Project to facilitate the inclusion of the Islamic Cultural Heritage within the bounds of the National Curriculum

PART FIVE
A Classical model for Islamic Studies

This paper is based on Curriculum Matters 12 (Classics) to show how a similar outline might be used in the case of Islamic Studies. Because of its `whole world' approach to the classical civilisations, `Classics from 5 to 16' readily lends itself to such an adaptation. Keeping as close as possible to the original inevitably means accepting some distortions and misplaced emphases, but in attempting to make curricular clothes tailored for Greece and Rome suit the body of Islamic civilisation some sacrifices have had to be made. This is essentially a discussion document however, and it is to be hoped that any later curricular work will reconsider the subject from initial principles. New material has been italicised throughout.

ISLAMIC STUDIES FROM 5 TO 16

Preface

Since 1984 HM Inspectorate has published a number of Curriculum Matters papers designed to stimulate discussion about the curriculum as a whole and its component parts. In some cases readers' responses to these papers have also been published.

Islamic Studies from 5 to 16 sets out a framework within which schools might develop a programme for the teaching and learning of Islamic Studies and for the use of Islamic themes and ideas within the curriculum as a whole. It focuses on the aims and objectives of Islamic Studies in primary and secondary schools. It considers the implications of these aims and objectives for the choice of content, for teaching approaches, for curricular organisation and for the assessment of pupil's progress.

This paper is addressed not only to heads and teachers but also to school governors, local education authority (LEA) elected members and officers, parents, employers and the wider community outside the school. Like publications in the Curriculum Matters series, this is a discussion paper intended to stimulate a professional debate and to contribute to reaching national agreement about the objectives and content of the school curriculum.

That debate will now take place within the arrangements for developing the National curriculum contained in the Education Reform Act. It will need to consider not only the use that can be made of the Islamic world in teaching the prescribed subjects of the National Curriculum but also the claims of Islamic Studies, as a subject in its own right, to a share of the time available for `non-foundation' subjects.

This document should be read as a whole, since all sections are interrelated. For example, the lists of objectives must be seen in relation to the defined aims and to what is said about the principles of teaching and assessment.

Introduction

1.       Most pupils, both in primary and in secondary schools, encounter material from the Islamic world. From storybook tales of the Arabian Nights to global politics on the TV news, from Arabic numerals to Alcohol, some knowledge of the Islamic civilisation would seem essential if children are to gain not only a better understanding of global events but also an awareness of the wide ranging roots of their own culture. Few children will be able to study the subject in any detail, however, as long as Islamic Studies is not a part of the curriculum and leads to no accredited qualifications. The purpose of this document is to suggest that Islamic Studies as a separate subject has a distinctive contribution to make.

2.       Although the Education Reform Act 1988 does not designate Islamic Studies as a subject of the National Curriculum, many secondary schools will nevertheless want to include it in the time available for special subjects and cross-curricular projects.

At primary level much of what is proposed here could be delivered through subjects which are in the foundation. Some elements of Islamic civilization could be provided in this way in the early secondary years too, though careful planning would be needed to give any coherence and the possibility of progression. A separate and coherent course, planned in accordance with the needs and abilities of the pupils and taught or informed by an Islamic Studies specialist, is preferable; for Arabic language a separate allocation of time is essential.

3.       In what follows, two groups of questions are explored:

*        what contact with the Islamic world is it appropriate to provide for all pupils, and what benefits might they be expected to derive from it?

*        what, in addition is it reasonable to expect of those pupils whose involvement with Islamic Studies has been more extensive or more specialised?

It is hoped that discussion of these issues will be of interest to secondary school teachers and to teachers in primary and middle schools, as well as to heads, LEAs, school governors, parents, employers and the wider community.

The Nature and scope of the subject

4.         Islamic Studies should not be confined to matters of religious discipline, but take as its subject matter the full breadth of the Islamic civilisation - the study of the Islamic world as a whole, its literature and history, its social and political development, its philosophy, art, architecture, and technology. The field is vast, and a selection must be made. But whatever the approach and whatever the age of the pupils there are two main reasons for studying the Islamic world: its intrinsic interest, and its capacity to increase pupils' understanding of themselves and of the world in which they live.

