates, experimentation, and individualism, began to encourage formal methods, memorization and recitation. The spontaneous and free system of education which used to encourage the pursuit of learning and inspire others to enlightenment, later lost its sense of intellectual adventure.
There is no gainsaying that Muslims, across the ages, appreciate the significant role of the teacher in their education. They recall with nostalgia the tools of various scholastic disciplines, and of science and experimentation which they once owned. They now seem conscious of the double-edged nature of education and the need to ensure its receipt from the appropriate source. Their quest for a teacher education programme that is based on their religious teachings and practice has appreciably stimulated the intellectual curiosity of their scholars. The rationale for such quest or concern stems from the consideration that it is only teachers produced by such a programme that can effectively implement Islamic-based curricula.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
There is a long-felt need for an Islamic-based teacher education curriculum in the Muslim world today. Muslim educationists have made frantic efforts to evolve a model that will satisfy the need of the Muslims. Yet what has been achieved so far is either a wholesale importation or heavily diluted with secular ingredients. There has not been as yet a good reflection of indebtedness to the Islamic teacher educational tradition in what is predominant in the contemporary Muslim world, as teacher education programmes (Al-Zuhayli, 2009). A truly Islamic-based teacher education
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system is expected to “derive from the Qur’an, Sunnah, and other sources in the Islamic heritage” (p. 14). That explains why such efforts as having been made so far by the Muslims have not ceased to be criticized for not being satisfactory and successful. Specific illustration with some of the critical comments attracted by the contemporary trends in Muslim teacher education is not being out of place at this juncture.
First, Muslim educationists feel that such models as having been imported from non-Muslim settings cannot be taken as adequate for the training of teachers who will ultimately implement curricula of Islamic-based schools or systems (Chaudhri and Naqeb, 1980; Al-Aroosi, 1980; and Kinnany, 1980). For instance, Muslim students are today considered morally inferior. Many of them are involved in social ills and are even disrespectful to their elders. They are also involved in a number of experiences that are alien to the Islamic tradition. It is more intriguing that crime has started to thrive among Muslim educated elites themselves (Rosnani, 1996). According to Hamadi (2005), the Muslim world has of late “officially inaugurated an age of ‘smart crime’, as the technological knowledge acquired at schools began to be utilized in the planning and execution of sophisticated untraceable misdeeds”. Yet Islamic education is essentially morally and spiritually-oriented. There is no gainsaying that a successful implementation of an Islamic-based curriculum model depends largely on the nature and quality of the teacher preparation programme. A wholesale importation or adoption of the dominant Western models, according to critics, cannot help because the Islamic education system has its own merits and characteristic features and principles some of which are alien to other systems. Muslims have realized the deficiencies in the dominant models and seem in dire need of one with potency to satisfy their educational needs and aspirations.
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Second, critics feel that where there is no wholesale importation or adoption of the dominant models, most teacher training colleges in the Muslim world have their teacher educational package heavily diluted with the Western secular contents (Baloch, 1980; Al-Aroosi, 1980; Shami, 1980; and Shalabi, 1980). For instance, Al- Azhar University in Egypt, which was reputed for countering the alien secular influences from the West, by imparting into its students an Islamic education at the feet of the ‘ulama, succumbed in the mid 1950s to the pressure for the inclusion of some secular contents otherwise called modern ingredients in its teacher preparation programmes (Eccel, 1984) Accordingly, secularism is now fast becoming dominant even in Muslim settings. Such a practice, critics say, causes Islamic scholars to question the adequacy and sufficiency of such programmes for the preparation of teachers who will ultimately implement the curricula of Islamic-based schools and colleges. Muslims have begun to recognize the need for a teacher education system that is fashioned in line with the Islamic ideals. The existing system, they believe, cannot but prove counterproductive by producing for them teachers whose orientation and ideological persuasions are not in consonance with the spirit of Islamic education.
Third, the model could on the other hand be so morally, spiritually and religiously concerned without much regard for new pedagogical approaches or development in instructional technology that could innovate their teaching. It could be possible too that there is not much regard to children or human development that the teaching become so subject centered. This is so owing to the erroneous belief among some Muslim scholars that by focusing on the moral and spiritual development of the recipient of knowledge, their own model will make a difference in teacher education as the dominant Western models are not known for adequate provision for these domains. They therefore worked decisively to provide a model with considerable
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moral and spiritual contents, on account of their erroneous thinking that that is what really makes a model “truly Islamic”. However, the Western models, in contrast to such a belief, attach importance to these aspects of teacher education albeit without necessary grounding such provisions on religious teachings, as will be demonstrated later in this study.
Fourth, Muslim educationists emphasize the need for a major reexamination of teacher education curricula for Islamic-based educational institutions with a view to making the Islamic system stand on its own ideological feet (Chaudhri and Naqeb, 1980; Baloch, 1980; Shami, 1980; Kinnani, 1980; Al-Aroosi, 1980). The pursuit of such a goal informs the need for studies to (i) define the more specific requirements of an Islamic-based teacher education model, (ii) develop some guiding principles which may serve as the main directional goals for the whole system, and (iii) determine the implications of the Guiding Principles in the light of the actual needs and problems of each country and its local conditions, so that a sound and beneficial teacher education programme can be developed.
Such a teacher education model as being advocated by today’s Muslims is one that is capable of producing a teacher who would be more than a mere functionary.
