AN EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION of the MADRESSA SYSTEM of RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION Qo /0 F51jf
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COPYRIGHT AND CITATION CONSIDERATIONS FOR THIS THESIS/ DISSERTATION o Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. o NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. o ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. How to cite this thesis Surname, Initial(s). (2012) Title of the thesis or dissertation. PhD. (Chemistry)/ M.Sc. (Physics)/ M.A. (Philosophy)/M.Com. (Finance) etc. [Unpublished]: University of Johannesburg. Retrieved from: https://ujdigispace.uj.ac.za (Accessed: Date). AN EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION OF THE MADRESSA SYSTEM OF RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION qo /0 F51jf/ by YOUSUF ISMAIL ESHAK THESIS Submitted in accordance with the requirements of the degree of DOCTOR EDUCATIONIS in PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION in the FACULTV OF EDUCATION at the RAND AFRIKAANS UNIVERSITY SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR D.P.J. SMITH CO-SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR J.A. NAUDE JANUARY 1995 DEDICATION In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, The Beneficent, the Merciful. Owner of the Day of Judgment, Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help. Show us the straight path, The path of those whom Thou hast favoured; Not (the path) of those who earn Thine anger, Nor of those who go astray. (The Holy Our' an, 1: 1-7) ****** To all those who, under very difficult circumstances, contributed to the functioning of the Madressa. ****** To.rnv family: Amina Zaid, Shireen, Azhar, Iqbal Uzair My Mother and my late Father ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My sincere gratitude to: Professor D.P.J. Smith, the supervisor of my study, for his guidance, assistance and advice. Professor Smith gave generously of his time, and his meticulous approach has taught me so much. I shall always be in his debt. Professor J.A. Naude, my co-supervisor, for the generous manner in which he shared his knowledge and experience. Professor John Smith of the Doctoral Committee for his assistance. Professor A.J.B. Wiid and Ms M.M. Bester of the Statistical Consultancy Service of the Rand Afrikaans University for the statistical calculations. Mrs H.A. Davidson for the typing, particularly for the sacrifice of her holiday and the speedy and able manner in which she organised the difficulties of the different computer programmes. Ms L. Kemp for part of the typing. Ms E. Wimberger for proof-reading and correcting the thesis. ii The principal, staff and pupils of the Lenasia Muslim Association and the Saaberie Jumma Musjid and Madressa Trust. I received the complete co operation of both organisations, and all the persons I approached went out of their way to provide any assistance that was needed. The Jamiatul Ulema of the Transvaal and the deputy president of the organisation, Maulana Saloojee, for valuable assistance. All those persons, too numerous to mention, who gave such important and valuable advice and assistance. iii SUMMARY AN EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION OF THE MADRESSA SYSTEM OF RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION The madressa is a system of instruction for Muslim children, believers in the religion of Islam. Madressa classes are held daily, concurrently with classes of the ordinary secular school. Classes begin after the ordinary school day has ended. They start at about 14:30 and last for about two and a half hours. Most Muslim children, about 97% in Lenasia, attend these classes. This study originated from a concern about the educational justifiability of the madressa system. The madressa involves the religious formation of children. It shapes the attitudes, consciousness and behaviour of those who attend it, yet it is not subject to any form of control or supervision by an outside agency. If it is not in conformity with educational criteria, it can be open to abuse. There is also an enormous expenditure of time and effort on the madressa. It is necessary to consider whether the madressa is worth the effort devoted to it, whether it fulfils its religious purposes. The aim of the study was therefore, to determine whether the madressa: operates within the framework of acceptable educational criteria; fulfils its religious purposes. The research techniques employed are primarily qualitative, but a quantitative component has been added to make the study more comprehensive. iv Criteria for education have been established through literature study. These criteria serve as the bases for the evaluation of the madressa. The structure of an educational situation has been examined and has been divided into the following component parts: the aim; the learning content; the method; the persons involved: the educator and the learner; educational relations, particularly authority, discipline and punishment. Criteria for each of these