Conference Report

2^nd Annual Australian Islamic Schooling Conference

Date: July 11-12, 2017

Venue: Mount Lofty House, 74 Mount Lofty Summit Rd, Crafers, SA 5152, Australia

Organizer: The Centre for Islamic Thought and Education (CITE) and the University of South Australia

The Annual Islamic Schooling Conference serves to build the rigor of educational research informing best practices in Islamic schooling. Educational research that is grounded in the Islamic tradition and educational heritage, aligned with contemporary educational practice, cognizant of the educational context and substantiated by evidence based empirical research.

Across two days the conference explored the theme of curriculum in Islamic schooling from a whole-of-life and whole-of-community perspective. An impressive line-up of international speakers from specialist disciplines and diverse sectors is sure to offer valuable and practical insights into the future of curriculum in Islamic schooling in the West.

Background

Curriculum is a broad concept often explained simply as what is taught. Curriculum represents a key focus in education discourse based on its importance to quality teaching and learning. Islamic schooling circles have long recognized the importance of curriculum. Testament to this was the ground breaking Second World Conference on Muslim Education in Islamabad in 1980 which investigated the theme of integrated Islamic curricula. The iconic conference captured wide spread concerns in the field regarding the quality and appropriateness of existing curricular and added impetus to discussions around future directions for curricular in Islamic schooling.

How much progress has been made in the area of curriculum within Islamic schooling? To what extent have we achieved an ‘Islamic’ curriculum? What does this mean? Are curricular relevant and contextual and how do they align with National/Ministerial curriculum? How equipped is the field of Islamic schooling to manage necessary curriculum renewal? What progress has been made in the area of integrated curricular? What does integration in the context of Islamic schooling deliver for quality teaching and learning? Do existing curricular meet the needs of Western Muslim students?

These were just some of the questions that Islamic Schooling Renewal – A Focus on Curriculum tackled over two conference days.

The following curriculum themes were explored:

• Conceptualizations
• Theories
• Debates and contested spaces
• Historical models
• Analyses of contemporary models
• Analyses of inter-faith perspectives
• Curriculum, assessment and pedagogy
• Leadership for quality curriculum

Keynote Speakers

• Nadeem A. Memon, PhD

Dr. Nadeem Memon is the Director of Education at Abu Dhabi University Knowledge Group, the education consulting arm of the university that develops professional development solutions for educators globally. His current focus is on developing educational solutions that improve the quality of teaching of Arabic and Islamic Education across the Gulf Region. Dr Memon also spearheaded the design and roll-out of a ground breaking online teacher certificate program, The Islamic Teacher Education Program (ITEP) for Islamic school teachers in collaboration with Razi Education and the University of Toronto.

• Seema Imam, PhD

Dr. Seema Imam is Co-Chair of the National College of Education, at National Louis University where she has served 20 years in Elementary, Middle and Special Education teacher preparation. She serves on the Board of Directors for The Islamic Schools League of America and teaches the online course, Integrating, Infusing, Initiating: Designing Curriculum for Islamic Schools,” in the certificate program offered worldwide with Islamic Teacher Education Program. Seema served 16 years in Chicago public school classrooms, and was founding principal of Universal School in Bridgeview, IL, an Islamic Pk-12thgrade school in Chicago’s suburbs.

Conference Presentations

Below are links to the Conference Presentations:

1. Islamic Worldview and the National Curriculum: Can they be reconciled?, Mr Dylan Chown

2. Australian Curriculum: Overview and Future Directions, Dr Deborah Price

3. Curriculum in Australian Islamic Schools: Trends & Future Prospects, Ms Aynur Simsirel

4. Curriculum Integration Efforts in the North American Context, Dr Seema Imam

5. Teaching for Cultural Diversity: Action Research and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Professor Rigney

6. Islamic community schools in Australia: A case of a contextually response curriculum, Dr Ibrahima Diallo

7. Tahfizh Curriculum in Indonesia: A Sociological Approach, Mr Muhammad Zuhdi

8. The Islamic education curriculum in the sultanate of Oman: integrating diversity, Dr. Anke Iman Bouzenita & Dr. Mohsin al-Salimi

9. What would an Islamic school Arabic Curriculum look like?, Asc. Professor Angela Scarino

10. What would an Islamic school Arabic curriculum look like? (Part 2), Mrs Nadia Selim

11. National Islamic studies curriculum: Process, expectations, quality control, Professor Mohamad Abdalla

12. Re/Mapping Islamic School Curriculum, Nadeem Memon

Read the complete report of the conference here.

Source: The University of South Australia