Islamic Education System in Singapore: Current Issues and Challenges (original) (raw)
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Islamic Education in Singapore: Case Study Madrasah Al-Juneid Al-Islamiyah
International Journal of Science and Society, 2019
This article explains the development of Islamic education in Singapore, specifically Madrasah al-Juneid al-Islamiyah. The problem: how is curriculum development at Madrasah al-Juneid? And what are the challenges of the future of this madrasa? To answer this problem, the amount of data collected through the method of observation, interviews, and documentation. Data collected were analyzed descriptively-qualitatively. The results show: first, the curriculum at Madrasah al-Juneid initially did not contain pure religion then was expanded by adding general lessons. In learning, study materials are commonly used to approach integration with Islamic teachings. Second, madrassas in Singapore face challenges in the future that are not easy, namely the demands of the world of work, demands for quality, challenges of Western lifestyles, and accusations against Islam as a terrorist religion. Creative madrassas must address all these challenges in developing quality programs so that graduates c...
Madrasah Education in Secular, Modern and Multicultural Singapore: Challenges and Reform
TSAQAFAH
Madrasah education has become a major concern for secular, modern and pluralist Singapore due to government's deep-seated anxiety about whether the Islamic school graduates can contribute to the national economy and integrate into national cohesion. This article aims at exploring the challenges and reform of madrasah education within the secular, modern, and multicultural state. Data of this qualitative study were collected from official documents and websites, literature review, and interviews. Some data and relevant literature are then presented and analyzed. It is found that madrasah education has constantly been perceived in a negative nuance due to its insignificant contribution to the country's knowledge-based economy. The orthodox and conservative education system in madrasahs is also viewed as hindering Singapore's racial and religious cohesion. These challenges then force Singaporean Muslims to reform its madrasahs by changing the orientation, revamping the system, improving quality, instilling national cohesion and increasing the funding. This study implies that reformation in Islamic education would be successful when stakeholders innovatively negotiating the pressures brought by the politics and the national government and adjusting to the identity and aspiration of local society.
Reform in Madrasah education: The Singapore experience
Given that the knowledge that becomes part of the madrasah curriculum reflects the local conditions in which it is created, any rethinking of madrasah education necessarily involves an interrogation of the knowledge shared by a madrasah community in a particular political, economic and socio-cultural context. This chapter critically discusses reform in madrasah education using Singapore as an illustrative case study. Our discussion draws upon Phillips and Ochs’ (2004) framework of education policy borrowing with a focus on the different views of knowledge held by the madrasah community and the state. The chapter begins by providing an overview of madrasah education in Singapore, followed by an introduction of Phillips and Ochs’ (2003) framework on policy borrowing. The chapter then applies Phillips and Ochs’s framework to the development of madrasah education in Singapore. The chapter further illustrates this through a case study of curriculum reform in a madrasah in Singapore. The final section highlights a key challenge faced by madrasahs in Singapore in their attempts to reform madrasah education.
The Development of Islamic Education in The Malay World: Highlighting The Experience in Malaysia
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences
Islamic education has made a significant contribution to the development process of Malaysia. Ever since preachers introduced Islam to Malaya, Islamic education has found a home in the hearts of the Malays. Its long journey has resulted in the establishment of a dual system of Islamic education. Thus, this study presents a qualitative-based method through data collection and past studies. Finding research look the Malays are still staunch supporters of the traditional system while the dual-stream system is a catalyst for Islam's empowerment in Malaysia. Therefore, this article aims to discuss how the Malaysia's government has modernised the structure and form of the Islamic education system, particularly in dual system Islamic education and Malaysia's Islamic education system maintained both traditional and modern methods.
