Life Histories of Muslim Teachers in Birmingham Primary Schools
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
LIFE HISTORIES OF MUSLIM TEACHERS IN BIRMINGHAM PRIMARY SCHOOLS by Imran Mogra A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Education The University of Birmingham October 2008 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT The life histories of Muslim teachers in Birmingham schools have been collected in this research. This interpretive research involved a systematic gathering and analysis of data using semi-structured in-depth interviews. Thirteen primary school teachers voluntarily participated for this to happen. This thesis is about Muslim teachers. It focuses on those Muslims who have, in principle, succeeded in education, and are deemed to be opinion-makers, models and leaders. It explores their conceptions, the meanings and significance which they attach to their decisions, their experiences, and events in their professional and personal lives. It concentrates on their views about the recruitment of teachers from underrepresented communities, and highlights the role of spirituality in their life. It reveals their understanding of what it means to be a Muslim teacher in contemporary Britain, and describes their aspirations and sentiments about the future. Much of the research on teachers’ lives, careers and work has been viewed predominantly from the perspective of class, gender and race. This research concludes that the experiences of teachers are not entirely affected by these configurations. Through the exploration of the life histories of Muslim teachers this thesis suggests that the significance of faith in the lives of teachers should be added to this genre. i DEDICATION Dad, you departed from us before the completion of this thesis. I dedicate it to your memory. Your respect for the learned and learning continues to inspire me. Mother, your prayers and reassurances continue to give me the conviction and hope of achieving my goals. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favour which You have bestowed upon me… (Qur’ān, 27:19). One who is not grateful to people is not grateful to Allah –Muhammad the Messenger. I would like to express my gratitude to Professor John Hull with whom the initial ideas for this research were developed. In particular I am thankful to Professor Ian Grosvenor for his supervision, encouragement and support throughout the research. Thank you to all my teachers who have laid the foundations and contributed to my learning. I would also like to thank my wife, my daughters and son for their curiosity, which assisted me to visualise the end product. Your patience and understanding is forever appreciated, and I love you all. Finally, I am grateful to all the Muslim teachers who have let me into their lives, and permitted me to extract their stories. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 1-21 INTRODUCTION AND THE CONTEXT OF THE RESEARCH CHAPTER 2 22-87 LITERATURE REVIEW Part 1: Locating Life Histories in Educational Research 22 Part 2: Ethnic Minority Teachers in British Educational Settings 47 Part 3: The Concept of the Teacher and the Significance of Teaching in Islam 67 Section 1: The Prophet’s Era Section 2: The Teacher and Teaching after Muhammad CHAPTER 3 88-128 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Part 1: The research design 88 Part 2: Reflection on the research process 108 Part 3: Procedures for analysing data 115 Part 4: Muslims in Birmingham 119 Part 5: Researcher position and reflexivity 123 CHAPTER 4 129-140 RESEARCH FINDINGS Part 1: The Story-tellers 129 Part 2: The Life History of Ummu Salamah 132 CHAPTER 5 141-180 OUR LIFE HISTORIES CHAPTER 6 181-233 SIGNIFICANT THEMES Part 1: Impressions of Muslim Teachers on Recruitment, Retention and Promotion 183 Part 2: On Being a Muslim Teacher: The role of faith and history in contemporary constructions 199 Part 3: Spirituality in the life of Muslim teachers 213 Part 4: Researching Muslims 226 CHAPTER 7 234-248 CONCLUSIONS Appendices 1-[11] 249-[259] Bibliography 277-294 Appendices 13-25 [Appendices 12-25 not available in the digital version of this thesis] iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATION Figure 1: MAP OF BIRMINGHAM WARDS AFTER JUNE 2004 Appendix 9 v LIST OF TABLES PAGE Table 1: Biographical details 130 Table 2: Fieldwork details 131 vi LIST OF APPENDICES IN THE THESIS Appendix 1: Forms and varieties of the biographical method Appendix 2: The need for minority ethnic teachers Appendix 3: Merits of teachers and teaching Appendix 4: Structure and organization of primary schools Appendix 5: Flick’s Adapted Document sheet Appendix 6: Questionnaire Appendix 7: Clearance note and deposit instructions Appendix 8: Primary teaching data for Birmingham Appendix 9: Map of Birmingham wards after June 2004 