components have been determined. The madressa owes its existence to its religious purposes. It exists to prepare learners to be good Muslims, who know and fulfil their religious obligations. For these reasons, the principles of Islam have also been described. There has also been a detailed study of the practices in the madressa. The research has revealed that: the practices in the madressa are in conformity with educational criteria; the madressa is directed towards achieving its religious purposes. However, there are areas of the madressa's activities that need further attention: there has to be much greater concentration on improving the skills of the educators and on ensuring that they have the required attributes; v it is also necessary to promote greater co-operation between parents and educators; it is essential that both parents and teachers provide positive examples of behaviour; greater self-discipline has to be acquired by learners as this is crucial to the performance of religious duties. This study can provide the bases for a reconsideration of aspects of the madressa's activities to promote more effective education. This study also provides an example of a community's ability to create educational structures, by its own efforts, to reproduce its beliefs and values. vi OPSOMMING 'N OPVOEDKUNDIGE EVALUERING VAN DIE MADRESSA STELSEL VAN GODSDIENSONDERRIG Die madressa is 'n stelsel van godsdiensonderrig vir Moslem kinders, wat glo in die Islam geloof. Madressa klasse word daagliks op weeksdae aangebied. Klasse vind in die middae vanaf 14:30 tot 17:00 plaas en duur vir ongeveer twee en 'n half uur. Die meeste Moslemkinders, ongeveer 97% wat in Lenasia woon, woon hierdie klasse by. Die madressa sisteem het veral betrekking op die vorming van kinders. Dit vorm egter ook die houdings, bewussyn en gedrag van diegene wat dit bywoon. Omdat die madressa nie aan enige vorm van beheer of toesighouding deur 'n bulte instansie onderworpe is nie, kan dit potensieel misbruik word. Daar is sprake van 'n buitengewone besteding van tyd en moeite aan die madressa. Dit is derhalwe nodig om te bepaal of die madressa die tvd en moeite wat daaraan bestee word, werd is en of dit aan die religieuse oogmerke daarvan voldoen. Die doel met die studie was om te bepaal of die madressa: * binne die raamwerk van aanvaarde opvoedkundige kriteria funksioneer; * aan die religieuse doelstellings daarvan voldoen. Die navorsingsmetodes wat in die studie aangewend is, was hoofsaaklik kwalitatief van aard. 'n Kwantitatiewe komponent is egter aanvullend gebruik met die oog op meer omvattende data-insameling. vii Kriteria van opvoeding is met behulp van In literatuurstudie qeidentifiseer. Hierdie kriteria het as basis gedien vir die evaluering van die madressa. 'n Analise van die struktuur van 'n opvoedingsituasie het die onderstaande vyf konstituente aan die lig gebring: * die doel; * die leerinhoud; * die metode; * die persone betrokke: die opvoeder en die leerling; * die opvoedingsverhouding. Kriteria vir elke van die genoemde konstituente is vasgestel. Die bestaan van die madressa is aan 'n religieuse motief te danke. Die madressa onderrig sy leerlinge om goeie Moslems te wees en tot In bewuswording van religieuse verantwoordelikhede. Om hierdie rede word In hoofstuk aan die beginsels van Islam gewy. Enkele van die belangrikste bevindings van die studie is dat: * die madressa opvoedkundig verantwoord is; en * die madressa voldoende op die religieuse doel daarvan afgestem is. Daar is egter terreine in die madressa se aktiwiteite wat verdere aandag verdien: * opvoeders se onderrigvaardighede behoort verbeter te word om sodoende te verseker dat die doelstellings van die madressa doeltreffender verwesenlik kan word; viii * samewerking tussen die ouers en madressa-opvoeders te wees; * onderwysers sowel as ouers behoort deur hul voorlewing vir kinders 'n voorbeeld van toegewydheid aan die doelstelling van die madressa te wees; * 'n grater mate van dissipline moet by die kinders gevestig word aangesien dit belangrik is vir die uitvoering van religieuse take. Deur hierdie studie is die vermoe van 'n samelewing gedemonstreer om religieuse opvoedingstrukture daar te stel om dit waarin hulle glo by hul kinders in te skerp. ---000--- IX CHAPTER ONE ORIENTATION, STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE STUDY 1.1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1.1 Orientation 1 1.1.2 The Term "Madressa" 1 1.1.3 A Note on Spelling 2 1.1.4 The Demands of the Madressa 2 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM AND THE AIM OF THE STUDY 3 1.3 MOTIVATION FOR THE RESEARCH 4 1.4 SELECTION OF THE TARGET GROUP 7 1.4.1 Size and Influence of the Two Groups 7 1.4.2 Generalisation of Content 9 1.4.3 Generalisation of Method 9 1.4.4 Teachers 9 1.5 RESEARCH METHODS 10 1.5.1 Historical-Descriptive Approach 10 1.5.1.1 Literature Study 11 1.5.1.2 Conceptual Analysis 13 1.5.1.3 Dialectic Interaction 13 1.5.2 The Empirical-Analytic Method 14 1.5.2.1 Observation 15 1.5.2.2 Interviews 15 1.5.2.3 Questionnaires 15 1.5.2.4 Document Analysis 16 1.6 ORGANISATION OF THE STUDY 16 ,.