Secular Education Research Articles

Promoting educational change in religious enclave schools: a comparison of radical and moderate Haredi activists in Israel

ABSTRACT The vast majority of Haredi schools for boys in Israel focus almost exclusively on religious studies. This study explores Haredi (Jewish ultra-Orthodox) activism aimed at promoting secular education in these schools. Data collection drew on semi-structured interviews with 20 Haredi activists. The findings compared two patterns of Haredi activism—radical and moderate—and highlighted their distinguishing features: the activists’ identity, ideology, tactics, and approach towards the state. Whereas these distinctions impeded joint efforts to promote educational change, they enabled the radical activists to use contra-institutional tactics and strengthened the legitimacy of the moderate activists. In the context of religious enclave communities, different patterns of activism, based on different models of religious identity and ideology, may produce effective tailor-made solutions that are congruent with the preferences of different religious subgroups. Understanding the dynamic of Haredi activism may assist in mobilising educational rights in enclave religious communities.

RELIGION AND SECULAR EDUCATION IN THE UPBRINGING OF THE CONSCIOUS GENERATION

The proposed article describes the place and role of secular education and religion in the upbringing of the conscious generation. Major political events of the 90s of the XX century had a profound impact on the spiritual values of society. Based on the analysis of scientific works written within the framework of this topic, the author dwells on the nature of the concept of secular education and describes its influence on the formation of personality. The formation of knowledge and skills necessary for young people to properly use the freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution is carried out by the family and educational institutions. However, religious communities enjoy special trust in Kazakh society. Despite the fact that the education and upbringing of young people in the secular plan is placed under the competence of secondary education institutions, the people consider religious associations to be one of the institutions of spiritual, moral and patriotic education. Achieving the right balance of secular and religious education contributes to the integration of the values of the individual and the social environment. The correlation of secular education and religion, pursuing a common cultural, ideological, systemic and educational goal, serves the national interests of the Kazakh people.

Female Emirati Teachers’ Perceptions of Postgraduate Degree Attainment in the UAE

While the Emirati government continues to make great strides in encouraging female Emirati citizens to become public school teachers and educational leaders, the change process has been slow. According to the most recent data, there is a severe shortage of female Emirati postgraduates, especially in the education field, limiting qualified female Emirati leadership. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government calls for more female leaders in all fields, including education. Despite the UAE’s attempts to encourage women to obtain a secular graduate-level education and become educational leaders, the response has been minimal. Lack of female educational leadership both inside and outside of school walls may cause more stress on the country’s education system because students may not receive adequate knowledge regarding Emirati culture and values in school. Participants felt that foreign teachers and educational leaders are unable to model or provide sufficient cultural awareness education to the students. This qualitative study was comprised of interviews with 13 female Emirati teachers who desire to obtain a postgraduate degree in education but have yet to complete the task. The study examined the female Emirati teachers’ perceptions of the factors that inhibit them from obtaining a postgraduate degree in education in Abu Dhabi. The findings show that understandings of culture and religious obligations play a major role in the Emirati women’s decision to go to graduate school and ultimately become leaders in the country. This finding is of major importance to Emirati social and education policy contexts for continued encouragement of Emirati women to get postgraduate degrees and become leaders in the UAE.

The Influence of Islamic Religious Education and British Administrator's Views on The Education System in Malaya

The majority of British administrators adhere to the philosophy of logical positivism (later known as logical empiricism), referred as an understanding that emphasized on the use of the intellect as the main approach to obtain accurate scientific facts based on meticulous and systematic research methods. This philosophy rejects the proof of a fact from the source of revelation as it is considered not relevant in proving the history and has created a bigoted and queried views towards the Malay community in Malaya. This article focuses on the analysis of the British administrators’ views on the system of education in Malaya, which include religious and secular education, and to determine the influence of Islamic religious education on the community. The methods used were historiography, comparative method and content analysis. The study found that the British administrators had underestimated the contribution of Islamic education system in Malaya and considerered the failure of Malaya in achieving its high civilization was due to the adherence to Islam which was considered as irrelevant and outdated. Hence, to improve these weaknesses, Western education system was seen as an appropriate step to internalise secularism into the thinking of the Malays in Malaya.

