Partnership Between Dar Al Ulum and HE Interim Report July 2011

8/14/2019 Partnership Between Dar Al Ulum and HE Interim Report July 2011

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An exploration of the viability of partnership between dar al-ulum and HigherEducation Institutions in North West England focusing upon pedagogy andrelevance

Ron Geaves, iverpool Hope !niversity

Interi" report #uly $%&&

Introduction and 'ac(groundThe project explores possibilities of collaboration between Muslim providers oftraditional education ( dar al-ulums ) and HE/FE institutions in close geographicalproximit in !orth "est England# $ossible participants for collaboration wereidentified prior to the commencement of the project but as negotiations are now at anadvanced stage % have decided not to reveal the actual locations so as not to

jeopardise the final outcomes# However& it can be revealed that two prominent daral-ulums located in 'ancashire and reater Manchester and affiliated with the

eobandi networ* were identified as possible partners& along with two +hristiancolleges involved in the deliver of undergraduate degrees validated b major !orth"est England universities# The +hristian foundations were selected as the alreadrecruited substantial numbers of Muslim students from their local catchment areas,the were in proximit to several major dar al-ulums and would be interested incollaboration as a result of interest in faith education& interfaith dialogue and issuesof local/national integration# eobandi dar al-ulums were selected as the are theprincipal providers of %slamic traditional education in -ritain# -oth Muslim institutionsidentified provide a secondar school education for ounger students as well as%slamic education to an advanced level& leading to alim status# .s such the areideall placed to ascertain cross fertili0ation of pedagog from traditional %slamiceducation and the teaching of +1E at both levels# The dar al-ulums and HE/FEcolleges identified benefit from geographical proximit to each other and aretherefore ideal for the project#

The project was able to overcome previous challenges with access to eobandi daral-ulums 2 b drawing upon contacts made in previous projects and utilising the samehuman resources that successfull gained access to %ndian eobandi dar al-ulums in3445# The project was influenced b the findings of the Ma*adam/1cott -aumannreport in 3424& in which it was stated that cross fertilisation of pedagogicalmethodologies in the dar al-ulums is alread achieving a uni6ue s nthesis drawingupon s*ills of memor and cognition# 3 However& as stated& the main aim of theproject was to bring together teams of educators/managers from the relevantinstitutions& drawing upon the findings of the Ma*adam/1cott -aumann report as abasis for discussion to see* wa s forward for future collaboration that can developthe s*ills of advanced students in dar al-ulums #7

The project has initiated discussions with the dar al-ulums and the colleges& althoughto date dar al-ulum . and +ollege . are further along the road towards collaborationthan dar al-ulum - and +ollege -# Monitoring of the discussions has begun with aview to the development of programmes but also to anal ticall report on theprocesses of engagement to further understanding of the cultural& religious&educational or other difficulties that need to be overcome to develop future

collaborations an where in the countr # %t is hoped that successful outcome of theproject ma also facilitate the creation of trust and goodwill between different models


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of cultural educators now sharing a common space in the 89# To this end& adetailed log of all contact between the researcher and the major sta*eholders hasbeen maintained with a record of all e mail correspondence# This has been done toprovide a detailed record of access and negotiation#

)rogress-etween the end of !ovember 3424 and :anuar 3422 preliminar negotiations weremade with principal sta*eholders to create a schedule of meetings# issemination ofthe Ma*adam/1cott -aumann ;eport was made to the dar al-ulums < and colleges and the $rincipal of Dar al-ulum

.# The atmosphere of the meeting was extremel cordial and co operative and the$rincipal indicated that earlier attempts had been made b the Dar al-ulum to enterinto collaboration with a local universit that permitted accreditation of the final two

ears of the ars i !i0ami curriculum (234 credits) towards a -. degree# These

discussions had bro*en down after the differences concerning the management ofthe programme# The $rincipal re6uested me to act as an honest bro*er between theDar al-ulum and an HE institutions in the !orth "est# %t was agreed and % re6uestedto meet a group of advanced dars-i nizami students and to sit in on a selection ofclasses in traditional %slamic learning# This was achieved in March#

*eaching +bservation Dar al-ulum A

The students are sorted according to abilit during the first ear of entr in whichthe all engage in learning the ?ur


