Memorization and focus: important transferables between supplementary Islamic education and mainstream schooling

Jenny Berglund,Bill Gent

doi:10.1007/s40839-018-0060-1

Jenny Berglund, Bill Gent

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40839-018-0060-1

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Abstract

This article presents the results of a participative study, involving a group of 27 British Muslim students aged 15–18, who were given the opportunity to reflect on the implications of having participated in two different ‘traditions’ of education: that is, Muslim supplementary education (in its various forms) and state mainstream schooling. The project was participative in that school senior managers had invited the researchers to carry out the research as part of their constant striving to identify the conditions under which students learn best. Both the design and outcomes of this research programme are presented and discussed in this article. One of the main findings is that the students experience the skills of memorization and focus as positive transferables. The findings will be discussed in terms of the concept of liturgical literacy.

Highlights

Though studies of Muslim youth identity formation have been growing in recent years (Berglund 2012, 2013; DeHanas 2013; Jonker and Amiraux 2006; Panjwani 2017), research on Islamic supplementary education in Europe is in its infancy
Even though the students had had a wide variety of experiences from different types of Islamic supplementary education, it is clear that they saw the experience of moving between two educational traditions as of value
The most striking example is the skill of memorization where what we refer to here as liturgical literacy is experienced as transferable to mainstream schooling helping students to master a variety of school subjects

Summary

Introduction

Though studies of Muslim youth identity formation have been growing in recent years (Berglund 2012, 2013; DeHanas 2013; Jonker and Amiraux 2006; Panjwani 2017), research on Islamic supplementary education in Europe is in its infancy. In Britain, the growing importance of supplementary education across a range of communities in general and for the Muslim community in particular has been increasingly recognised (Cherti and Bradley 2011; Ramalingam and Griffith 2015). The more diverse Britain becomes, the more scope there is for mainstream schools to take advantage of, and benefit from, the extensive network of supplementary schools that exists in the country. These community-led educational programmes enjoy parents’ support, and offer a personalised and informed learning environment that complements mainstream education (Cherti and Bradley 2011)

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