Differences in Attitudes toward Mental Health among Boys from Religious and Non-religious Families Experiencing Religious and Secular Education

Post-industrial society faces multiple stresses and developmental risks, both environmental and biological. The issues of mental health have become more dramatic and subject to debate. The current discourse about the religiosity-mental health nexus makes the study of differences in attitudes towards mental health among children from religious and non-religious families experiencing religious and secular education significant and relevant for practice. We studied the attitudes toward different spheres of life of children from Orthodox and non-religious families experiencing religious and secular education. We hypothesized differences in attitudes toward mental health by children from Orthodox families and non-religious families regardless of school choice. We expected the positive attitudes toward mental health to be greater for the children experiencing religious and secular education. Our study assessed 340 primary school boys on a number of measures. The boys' average age was 10.4 years old. The participants were divided into three groups, taking into consideration the family's religiosity and educational characteristics. The boys from Orthodox families had more positive attitudes toward family, life, people, their bodies, and their mental health than the boys from nonreligious families. These differences were also significant between groups of boys from religious and non-religious families experiencing secular education. The boys from religious families experiencing religious education had more positive attitudes toward their physical and mental health than the boys from religious families experiencing secular education. Positive attitudes toward both physical and mental health are more likely to be formed within religious families.

НАСЛЕДИЕ А.Б. РАНОВИЧА В КОНТЕКСТЕ ИЗУЧЕНИЯ ГОСУДАРСТВА ХАСМОНЕЕВ

This article examines the views of A.B. Ranovich, a prominent Soviet historian of antique civilizations, on the Hasmonean state by analyzing his works through the lens of the epoch and, simultaneously, as opposing Soviet and “bourgeois” history. This approach opens up new perspectives for the interpretation of how the scholar turned his attention from Christianity to Hellenism. A possible explanation may be that the first scholarly quest for the historical Jesus and the Christ myth theory, promoted by A.B. Ranovich in particular, led their adherents to a deadlock. They finally broke through it with the discovery of the Qumran Caves Scrolls (1948) and the development of new methods of studying the early Christian texts, i.e., after the death of A.B. Ranovich. It is of peculiar interest to get an insight into what thoughts A.B. Ranovich had about E. Bickerman and V. Cherikover’s works because they all had a similar pre-revolutionary experience (Jewish background, traditional Jewish lifestyle in families, secular education, and membership in the academic community). The analysis shows that A.B. Ranovich was critical of “bourgeois” historians and refused their approach to studying Jewish history. However, this made him focus on the socio-economic features of the Hasmonean state and thus he proved that the Hellenistic states encouraged slavery. A.B. Ranovich’s work “Hellenism and Its Historical Role” testifies to his unique concern about the history of the Jews, although it was outwardly shunned. The conclusion is made that A.B. Ranovich preferred not to publicly identify and portray himself as a Jewish historian, but his reasoning, regardless of the numerous ideological clichés and constructs, was built on the Jewish traditions that he knew.

Jadidism: ideology, conceptual approaches and practice

The article is devoted to the analysis of the ideology of Jadidism. Jadidism is a movement that played a certain role in the enlightenment of the Turkic peoples that were part of the Russian Empire. At the same time, it is important to note that at the initial stage, this movement advocated the reform of school education, cultural modernization in general, and at the last stage put forward the idea of national independence. The author concludes that Jadidism had a socio-cultural, political role in the life of the Turkic peoples, in the formation of national self-consciousness, in the formulation of the idea of national independence based on studying the works of researchers on this issue. When analyzing the movement, the researcher emphasizes the role of Islam in the ideology of Jadidism as one of the decisive factors in the formation of the movement and an important consolidating aspect, which was the foundation of the spiritual life of the Turkic peoples and permeated all areas of public life. Also, the author in the article consolidates the thesis of Jadidism as a movement that has gone through several stages in its development, showing the evolution of ideology, the transformation of the cultural and educational nature of the movement into a political one. Thus, the author considers it necessary to reveal the features of such a movement as Jadidism, that is, a social movement and force that acted on the eve of the October Revolution from positions that were alternative to the communist perspective. Jadidism was that powerful factor that contributed to the reform and modernization of society in the context of the widespread suppression of the freedom-loving aspirations of indigenous peoples, stagnation in the spiritual sphere. Therefore, initially, the Jadids sought, first, to modernize the spiritual sphere by creating new method schools, organizing the publication of newspapers, etc., thereby paving the way for the emergence of national secular education, renewal of spiritual life, and, ultimately, the rise of national self-consciousness.