5.       The study of Arabic language, where it is possible, can add greatly to pupils' knowledge and understanding of the Islamic world. A priority in any Islamic Studies course should be to equip pupils to read some classical literature in the original language and hence to gain a deeper insight into the muslims - their ways of thought and expression, their attitudes and values - than they might otherwise achieve. Because it is concerned by this means to give pupils a richer appreciation of their own society and culture, an Arabic language course is not just a `language' study. Like any other aspect of Islamic Studies, it can be seen as a significant contributor to the school's work in the human and social area of experience.

Intrinsic worth

6.       The cultures of the Islamic world were marked by outstanding achievements in art, architecture, literature, law, science and technology, and historical, political and philosophical thought. Any Islamic Studies course should introduce pupils to a selection of these acknowledged masterpieces as items worth studying in their own right.

Coherence and integration

7.       A distinctive merit of Islamic Studies, whether approached through the Arabic language or through artefacts and translated material, is that it deals with periods and cultures in which political, intellectual, literary and artistic developments, and the interaction between them, are often well documented; and which are on a small enough scale to be viewed as a whole. In using material from the Islamic world, a good teacher will cross the traditional subject boundaries. In the secondary school, for example, pupils could take a limited span of time and place (such as Muslim Spain, or Istanbul in the 16th century) and within this begin to build up a coherent picture embracing many different aspects of human experience and achievement.

A common heritage

8.         The Islamic civilisation has also profoundly affected later developments in all these fields both in Britain and elsewhere. Whether pupils are looking at Victorian buildings, comparing cultural values, investigating the way their own language works, or the history of science or medicine, their understanding can be informed and enriched by familiarity with the Islamic historical background and with reference to those parts of Islamic culture from which they are drawn. Since much of this cultural and linguistic heritage is shared by otherwise diverse and antagonistic nations of the modern world, Islamic Studies offers a useful perspective from which to develop a global awareness, and to approach some aspects of multi-cultural education.

A different world

9.       The Islamic world, in its language and thought, is as profoundly different from our own as it is in some respects strikingly similar. To understand it, pupils must develop an open and sympathetic attitude to the past and the unfamiliar present, which in turn should help them to reassess the language, culture and values of their present society, and develop a more tolerant attitude to customs and practices unlike their own. Any Islamic Studies course should develop in pupils a more critical and reflective understanding of the world in which they live.

A powerful stimulus

10.     The richness and interest of much Islamic Studies material make it readily accessible to pupils of widely differing ages and abilities. In the hands of a skilled teacher it offers an effective medium through which to develop a number of skills and attitudes which most teachers, of any subject, regard as important. For example, whether pupils learn the Arabic language or not, their contacts with the Islamic world should kindle their imagination, stimulate an informed personal response and demand rigour and precision - in observation and recording, in the analysis of linguistic features and the abstraction of information, and in the disciplined application of historical judgement.

An understanding of language

11.     Any Islamic Studies course contributes, with other subjects, to pupils' command of their own language. In particular, it can help them develop a sensitivity to language - especially an awareness of subtlety of expression, shades of meaning, ambiguity and bias. The study of the Arabic language offers additional opportunities to increase pupils' understanding of their own language and of language in general. Their course will naturally draw attention to the way the Arabic root word structure differs from the polyglot roots of English, and in its differences should focus attention on the means by which ideas are formulated and communicated.

The aims of Islamic Studies teaching

12.     The White Paper `Better Schools' (1985) suggested that what children learn between the ages of 5 and 16 should help them, among other things, to:

*        develop lively, enquiring minds;

*        use language effectively;

*        develop tolerance of other races, religions and ways of life;

*        understand the world in which they live;

*        appreciate human achievements and aspirations.

13.     The teaching of Islamic Studies can make a significant contribution to the achievement of these aims. In particular, it should:

*        introduce pupils to a selection of the major achievements of the muslims in such fields as literature, art, architecture, science, medicine, technology and law;

*        introduce pupils to significant aspects of the historical, political and philosophical thought of the muslims;

*        kindle their imagination through contact with the Islamic world and stimulate a personal response;

*        develop an open and sympathetic attitude towards the past and the unfamiliar present.

*        develop a critical and reflective understanding of the world in which they live;

*        develop a global awareness through an understanding of their cultural and linguistic heritage;

*        develop tolerant but not uncritical attitudes towards customs and practices unlike their own;

*        develop pupils' powers of observation, abstraction and analysis of information, judgement and communication;

*        enhance their command of language by requiring them to pay close attention to the relationship between concepts and the words and structures used to express them;

*        provide an adequate foundation for the study of Islamic Studies beyond the age of 16.