Appendix 10: Female Sahabiyyāt (companions) Appendix 11: Male Sahabah (companions) Appendix 12: Life history of Ummu Salamah – edited version LIST OF APPENDICES IN THE CD ROM Appendix 13: Life history of Ummu Salamah – full transcription Appendix 14: Life history of ‘Aishah Appendix 15: Life history of Sawdah Appendix 16: Life history of Juwayriyah Appendix 17: Life history of Mua‘dh Appendix 18: Life history of Jabir Appendix 19: Life history of Zaid Appendix 20: Life history of `Anas Appendix 21: Life history of Hafsah Appendix 22: Life history of Fatimah Appendix 23: Life history of Safiyyah Appendix 24: Life history of Khadijah Appendix 25: Life history of Zaynab vii ABBREVIATIONS BCC Birmingham City Council BEd Bachelor of Education BNP British National Party CE Common Era CPD Continued Professional Development CRE Commission for Racial Equality DES Department of Education and Science DfES Department for Education and Skills DTI Department of Trade and Industry EMT Ethnic Minority Teacher/s FS Foundation Stage GTP Graduate Teacher Programme ICT Information and Communication Technology ITT Initial Teacher Training LA Local Authority LEA Local Education Authority MCB Muslim Council of Britain NAS/UWT National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers NC National Curriculum NCSL National College for School Leadership NPQH National Professional Qualification for Headship NUT National Union of Teachers PPA Preparation and Assessment Time PE Physical Education PGCE Post Graduate Certificate of Education QTS Qualified Teacher Status RE Religious Education SEN Special Educational Needs SENCO Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator SMT Senior Management Team TA Teaching Assistant TDA Teacher Development Agency TTA Teacher Training Agency viii DEFINITIONS adhān a call to prayer alhamdulillah all praise/thanks be to Allah ‘Alim a scholar ahādith (sing. hadith) sayings, narrations of Prophet Muhammad akhirah life after death, hereafter, al-salamu ‘alaykum peace be upon you ‘aqidah doctrine, creed, belief ‘aqiqah the ceremonies surrounding the seventh day after birth of child ‘Arafat a plain in the outskirts of Makkah ayah (lit.) ‘a sign’ used for the verse of the Qur’ān baji older sister chappati flat bread char farz four compulsory units of prayer char sunnat four recommended units of prayer choudhry landlord daiee someone who makes dawah, someone who invites others dārul uloom institute of higher education in Islam, (lit. house of knowledge) dawah the invitation to others to follow or return to Islam deen religion, way of life dua informal prayers of supplication Fajr the obligatory prayer before sunrise gora white person hadith sayings, deeds, or actions approved by Muhammad, a narration Hanafi follower of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence Hazrat title of respect Halqa (lit. circle) study circle, class, gathering, group ‘ibadah the worship of God iftari the light meal with which the fast is broken ijāzah (lit. permission) authorisation to transmit hadith, ijmā‘ consensus of the community/scholars imam the person who leads a prayer in congregation, a guide inshallah God willing Islamiyaat Islamic studies Islamophobia fear or hatred of Islam, fear or dislike of most Muslims jamaat congregation, class Jannah Paradise jihad to struggle for God, establish goodness and remove bad, battle jilbab women’s long loose-fitting garment jumu‘ah Friday prayer kab‘ah (lit. cube) House of God in Makkah kalimah declaration of faith khilāfah period of the rightly guided successors (circa 632-662 CE) langar free kitchen, open serving of food madrasah an Islamic school or centre of learning madāris (pl. madrasah) makātib supplementary mosque school (lit. place of writing) mamu maternal uncle mar gaye (lit.) died, error, in trouble ix mashallah (lit.) what ever Allah wants, praise be to Allah masit mosque, madrasah masjid (lit.) place of prostration, a mosque Masjid nabawi the Prophet’s mosque in Madinah, Saudi Arabia maulana (Urdu, Hindi) an expert on Islamic law mawlid (lit. birthday) generally refers to birthday of Muhammad miah elder, used as surname as well, fondly attached to Allah Milad un nabi the festival of the birthday of Muhammad or milood molvi an expert in Islamic law, short for Maulana muhasabah introspection, taking account of one self muslimah a female Muslim nafl optional units of prayer or deeds nafs soul, inner self, spirit namaaz (Persian/Urdu) daily prayers nanima maternal grand mother nasheed a song in praise of God or Prophet Muhammad nikah the marriage ceremony qaidah initial text used to teach the Arabic alphabet and Qur’ān qass narrator, story teller qawalian (Punjabi, Urdu) devotional music qiyās analogy Qu’rān the book that was revealed to Muhammad radi allahu anhu May God be pleased with him rahat comfort rakats (sing.