Fe, ciencia y patria: guerras culturales y escuelas católicas en Puebla (1870–1900)

This article analyzes the proposal of Catholic education designed by the clergy and laity of the city of Puebla, in Mexico, between 1870 and 1900, as attested in hemerographic sources. The purpose of this analysis is to comprehend the regional conflicts and debates around youth education during the ‘Porfiriato’ by emphasizing the confessional perspective. The work focuses both on the founding of schools and on Catholic discourses about basic and normal education in order to delve into the cultural wars between the faithful and liberals in Mexico during the second half of the 19th century. I argue that, between 1870 and 1900, the clergy, the religious orders and, to a lesser extent, the laity of Puebla promoted a proposal for Catholic education as a response to the secular education promoted by the liberal regime. I conclude that Puebla’s Catholic Church developed a project of educational, social, and ecclesial renewal that promoted a formation of the youth that sought to combine scientific advances with a solid religious formation and a Mexican patriotic identity.

Организационные основы еврейского образования в Российской империи в первой половине XIX в.

This article deals with the problem of reforming Jewish education in the Russian Empire in the first half of the 19th century. It is noted that for a long time the Jewish community in Russia maintained the traditional education system. The attempt to destroy the traditional Jewish school provoked opposition from Jews. It is noted that the reform of Jewish education laid the foundation for the development of secular education, contributed to the teaching staff establishment.

The Contributions of Muhammad Naqib Al-Attas in the Islamization of the Contemporary Islamic World

In the modern era, in the face of adherence to tradition and development, Islamic education has always been in a state of imbalance and dilemma: those who adhere to tradition believe that sciences outside religious books are not religious sciences but rather secular sciences, unworthy or unappreciated. As a result, the traditional education system is unable to cultivate talents suitable for social development; Whereas secular education follows the Western education model, which emphasizes only the indoctrination and teaching of applied disciplines, and ignores values education—leading to the development of social material and culture, the decline of civilization, the decline of morals, an increase in crime, and other modern social ills.

Mawdudi's Comprehensive Conception of God: A Comparative Study of Mawdudi's Concept of Rabb and Ilah With Common Secular Notions of God

Syyied Abul A'la Mawdudi is well known for his contribution to political Islamic thought and to the study of the Quran. This article will examine one aspect of Mawdudi’s work that has not been usually highlighted; this article compares Mawdudi’s concept of Rabb & Ilah to the common secular notions of God. This comparison allows the notions of God that are dominant in secular society to be critically examined on the background of Mawdudi’s thought. From Mawdudi’s works it is clear that in his view most Muslims have subconscious accepted secular definitions of what God is. Mawdudi focuses on two specific Arabic terms, “Ilah” and “Rabb” to understand the concept of God in his book entitled, “Four Basic Quranic Terms”. This article will investigate Mawdudi's unique contribution to conceptualizing the terms “Ilah” and “Rabb” and how his unique conception of them provides a critique of secular education's own conception of the similar terms. The research uses a comparative methodology because in only via comparing Mawdudi’s ideas with that of secularism can the uniqueness of his ideas become clearly seen. This study finds that Mawdudi’s conception of God is more sophisticated and nuanced than secularism tends to portray. The article concludes that Mawdudi’s thought, especially on the issue of God, can provide fresh perspectives to critically engaging with secularism.

Https://habibiaislamicus.com/index.php/hirj/article/view/254

Amin al-Rihani is the founding father of Arabic-American Literature. He was a pioneer of American Literature, because he was the first Arab to write in English in many fields of literature. Amin Al-Rihani had a natural talent for eloquent speaking. This young man was swept away by theater fever in the year 1895. Amin Al-Rihani was significantly involved in his literary life and also continued to follow up on political posts, that is, in the literary field. He continued writing and directing work in both Arabic and English. He is a major Person of Arab nationalism in intellectual development. In his writings on national issues, he stressed the importance of secular education and the secular state, and pointed out that there should not be a minority or a majority, but rather that all of them must be equal citizens. Likewise, Al-Rihani gave the highest priority to awakening the national feeling of normal unity among the masses, and tried to make it an obligation for the rulers to follow this approach. He also produced many books in the Arabic language, and delivered many speeches in Lebanon, in every Arab world, on the eastern and western coasts of the United States, and also in Canada, ranging on the subject of social reform to Arab. Thus, this paper is the depiction of Amin Al-Rihani’s Life History, His Literary services and enlightens her views on Arabic Literature in order to easily and clearly understands her direction in life, and the impact of her culture on literature and criticism for the facilitation of upcoming researchers. His works of Literature were revolutionary