14.     If the broad aims outlined above are to be implemented in the curriculum, they need to be translated into learning objectives. The following section suggests a range of objectives appropriate to all pupils between the ages of 5 and 14, and to the smaller number who may proceed to more detailed studies of the Islamic civilisation. A later section suggests how those objectives may be modified and extended for those who have the opportunity to study Arabic.

Islamic civilisation

Objectives in the primary and early secondary years

15.     What pupils learn of the Islamic world should include elements which make a major contribution to their studies of language and literature. It should enable them, for example, to:

*        provide insight into the way language communicates shared concepts and common understandings;

*        extend their range of vocabulary and give them confidence in handling it;

*        develop their appreciation of literature through their contact with writings of different kinds and periods;

*        understand some of the purposes, other than literary, for which writing has been used throughout the ages;

*        respond imaginatively to what they read;

*        improve a range of oral and writing skills.

16.      The first of these objectives can spring from an examination of the variety of ways in which the English language has been used to communicate ideas similar to those co-existing in the Islamic world. Islamic Studies can be used to show children that they have a language of physical, emotional, mental and moral experience which they share even with non-christian, non-european humankind. The long centuries of cultural antagonism can also be put to good purpose, examining the limits of argument based on assumption, and the manipulation of language to persuade.

Children can also be given an exciting insight into the distinctive multilingual derivation of English vocabulary through comparison with the classical triliteral root structure of Qur'anic Arabic. An introduction to the close correlation between word structure and root meaning in arabic can be used as a springboard for an exploration of the roots of English words, and stimulate investigation into why words such as `ball', `bill', `bull' and `bell' should have such different meanings.

17.      Many tales from the Islamic world (such as those from the Thousand and One Nights) are already known to teachers for their capacity to excite and enchant younger readers. Apart from myths and folk-tales, however, a wealth of literary and non-literary material exists which can illuminate a topic being studied; the historical writings of Ibn Khaldun; menus and recipes from the Mughal court; military strategies; the poems of Rumi; medical, zoological and botanical texts. All these kinds of source-material can put pupils in contact with what was thought and felt by peoples of other times, while developing their sense of how writing varies in form and expression in accordance with the nature of the audience and the reasons for which it is done.

18.     The telling of stories from the Islamic world can encourage pupils to respond in a variety of forms including drama, creative writing and other expressive arts. Useful checklists of some oral and written skills which the curriculum should seek to develop in pupils of various ages are to be found in the publication English from 5 to 16: Curriculum Matters I. As that document argues, many of these activities should not be practised in isolation, but should arise in the course of work in various aspects of the curriculum. In this connection, the traditional teaching stories may have a special contribution to make.

19.     Pupils learning about the Islamic world can make an important contribution to the human and social area of experience. It should enable them, for example, to;

*        have direct contact with the material remains of other cultures;

*        develop historical concepts relating to chronological sequence, cause and effect, and the nature of evidence;

*        become involved imaginatively with the lives of people of other places and eras and make comparisons between those lives and their own;

*        acquire some knowledge and understanding of the sources of their own culture and society;

*        develop their own political, moral and spiritual values by comparison with other such values;

*        understand something of the functions performed by myth in ancient and modern society.

20.      Islamic Studies may help with the development of certain historical concepts and skills. Studying other societies may also help pupils to understand human institutions and to enter through the imagination into aspects of the personal, social and economic lives of others. Pupils' understanding and interpretation of the past can be helped considerably by visits to local museums, whereas cultural continuity to the present day can be seen in the immediate society surrounding them. Pupils can add experience to their imagination by joining in cultural festivals and celebrations, when opportunities can be provided to handle, as well as to look at, artefacts from the Islamic world in the company of those who use them.

21.     Exemplars of moral judgements and religious views drawn from other societies may provide pupils with valuable points of entry into some central questions of human life. Discussion of Muslim attitudes to slavery, the status of women in society, the nature of God or war, can help them to articulate fundamental moral questions, discover something of the cultural conditioning on which many of a society's judgements depend, and gain a greater sensitivity to and tolerance of the diversity of values and religious practice in their own world. Listening and responding to material drawn from the Islamic tradition should be a powerful and enjoyable experience in itself. But Islamic works, of their nature, tend to offer explanations of life and the world and to express society's aspirations, obsessions or fears. In looking at the worldview of the Islamic traditions, it may be possible to show the extent to which our own world still relies on myths, whether of scientists or of television advertisers.