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st le but there were signs of some tutors being more interactive and encouragingstudents to go behind the specific to see* universal and applicable ethics# 1tudentswere expected to maintain a high level of participation& whether memorising&calculating& conversing or translating# M observations indicated a level of individualstudent engagement and interactive participation that compared ver favourabl with

the higher level cognitive s*ills expected in a -ritish universit # There was certainlmore memorisation going on but it would be a misnomer to state that the pedagogics*ills were based upon rote learning# The attention given to language s*ills wassignificant as the course recognises that without mastering .rabic/8rdu there is littlechance of student success at an significant level# The students in the .dvanced:urisprudence class consisted of graduate students 6ualified to become imams in-ritain# The students were engaged in role pla /case studies calculating inheritanceaccording to %slamic legal recommendations# There were five to six students in asmall classroom e6uipped with whiteboard# The level of engagement and attentionwas high# The arithmetical formulas for complex calculations of actual amounts werehandled well# The students were assessed b being given actual problems sent in fordecisions b members of the communit # Their responses were chec*ed b seniorulema before being sent out to the communit # %n this wa the began to becomeinvolved in the process of issuing fatwa (religious legal rulings) and the classinvolved them in developing higher level critical s*ills#

The facilities of the school are good and demonstrate a st le that borrows from botheast and west# +lassrooms tend to be traditional with students sitting on the floor atlecterns in front of seated teachers# ;espect for teachers is high and classroomdiscipline exceptional# %T facilities are good#

uring lunch % met with six advanced students in the final ears of completion of thears i !i0ami curriculum# The were highl motivated& expressed their desire to

serve humanit /%slam and were excited at the possibilit of engaging in a highereducation 6ualification that ac*nowledged their prior learning# The most commonarticulation was for a -. in %slamic Education that recognised their prior learning inthe ars i !i0ami& ac*nowledging their achievements in the final two ears ofadvanced stud # The agreed that pedagogical st les depended on individualteachers rather than course material but also considered that the intense level ofmemorisation demanded was a useful transferable s*ill (law& for example)# % also meta graduate student who was stud ing ophthalmolog at -radford universit afterachieving high grades in science . 'evels at the Dar al-ulum # He exhibited a high

degree of ethical awareness and wished to practice in the Middle East# The generalimpression was that of highl motivated& intelligent and reflexive oung men whoseabilit to underta*e degree level stud was apparent#

-urther "eetings .t the end of March % met with the $rincipal of +ollege . who showed considerableenthusiasm for the possibilit of devising a -. that provided accreditation for the two

ears of advanced ars i !i0ami stud (234 credits)# "e discussed possible coursesthat the students could ta*e up that would enhance their training as Muslim faithleaders and these conversations moved towards the idea of a -. in %slamicEducation providing 234 credits for the final two ears of the ars i !i0ami

curriculum and then loo*ing at a pac*age of alread validated courses in Education


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1tudies and 1ocial "or* that would provide courses in pedagog and counselling&-ritish social histor and possibl Theolog #

)rogress to date and future tas(s

%t is clear that the dar al-ulum . reflects the general willingness of eobandieducators to wor* with Higher Education institutions to produce a 6ualification ofrelevance without undermining the integrit of the ars i !i0ami curriculum# .nconcerns between the two sectors over pedagogical differences is sureloverpla ed# The students in the dar al-ulum are faced with a variet of teachingmethods& some of which develop memorisation and others which develop higherlevel critical s*ills# %n addition the students have underta*en . 'evels and willprobabl have universit entr re6uirements# @n the whole their motivation isextremel high and would compare ver favourabl with the average school leaverentering universit # M observations indicated that the level attained b theadvanced students was certainl e6uivalent to first ear degree learning andteaching# Future progress will re6uire meetings with senior management in theHigher Education institutions responsible for the validation and teaching of the+ollege degree programmes# Further meetings will be re6uired with Dar al-ulum .and +ollege . resulting in a combined meeting of their respective managements# %nthe meantime the issue of how to approach Dar al-ulum - will need to be resolved#


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1 1ee& for example& ;on eaves (2AAB) Sectarian Influences within Islam in Britain C 8niversit of 'eedsCMonograph 1eries& +ommunit ;eligions $roject& pp#2BB 2D7, 1ophie illiat ;a (344 ) +losed "orldsC (!ot)

.ccessing eobandi dar al uloom in -ritain< Fieldwork in Religion 2#2 pp#D 77#2 Mohamed Ma*adam and .lison 1cott -aumann (3424) The Training and Development of Muslim Faith

eaders! "urrent #ractice and Future #ossi$ilities commissioned b the epartment for +ommunities and 'ocalovernment& 7#23& p#G7#

3 The Ma*adam/-aumann report had recommended that Further and Higher Education institutions should see*to create foundation degrees or to re orientate %slamic studies programmes to ma*e them more relevant for bothmale and female students who wish to underta*e faith leadership responsibilities< 1ee #A &p#BA#

Documents

Partnership Between Dar Al Ulum and HE Interim Report July 2011