Изучение религиозных традиций как фактор обеспечения светского характера культуры и образования

This paper examines the dialogue and mutual influence of secular and religious culture in the system of secular education from two points of view: firstly, the influence of teaching knowledge about religion on the implementation of the secular nature of education and, secondly, the impact of the need to comply with state educational standards on the form of presentation of religious culture. The study assumes that religious thinking, culture, lifestyle are not something contrary to everyday rational thinking and scientific character, being in their high forms the carriers of self-discipline and ordering of human life. The long history of the dialogue between religion and science has led to the fact that today religion speaks with science in the same language of scientific concepts, and often religious organizations, paying attention to certain scientific and technical achievements, are a factor in increasing interest in science in the whole society. The processes of the expulsion of religious discourse from the public sphere that took place in the past led to the replacement of the authentic religious tradition, tuned in to dialogue with science, with forms of “low” religiosity, often of an obscurantist, fundamentalist and anti-scientific nature. And the forcible imposition of the «only true» secular ideology ultimately negatively affects the pace of scientific development.

The “Flip Side” of Peter the Great’s Reforms

Under discussion the question if Peter the Greats reforms were truly revolutionary. The author focuses on two aspects: the extent to which his innovations altered the patrimonial system that had dominated Muscovy over the previous three centuries, and the role arbitrariness, bribery, embezzlement and other kinds of corruption played during his reign. She examines the first Russian emperors changes that most affected Russias various estates, including the introduction of a poll tax, the conversion of peasants on state lands into state serfs, as well as the intensification of the nobilitys service obligations and the reduction of its privileges. The author concludes that Peter not only did not destroy Muscovys traditional patrimonial system, but intensified it and even used it to impose his reforms on a reluctant population. Meanwhile, although the emperors initiatives in the sciences, arts and secular education were important, they only affected the upper class. In other respects, Peters efforts to westernize his realm were only superficial. The author also considers how Russians regarded the notion of freedom. She argues that there is a connection between seemingly opposite phenomena - the popular desire for freedom and arbitrariness of the service nobility. The author pays particular attention to corruption, which she considers to have had a major impact on the governments relationship with the elite, and was tolerated both to maintain the latters loyalty but also to manipulate it.

The Clergy of Ukrainian Dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church in Spiritual and National Revival (1907-1914)

After the defeat of the First Russian Revolution of 1905-1907, the church-reform movement continued to develop and strengthen in the regions of sub-Russian Ukraine. Patriotic clergy sought to return national traditions, customs and rites to society and the laity, advocated further Ukrainization of religious and secular education, weakening or elimination of the Synod and the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church. The period under study is characterized by the emergence of Ukrainian church periodicals, further work of the clergy on translations and editions of the Holy Scriptures, collections of sermons and prayer books in Ukrainian, the creation of Ukrainian libraries in religious schools, the activity of clergy in celebrating the anniversaries of Taras Shevchenko and their activity in "Prosvita". An important role was also played by the youth of religious educational institutions: during their protests the main demands were the issue of Ukrainianization of the educational process. An important achievement of the patriotic clergy was the decision of the Podilsky Diocesan Congress on the appeal to the Holy Synod and obtaining permission from him to introduce subjects on the Ukrainian language, literature and history of Ukraine as extracurricular in the Podilsky orthodox theological seminaries. Protests were important for the spiritual and national revival actions of religious youth in Podillia, Volyn, Poltava, Ekaterynoslav, Odessa theological seminaries and Kyiv orthodox theological academy. Among the main demands of the protesters there were the issues of holding church reforms, democratization of the educational process and implementation of the subjects for the study of Ukrainian history and literature. The struggle of the Orthodox clergy for the democratization and Ukrainization of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine in the period 1907-1914 became the main basis for strengthening the movement for the autocephaly of the church and formed its future personnel reserve.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE SYSTEM OF SECULAR EDUCATION AND ENLIGHTENMENT IN KAZAKHSTAN

In the article it is examined the history of secular education and enlightenment in Kazakhstan. The author analyzes the education system since Soviet times. The works on this problem were considered, conclusions were made. In addition, the problem of secular education in the 20-30s of the twentieth century is divided into 3 stages and presented in tabular form. The author also notes that since 1923 there has been an increase in the budget of public education and an improvement in the financial situation of teachers. This, in turn, indicates the gradual development of the system of general education schools. The aim of the article is to analyze and comprehend the history of secular education and enlightenment in Kazakhstan. The authors tried to analyze some problems of the development of the system of secular education and enlightenment in Kazakhstan, such as the lack of school buildings; lack of teachers, specialists with special education, etc.