22.     Their experience of the Islamic world may also help pupils to:

*        develop their aesthetic appreciation through studying artistic achievements of high quality;

*        gain some awareness of the importance of the arts in society;

*        develop some of their own creative skills;

*        understand something of the effects of using different materials and media.

23.     Examples may be taken especially from Islamic architecture, Persian carpets, Mughal miniatures, Ottoman calligraphy and ceramics, Moorish patternwork & Arabesque, which can give pupils insights into the development of artistic techniques and opportunities to appreciate the finest expression of those techniques. It may be possible to look in a simple way at functional aspects of the arts in the Islamic world; the connections between carpets and trade, for example, or between civic building and religious requirements. Pupils may copy or adapt techniques and designs they have encountered, for example in pottery, painting or mosaic work; and they may be encouraged to respond to stories from legend or history, and to what they have seen at museums, by creating their own dramatic, artistic, musical or literary versions. Other societies were also restricted in the range of materials, colours and media available to them in their artistic expression and design. It can be valuable to consider how they set about trying to overcome these limitations and to make the most of their natural resources.

24.     Their experience of the Islamic world may help pupils to:

*        understand some basic mathematical and scientific language and concepts, by comparing ancient and modern practices and attitudes;

*        gain some appreciation of the importance of empirical methods in science and technology;

*        learn how practical needs can generate technical developments;

*        develop problem-solving skills by considering practical examples.

25.     Many of the scientific and mathematical achievements of the early Islamic civilisation were concerned with basic principles from which more complex ideas and hypotheses have subsequently been constructed. Because of this, they can often be appreciated by pupils of primary and early secondary age and give them some notion of the excitement of scientific discovery and the importance of first principles. As the mathematics and science of Greece Persia and India were assimilated into the Islamic civilisation, the interrelationships between earth, air, life and mankind were reconsidered with immense subtlety. Yet they were united at a basic conceptual level with such simplicity that the principles and methods employed can be understood by primary pupils; and investigation of them can raise important questions about why some of these ideas and discoveries should be reconsidered in the light of modern knowledge.

26.     Ancient technology provides many possibilities for enabling pupils to exercise skill in reaching solutions to problems. Groups might be invited, for example, to consider the implications of moving water across varied desert terrain using only the range of materials, machinery and techniques on which the muslims depended. Or they might be asked to look at astronomical observatories (such as those still standing in Jaipur and Delhi) assessing their accuracy, and trying to devise a more accurate alternative using modern materials and techniques.

Planning and organisation in the primary and early secondary years

27.     In infant and lower junior classes the pupils' first encounter with the Islamic world is likely to be through listening to a re-telling of folk tales, many of which have a direct appeal to young children. They can be a powerful stimulus to the imagination, especially when they involve the supernatural or the fantastic; and they can raise children's awareness of basic questions about morality and truth - `Was it right to kill the monster?', `Did it really happen?', `Could it have happened like that?'. Handling objects from the past and discussing what they are and when they might have been used can help children at this stage to form an idea of chronology - to give a clearer meaning to such expressions as `long ago' and `in the olden days'. Objects from the Islamic world, a piece of broken pottery for example, could be included along with more recent items. Radio and television programmes based on topics from the Islamic world (myth and legend; historical events and famous people; daily life) often elicit worthwhile work in imaginative writing, discussion, dance and drama, painting and model-making. Throughout the infant and early junior years the prime reasons for including Islamic Studies material in the curriculum must always be its appeal to young children and its capacity to contribute to the aims of primary education. In the process, the seeds may be sown for an interest in, and curiosity about, the Islamic world which can form the basis of systematic study in later years.

28.     In the upper junior and lower secondary years one principal argument for considering the Islamic world is its capacity to integrate different aspects of human experience. It is possible to include Islamic Studies components in the planned scheme of work for:

*        a major theme (for example water, transport or warfare);

*        an individual subject (such as history, geography, English or religious education).

