Características desde el punto de vista bio morfo funcional de los niños entre 12 años.

Traditionally, one of the main reasons for Muslim parents to s faith-based schools has been about their conce

fear of secular values shaping the identity of their children. It is interesting to note that the current study did not find the

parents as more than half of the participants felt that Christianity is not a prevalent feature of modern schooling in Britain. However, it must be stressed that the survey did not ask the parents about their views of Religious Education or teaching of Islam in general within the wider school curriculum. This significant finding will be further explored in the discussion of the findings section of the next chapter.

Figure 6.2 11 What do Muslim parents expect their children to be learning at school?

As such the data displayed in the figure

expectations for the actual school curriculum which they thought should pre

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majority of parents did not want to opt for a purely religious education but thought that their n will be better with a more comprehensive and balanced curriculum that contains

secular subjects.

expect their children to be learning at school?

Traditionally, one of the main reasons for Muslim parents to send their children to based schools has been about their concern over a lack of proper Islamic E

fear of secular values shaping the identity of their children. It is interesting to note that the the teaching of Christianity to be a serious problem for Muslim parents as more than half of the participants felt that Christianity is not a prevalent feature of . However, it must be stressed that the survey did not ask the ts about their views of Religious Education or teaching of Islam in general within the wider school curriculum. This significant finding will be further explored in the discussion of the findings section of the next chapter.

What do Muslim parents expect their children to be learning at school?

displayed in the figure 6.3.11 reveals that majority of the parents had high expectations for the actual school curriculum which they thought should pre

majority of parents did not want to opt for a purely religious education but thought that their m that contains

chool?

end their children to Muslim lack of proper Islamic Education and fear of secular values shaping the identity of their children. It is interesting to note that the teaching of Christianity to be a serious problem for Muslim parents as more than half of the participants felt that Christianity is not a prevalent feature of . However, it must be stressed that the survey did not ask the ts about their views of Religious Education or teaching of Islam in general within the wider school curriculum. This significant finding will be further explored in the discussion of

What do Muslim parents expect their children to be learning at school?

that majority of the parents had high expectations for the actual school curriculum which they thought should prepare children to

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lead prosperous lives in this world (i.e. preparing them for a future career) and the Hereafter (distinct religious expectation) including a peaceful co-existence with other communities in the society (a distinct social and community cohesion related expectation). This finding suggests that the curriculum should integrate the secular and religious subjects so that Muslim children could get a holistic education, capable of responding to the social, personal, religious and spiritual needs of Muslim children growing within the challenging context of a multicultural and secular society.

The survey specifically asked parents to express their views regarding the quality of Islamic Education provision offered by the Muslim schools. The majority of parents expected that the curriculum in these schools should be comprehensive in integrating Islamic and secular subjects but most crucially, they argued, that it should prepare children to live confidently in a largely secular multi-cultural society. The participants thought that the schools should incorporate Islamic principles in the curriculum by including the study of Muslim festivals, Islamic teachings, the life of the prophets including the life of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and actively encouraging children to observe the fundamental Islamic religious practices such as prayer and the wider Muslim social and educational teachings and values. Similarly, the parents felt that the schools need to recruit Muslim teachers so that the children could have good Muslim role models in the schools. This, they suggested, would also help ‘Islamise’ the curriculum and the wider educational culture in the schools.

The last point seemed interesting as the meaning of the ‘Islamisition’ of the curriculum will later be explored in depth while presenting the qualitative data analysis. The question of Islamising the curriculum and the teaching methods is a complex issue that requires a deeper level of analysis and discussion. It should be stressed that in addition to the parental views, the

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schools’ interpretation and implementation of the Islamic education provision was further explored through actual visits to schools during which teachers, head teachers, managers and students views on the issues have all been explored. As such, having diverse data sets related to the topic has enabled a critical comparison of views on Islamic education from the perspectives of several key stakeholders. The discussion of the findings chapter will further analyse this crucial aspect of the data analysis.