Spiritual Care as the Foundation for a Child’s Religious Education

This article outlines spiritual care as the foundation for a child’s religious education. The elements of spiritual care are described by identifying how God concepts form in the young, by naming children’s inherent spiritual needs, by offering perspectives from human spirituality research over the last 60 years, particularly as it applies to children, by analyzing the way meaning forms through experience as it finds its way into worldviews each of us holds by early adolescence, and finally, by depicting four types of literacy (cognitive, emotional, imaginative and social) at the basis of spiritual care and as the groundwork for a child’s future development within various religious traditions. The purpose of spiritual care is to focus on the humanity of children and to situate their education within a framework built on their spiritual needs. This article is deeply embedded in assumptions associated with the Christian tradition. However, a fundamental assumption of spirituality research is that every person is spiritual. As a result, the intention to educate the human spirit as a first step to initiating children into a faith tradition is well founded; it also raises the possibility of spiritual care as undergirding secular education, but that question is beyond this article’s purview. The intention is to spark a conversation among religious traditions as one way to meet the deepest spiritual needs of children, which is an urgent dialogue to engage in at present. If French philosopher Jean Baudrillard was correct, the age we are living in is well described as a revolution of confusion. A response to confusion requires [meeting] the spiritual needs of children and creating a broad theoretical and practical approach to how they think and act, as they move into a tradition that they take on board, along with their developed capacity to reflect on that tradition from personal and socially informed perspectives.

HEADQUARTERS OF RUSSIAN TROOPS IN DAGHESTAN. DESHLAGAR

The article examines the emergence and development of Deshlagar, the headquarters of the 83rd Samur Infantry Regiment. Shown is the ethnic composition of the population, participation of Deshlagar in trade relations with the nearby villages of the Dargin district, its role in obtaining secular education for mountain children. Deshlagar is shown as a site of European culture in traditional Daghestan.

John Stuart Mill on Education and Progress

John Stuart Mill, a supporter of state provision of popular and secular education at a national scale in Victorian England, believed education was a means to foster human mind development, accounting also for the future progress of mankind. Unlike other utilitarian thinkers, like Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill believed that the state, in specific circumstances, should supervise education, therefore guaranteeing its quality and not only quantity. The reforms in popular and general education throughout the nineteenth century accompanied the discussion of what should be included in the curriculum of school or university studies, and of the terms defining compulsory attendance. In this context, this paper intends to explore Mill’s position on education and progress in line with his approach to liberalism and to the problems of his time. We will argue that his concept of liberal education transcended formal instruction in schools. Instead, it should continuously strive for the moral and mental well-being of humankind. By largely delving into periodicals and other writings produced during the Victorian era, we shall describe the changes popular education suffered under the sway of political reform and utilitarianism, bearing witness to the spirit of the age and to Mill’s approach to education.

THE CONCEPT OF KNOWLEDGE IN ISLAM AND ITS ROLE IN MUSLIM CIVILIZATION

The article examines the original meaning, the transformation of the concept of education in Islam and its role in the development of science and education in the Muslim civilization. Any concept or term undergoes semantic changes depending on ideological, cultural, social and other conditions in different historical periods. This applies both to the concept of education in Islam and its place in civilization. The concept of knowledge in the tribal Arab culture with limited literacy acquires a new meaning with the advent of Islam, makes a huge contribution to the theoretical definition of the systemic concept of religious and secular education and the development of scientific knowledge. Based on fundamental works on the history of education and science, the role of the concept of education in the development of the Islamic religion and Muslim civilization is evaluated. The main historical factors of accumulation, systematization and development of knowledge in the Muslim civilization are also analyzed. In particular, the ancient Greek, Indian and Persian cultures were included in the Muslim civilization, which contributed to its intellectual enrichment. The prerequisites for the increasing development of education and science in the era of the "golden age" in Islam are analyzed, the place of ancient Greek science in the Muslim civilization, which is the core of modern scientific knowledge, is assessed.