An alternative approach is to focus some of the work on an Islamic Studies theme which crosses the traditional subject boundaries. A teacher might, for example:

*        use a single source from the muslim world (a myth, a site-visit, a piece of historical evidence, a passage of literature) as the starting point for a range of explorations and responses which may embrace many areas of the curriculum;

*        make a particular Islamic Studies period the focus for work in as many areas of the curriculum as possible for a limited period of time (a month or a term, perhaps), so that pupils end this section of their course with a worthwhile insight into the people they are studying;

*        select appropriate aspects of the muslim world as vehicles for achieving specific skills (of observation or communication), attitudes (tolerance, independent thought) or understanding of concepts (for example, cause and effect, slavery, or democracy).

29.     In the primary school, any one of these approaches may be planned and implemented either by an individual class teacher or by a small group of teachers sharing their expertise. In the early secondary years many schools find that the kind of `in-depth' study which is being proposed would be more easily organised if Islamic civilisation could be given its own place in the timetable.

30.     Whatever the structural pattern, factual information is not the only, or even the principal, objective. It is far better to explore one folk tale fully than to learn the factual outlines of 20. Similarly it is more profitable to investigate a single period in some depth than to try to span the whole of Islamic civilisation.

31.     At each stage, the Islamic Studies content of the work should be related to the intellectual and emotional development of the pupils and should build on their previous knowledge and experience. For good reasons the topics which pupils encounter in the primary and early secondary years, and the depth to which they study them, will vary from one school to another; they will depend on such factors as the location of the school, the interests and expertise of teachers, and the way the curriculum is organised. However, there are some elements of the Islamic world which can press a particularly strong case for inclusion in the curriculum because they are:

*        readily understood by younger children and available in suitable books;

*        intrinsically rich and rewarding;

*        able to exemplify and illuminate subjects or themes commonly and appositely treated in these years.

The following paragraphs draw attention to three such elements, each capable of being treated at a variety of levels for pupils of different ages and abilities.

32.      Folk tales and legend. Many of the folk tales and legends from the Islamic world are exceedingly vivid, potent and appealing. The case for introducing myth to children is argued forcefully by Elizabeth Cook in `The ordinary and the fabulous.' These legends have exerted a powerful hold on the imagination of western Europe and other civilisations ever since, supplying a rich store of images, motifs and stimuli for artists, sculptors, musicians and writers; knowledge of them, therefore, in a sense provides a gateway into the understanding of much of our cultural tradition. It is impossible to stipulate a precise age at which this material should be introduced. Not all stories, of course, are equally suitable for younger children, but there is an appropriate nucleus of familiar myths and legends, which includes Tales from the 1001 Nights and stories of Mullah Nasruddin.

33.     How strongly the pupils are aware of the Islamic contribution to our heritage in Britain may well depend on where they live. Those living in areas with a high proportion of muslims may well be able to gain such information from the community itself. In other parts of the country, artefacts from other places shedding light on another period may be an important way of helping to bring a society to life and may pose historical questions in a particularly sharp form. This kind of approach may be especially helpful for pupils aged from 10 to 12, whose chronological perspectives may be hazy but whose curiosity about the past is often great.

34.      Muslim social life. Pupils' contact with the culture introduced to Britain by the muslims might lead to a study of aspects of that culture for which the evidence comes from the Islamic world at large, which provides a uniquely graphic source of material with which to illustrate such topics as housing, the family, food and drink, religion and entertainment. Material from this source has been referred to in relation to many of the curricular objectives discussed above, and can form a major component of any Islamic Studies course for pupils from 12 to 14.

35.     To include in the curriculum an agreed selection of Islamic Studies themes or materials is no guarantee of either a coherent or a progressive experience for pupils: a planned progression in the objectives to be achieved is essential. Sometimes, for good reasons, pupils will encounter at 13 or 14 a story, or incident, or topic which they first met at the age of 8. What matters is that the level of response demanded from individual pupils at 13 shall be higher than that which was expected five years earlier; that the objectives to be achieved at each stage shall be carefully planned; and that at each stage pupils' earlier experiences shall be taken as fully as possible into account.

Objectives in GCSE-related work

36.     Many of the objectives identified for the earlier years of the course apply equally to the GCSE stage. They will need to be refined and developed, there will be changes of emphasis, and teaching approaches will naturally incorporate materials of increasing complexity and demand greater maturity of understanding and response; but the framework should still prove useful. In addition, it may be helpful to consider what The curriculum from 5 to 16: Curriculum Matters 2 terms the elements of learning: the knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes (and values) which the curriculum seeks to promote.