Such a teacher as would be produced by the proposed programme is expected to be a model to be emulated and also expected to “treat his charges not as so many sheep or cattle which needed to be herded or disciplined but as impressionable human beings whose characters were to be moulded and who were to be initiated by him into the moral code which society cherished” (Husain and Ashraf, 1989: 104). This is a direct contrast to the position of the teacher in modern society, the Muslim world inclusive, where he “is looked upon as a mere fuctionary who draws a salary either from the State or from a private organization and has certain specific responsibilities to
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discharge” (p. 104). Such teachers may therefore not be appropriate for the implementation of school curricula in Muslim settings.
Having realized the need for an Islamic-based teacher preparation model, Muslims seem uncomfortable with the dominant models operating in their society.
They impatiently anticipate the evolution of one that they can consider truly Islamic.
What are the features and core principles of a curriculum model for an Islamic-based teacher preparation programme? That is the problem to which this study is devoted.
PURPOSES OF THE STUDY
The main purpose of this study is to derive the features and core principles of a curriculum model for an Islamic-based teacher education programme (IBTEC) from the primary and secondary sources of Islamic education, and also from critiques of the current practices of teacher education institutions.
The study intends to investigate in the context of today the essential requirements to be an effective Muslim teacher, and what should be the components and structure of an IBTEC curriculum, precisely its philosophy, curriculum content, curriculum structure, and methodology as well as programme evaluation.
The study also intends to investigate the strength and deficiencies of the dominant Western secular teacher education models as well as the merits and shortcomings of the existing dominant Islamic teacher education models with a view to establishing what, in specific terms, are the commonalities and differences between them and the newly designed model (IBTEC) and with a view to highlighting what the proposed model has to offer.
The study is ultimately an Islamic response to the Muslim call for a teacher education programme that they can truly call their own. It is, in a way, a Muslim’s
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contribution to the understanding and appreciation of what his religion has to offer in the area of teacher education.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In specific terms, the research intends to answer the following questions.
1. What is the nature of teacher education in the Islamic tradition?
2. What are the core principles of an Islamic-based teacher education curriculum (IBTEC)?
3. How do the core principles of the proposed Islamic-based model translate into a curriculum?
4. How do the features and components of the dominant Western, secular teacher education programme compare with the IBTEC model?
5. How do the features and components of the dominant Islamic teacher education model, say in an Islamic university in Malaysia, Egypt or Indonesia compare with the newly designed IBTEC model?
PREVIOUS LITERATURE
It is both inconceivable and lamentable that the teacher education programme dominant in the Muslim world today is heavily indebted to the Western models which themselves have been described by scholars such as Baloch (1980) and Kinnany (1980) as both invalid and inadequate for the secular setting, let alone an Islamic setting where the role of the teacher is more challenging. For instance, Al-Aroosi (1980) maintains that it is not enough that an Islamic teacher should be well-read in Islamic material, or that he should possess an insight into Islamic beliefs and doctrines. Al-Aroosi in fact identifies two essential qualities as a sine qua non for an
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Islamic teacher after his acquisition of profound literacy in Islamic material and his possession of a good insight into Islamic beliefs and fundamental judgments. One of the two essential ingredients, according to him, is a true academic and intellectual capacity, and the other is the moral ability to enable his pupils see the symbolic relationship between his works and actions. However, these qualities are not restricted to teachers for the essential discipline of Islamic education as “teachers of other objects, too, must be men and women with moral beliefs; for their function is to impart what they teach in a religiously healthy way which promotes growth of knowledge and development of the mind.” Al-Aroosi’s suggestion is that the teacher be trained to be efficient and capable of discharging this responsibility as a teacher by the appropriate method. The Islamic-based teacher training should be in the most judicious and effective way conceivable, Al-Aroosi insists.
According to Kinnany (1980) “the most effective way to produce and propagate good models of Islamic education” is to establish special institutes of education where qualified teachers-cum educational leaders can be trained to demonstrate the theory and practice of Islamic education and to prepare more leaders in the field.” He observes that Islamic education need not copy the example of other systems of education in order to be effective, as it has its own merits and characteristics and should be able to stand on its own ideological feet. For Muslims to regain their lost glory, Kinnany emphasizes the need for them to “reconsider the way teachers are trained and qualified, infuse a religious spirit into every subject and course, adopt suitable Islamic teaching methods, foster student brotherhoods, acquire the necessary techniques and skills for the advancement of society, foster spiritual and moral values among both students and society, and fill their hearts with the love of God and reliance on His support to serve Islam and humanity.” Kinnany indeed did
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not mince words in stating that such a goal can only be realized if Muslims demonstrate the immense potential of Islamic education and effectiveness of its methods through a model of teacher education.
In the opinion of Shami (1980) such a model teacher education system that will serve the Muslims effectively must be a complete system for teacher preparation comprising all the important elements, and properly implemented after being carefully designed. Such a holistic teacher preparation system, Shami maintains, must not be indebted to the Western models, whose effectiveness has been put to question even in the Western setting (Kinnany, 1980; Baloch,1980), and must be truly Islamic –based in all its core areas such as admission criteria, course work, student teaching, organizational climate, teacher
Baloch (1980) differs slightly from Shami and others in his own attitude to the need for a reconstruction of teacher education in Islamic Society. For instance, he identifies as primary and fundamental to the Muslims’ quest for a valid teacher preparation programme of their own the definition of more specific requirements of Islamic education and development of some guiding principles which may serve as the main directional goals for the whole system. He also emphasizes the need to determine the implications of the guiding principles in the light of the actual needs and problems of each country and its local conditions. Baloch further elucidates that Islamic education in general, and teacher education in particular, have significant role to play in solving the various problems faced in the Muslim world.
It is in the light of the “actual needs and problems of each country” as enumerated by Baloch that Al-Rasheed and Abdul-Latif (1980) emphasise the need for teachers to be well acquainted with their national culture and at the same time with