37.     Knowledge. Although the acquisition of factual information is not in itself a principal objective of the course, a secure grasp of the evidence which is readily available must always precede, and underlie, the making of judgements and the expression of opinions. What pupils need to know will depend on the particular aspects of the Islamic world which have been selected for study. Some criteria which might properly influence that selection are set out in paragraphs 42-45.

38.    Conceptual understanding. An Islamic civilisation course seeks to use the selected content to impart, through the knowledge which has been acquired, some understanding of a variety of general ideas and concepts - whether literary, philosophical, artistic, political or historical. Many of these concepts take on a distinctive connotation when applied to the Islamic world. This is true, for example, of such ideas as slave, house, marriage, worship, virtue or empire. It can be rewarding to compare the range of meanings which were connoted most closely to Islamic concepts which correspond most closely to our own words. One specific concept which study of Islamic world ought to explore and develop in pupils' minds is Tawhid, oneness. The first principle of Islamic metaphysics, ethics, axiology, societism and aesthetics, expressed through a unifying methodology requiring rationalism and tolerance, Tawhid is the essence of Islam and Islamic civilisation. 

39.     In developing pupils' appreciation of Tawhid, the similarities and differences between the Islamic world and that of the Christian West can provide many obvious entry-points. Pupils may be helped to recognise that an apparent identity between the Islamic world and our own may mask important differences.

40.     Skills and capabilities. The precise intellectual, personal and practical skills developed will vary with the particular topics selected; however, all syllabuses should seek to develop a number of the following skills:

*        the capacity, when handling Islamic Studies material, to observe and record; to abstract and analyse information; to make use of observation to ask questions, solve problems and identify what is relevant to an enquiry; to reason clearly and pay due regard to evidence;

*        the ability to respond to the stimulus of the Islamic world by using English creatively and critically, and through such practical skills as designing, modelling, painting and acting;

*        the capacity to read works of literature in translation with enjoyment and understanding, including some appreciation of their literary qualities or historical importance, and some understanding of the author's intentions and technique;

*        the development of critical faculties in appreciating products of the visual arts, including architecture, sculpture, painting and pottery;

*        the ability to draw on the different aspects of the civilisation studied in order to gain a more coherent picture and perceive inter-relationships; and to use evidence from such sources as the local community and museums to inform this picture.

41.     Attitudes and values. An Islamic civilisation course should be helping to develop such attitudes and values as:

*        sensitivity to language, respect for its complexity and awareness of subtlety of expression and shades of meaning;

*        readiness to enter into the thought forms, motives and attitudes of widely different cultures;

*        respect for reason and the desire to make a well-informed and open-minded approach to problems;

*        curiosity about the past, and about the motives and reasons which lie behind human actions;

*        receptivity to new experiences and the ideas of other people; a lack of arrogance about our own cultural values;

*        developing independence of thought; the growth of personal values and beliefs in religion, morality or politics;

*        appreciation of and admiration for the highest qualities in human life and achievement.

Planning and organisation of GCSE-related work

42.     The broad aims of an Islamic Studies course set out in paragraphs 12-14 provide a general framework for the construction of an Islamic Studies syllabus for the years leading up to GCSE. They suggest that it should:

*        involve the study of items of intrinsic worth and quality;

*        promote a coherent view of some aspects of the Islamic world;

*        assist pupils' understanding of the influence of the Islamic heritage on our own culture;

*        enable pupils to explore the contrasts, as well as the similarities, between the Islamic world and our own;

*        exclude material which is unlikely to be accessible and intelligible to pupils of this age;

*        contribute to pupils' understanding and use of language by providing opportunities to study, as literature and as evidence, some writing by muslim authors.

43.     The application of these six principles would have the effect of excluding approaches which, for example, sought to scan the whole Islamic world from muslim Spain to modern Indonesia, or which selected three or four unrelated topics almost at random from within this vast compass, or assumed that any item from the Islamic world was automatically worthy of inclusion.

44.     Syllabuses aiming at a coherent, worthwhile experience of the Islamic world may nevertheless, very reasonably, take many different slants. One syllabus will have a strong historical bias; another may emphasise technology; one will give greater weight to sociological, political or economic aspects and another to literary and aesthetic appreciation. What is important is that the course shall have within it some main focus to which pupils devote a fair proportion of their time and attention.

45.      An Islamic civilisation syllabus might consist of:

a) All material exploring one time and place
b) Material from one time but various regions
c) Tracing changes in one area through the course of history.
d) Topics pertinent to the whole Islamic civilisation.

A syllabus which permits candidates to concentrate entirely on one aspect of Islamic civilisation permits greater depth of treatment and closer integration - and, especially if it could be assumed that pupils had studied broader aspects of the Islamic world in earlier years, this might well be the preferred option. On the other hand, a course containing a wider viewpoint invites many fruitful comparisons between the wide variety of cultures embraced by the Islamic civilisation. There are also attractions in the idea of (d), taking themes (for example ecological awareness, or the status of women) and considering them in relation to the full range of Islamic opinion and practice.

Principles of teaching and learning

Use of source material

46.     An Islamic civilisation syllabus should be firmly based on the evidence provided by the muslim world itself. Primary source-material available to the teacher falls into two broad categories:

*        written - literary and epigraphic (inscriptions, coinage). There is no shortage of English translations of literary material, but many are extremely daunting in their linguistic and conceptual demands. New work on translations more readily intelligible to younger or less confident readers must be completed if the syllabus is to be successful. Reading aloud in class can be a valuable means of aiding comprehension as well as providing opportunities for discussion of themes and issues raised, or questions of literary appreciation. To juxtapose two or more literary sources, or to set a non-literary item of source material beside the literary evidence, may encourage historical analysis and interpretation.

*        buildings and artefacts - Opportunities for mosque or museum visits can be invaluable in adding vividness to pupils' perceptions. Probably nothing can do more to enhance their enjoyment and understanding of the Islamic world than a properly planned visit to the muslim world itself - a source of learning which is now appreciated and exploited to great advantage by many schools. For much of the work, however, it will be necessary to rely on illustrated books, slides, filmstrips or videotaped materials. They all need to be handled with care; pupils can easily misunderstand the effects of photography - most obviously in the matters of size and scale. Moreover, it can be tempting to accompany the showing of slides and films by over-use of expository teaching methods, and hence lose the opportunity to encourage personal response to what is being shown. One simple - but frequently neglected - way of permitting individual exploration of aspects of classical art is to use hand-held viewers.

Development of independent work

47.     Many of the objectives set out above can be realised only if pupils have some scope for working on their own. A frequent method of encouraging such individual work within examination courses at this level is the project, which at its best can yield sustained pieces of personal writing of high quality. It is open to abuse, however. Pupils sometimes have access only to materials which are beyond their level of comprehension; and even where this is not the case there is the risk of wholesale and unthinking copying of text. Some kinds of individual work which may avoid these dangers are:

*        independent research which involves analysis of a variety of sources;

*        expressive and creative writing or imaginative artwork;

*        assignments which exploit pupils' individual skills, such as photography, model-making or computer programming.

A practical focus

48.      Islamic Studies has sometimes tended to confine itself largely to liturgical areas and theoretical modes of working, overlooking the great potential of the subject for work of a practical character. To devote time to such areas as the physical and technological can invite attention to practical problems and, if activity is planned accordingly, promote practical skills. For example, a topic on the place of textiles in Islamic society, provides opportunities for pupils to practise spinning and weaving using the materials and methods employed in the Islamic world.

Oral work

49.     Undue reliance on written language at the expense of oral work can lead to problems for many pupils in understanding the material which is set before them. It can also restrict their response by not allowing them to articulate their views. Productive talk in class may often occur in a full-class discussion chaired by a teacher; but other groupings may need to be exploited if all pupils are to participate equally in oral work. The possibilities include: pairs debating an issue; small groups talking through a problem they have been set; individual presentations. Islamic civilisation courses invite such a variety of treatment - in responding to literature, exploring social or political issues, discussing moral or religious values, interpreting and evaluating visual materials, and performing dramatic sequences (from tragedy or comedy, or based on myth and legend).

Arabic language

Arabic is the mother tongue of more that a hundred million people, and is the official language of countries from Morocco in the West to Oman in the East, from Syria in the North to the Gulf States in the South. Within such a wide area there are, of course, a variety of dialects spoken, but there is a Modern Standard Arabic which is readily understood, the language of newspapers, broadcasting, public speaking and official correspondence aimed at the whole Arab world.

Considerable support has already been gained for the teaching of Arabic as a modern language, but this standard language is based on literary Arabic, stemming from the language of the Qur'an, and is thus also a key to unlock the myriad texts on innumerable topics written throughout the 1400 years of the Islamic civilisation.

Because a consideration of the teaching of Arabic requires a more specific and detailed approach from someone with specialist skills in the subject, paragraphs in CM 12 relating to the teaching of Greek and Latin have been omitted from this Islamic Studies counterpart. Original paragraph numbers have been retained for convenience of comparison however.

Assessment

86.     Some of the main purposes of the assessment of pupils are listed in The curriculum from 5 to 16: Curriculum Matters 2. They are to help teachers:

*        to diagnose individual pupils' strengths and weaknesses;

*        to match the work of the classroom to their capabilities;

*        to guide them into appropriate courses and groups;

*        to involve them in discussion and self-appraisal;

*        to inform parents of the pupils' progress;

*        to see how far planned objectives are being fulfilled, for individual pupils and for the class as a whole;

*        to adjust objectives and teaching approaches accordingly.

These purposes require a clear definition of expectations (as expressed through the aims and objectives of the subject and through the scheme of work); effective methods of assessment in the classroom day by day; and procedures for recording and reporting progress which can be used and understood by others. A fourth requirement, at the secondary level, is less immediately within the control of the individual school: a system of external examinations which supports the curriculum without distorting it positively encourages teaching approaches that are educationally desirable, and complements the school's internal patterns of assessment.

87.     The identification of reasonable expectations is an essential first stage. In most primary schools and in the early years of some secondary schools (for example, where Islamic Studies forms part of a combined humanities programme) objectives for the teaching of Islamic Studies are unlikely to be listed separately but will be subsumed under other areas of the curriculum. For Islamic Studies courses elsewhere, the earlier chapters of this document suggest a number of possible frameworks (areas of learning and experience; knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes; listening and speaking, reading, writing and understanding of language and cultural context). No such framework is entirely satisfactory: schools will properly decide for themselves how best to organise the list of expectations which they produce, and may indeed feel that different classical courses are best served by different kinds of framework. What is essential is that the expectations identified and the degree of emphasis accorded to each should genuinely reflect what the pupils are to spend their time doing and what the course as a whole is intended to achieve. A checklist of expectations should not (as can easily happen) be a programme of desirable extras which omits - because it takes for granted - the teacher's real priorities.

88.     The various objectives of the course will not, usually, be served in isolation, by separate items of work: such an approach would so itemise the pupil's learning that coherence would inevitably be lost. A more useful approach may be to construct a `grid', with items of work on one axis and objectives (with an indication of their relative importance) on the other, so that:

*        for any one item of work, the teacher is conscious of the objectives to which it will contribute, and the degree of emphasis to be attached to each; and

*        over a period of time, each objective can receive its due share of attention.

89.     Such a grid can be developed further, to serve as an instrument for the informal assessment of the individual pupil's progress, so that as the year proceeds the teacher builds up not just a succession of scores for the different items of work but a profile of the pupil's success in meeting each of the principal expectations of the course. For this to be possible:

*        global `marks' and general comments need to be replaced (or at least supplemented) by more detailed assessments which draw attention to particular strengths and weaknesses; and

*        the full range of principal expectations needs to be assessed in a balanced way - not just those which can most easily be measured objectively and reduced to numerical terms.

Assessment of the kind suggested here will be diagnostic and formative, not merely summative; and it will take account of all aspects of a pupil's performance, affective as well as cognitive, oral as well as written. It is likely to be, for the most part, subjective and impressionistic, but this is unavoidable if it is to cover the full range of expectations.

Conclusion

91.     Classics in some form is taught in between a quarter and a third of maintained secondary schools and in the majority of independent schools; some use of themes and materials from the classical world is made in many primary schools too. In recent years new approaches to the study of both the classical languages and other aspects of the classical world have prompted a reconsideration of the purposes which classics can serve, enlivened the teaching and aroused the enthusiasm of pupils. The aim of this document has been to show how a similar approach to Islamic Studies could contribute to the education of pupils of all ages and abilities.

Based on HMI Curriculum Matters 12: Classics