Knowledge and Education in Islam
Madrasah education in Singapore has raised a number of issues and concerns, chief of which relate to the quality of such education and the impact that this education has on social cohesion. Because madrasah education presents itself as Islamic education, it is necessary to clarify what is meant by Islamic education in order to establish the criteria according to which madrasah education in Singapore may be assessed. This requires a brief introduction to the philosophy of education in Islam and an understanding of the various institutions of learning in Islamic history that were founded on such a philosophy of education, including the madrasah. This discussion concludes with some remarks on how madrasah education in Singapore can be founded on the theme of multiculturalism.
Islamic education in Malaysia first recorded its presence during the period of the Malaccan Sultanate (1414–1511). Malacca witnessed the birth of prototype boarding schools known as pondok, literally meaning “hut,” in which the master or tok guru assumed full control. Malay students started to study at al-Azhar University in Cairo in the 1920s. Upon returning to Malaya, this new generation of Middle Eastern graduates significantly contributed to the changing face of Islamic education. They converted umumi (general) pondoks into madrasahs, adopting the nizami (structured) system, which combined instruction in Islamic fundamentals with Western-influenced pedagogy and technology. Realizing the deep attachment of the Malays to Islam, the British incorporated some form of Islamic education into Malay vernacular schools. With Malaysia’s independence, centralization of the administration and curricula of all schools that offer some kind of Islamic education has dominated the Ministry of Education’s efforts in the realm of formal Islamic education. There is continuous endeavor to bring an end to dualism between secular and religious education, as manifested in the marriage between Islamic and secular sciences in tertiary-level courses. In 1973, a Religious Education Division (Bahagian Pelajaran Agama) was established within the Ministry of Education to coordinate Islamic education. In 1983, it was renamed Islamic Education Division (Bahagian Pendidikan Islam). In 1995, it was restructured as Islamic and Moral Education Division (Bahagian Pendidikan Islam dan Moral). It has now reverted to Islamic Education Division, and its task is to manage the Islamic educational policy and curriculum, the Arabic-language policy and curriculum, the recruitment and in-service training of Islamic education and Arabic-language teachers, and missionary and leadership training for Islamic education staff and students, and to aid and raise the standards of both national secondary religious schools. Centralization of the administration and curricula of all schools that offer some kind of Islamic education has dominated the Ministry of Education’s efforts in the realm of formal Islamic education. Curriculum has been designed to accomplish the aims of the Islamic Philosophy of Education. There is continuous endeavor to bring an end to dualism between secular and religious education, as manifested in the marriage between Islamic and secular sciences in tertiary-level courses.
Profile Islamic Non-Formal Educatioan: a Case Study Surau and Madrasah Minangkabau
The research was aimed at describing the existing condition of surau and madrasah in Minangkabau West Sumatra, Indonesia. Formerly, surau serves not only as the center of Minangkabau culture and its community activities, but also as Islam education institution and Islam sufi education. Currently, surau is a place that is used to study the Islam particularly al-Quran recitation and some other religious subjects. Because of the transition of this function, it is necessary to study on the existing condition of surau and madrasah in Minangkabau of West Sumatra, Indonesia. This is a mixed method research. The study was conducted in four nagari Tanjung Alai and Sumani (Solok), Gadut (Agam) and Lubuk Jantan (Tanah Datar). Participant of the research was stakeholders; 10 peoples, principals/managers; 53 peoples and religious social activists; 235 peoples. Interview guide and questionnaire were used as the instrument of the research. Quantitative data obtained will be analyzed with descriptive statistics. The qualitative data was analyzed by data reduction, data display, and conclusion. The results showed surau and madrasah in Minangkabau of West Sumatra, Indonesia is considered as a part or a form of Islamic non-fomal education institutions. The results also showed that the profile of surau and madrasah in Minangkabau of West Sumatra Indonesia which has been converted to under the minimum service that have been established by government regulations. There are, firstly, management and organization; identity, vision and mission, as well as management. Secondly, the curriculum; instructional planning, implementation of learning, evaluation of learning, teachers/educators and students. Thirdly, media and learning resources; infrastructure, facilities and instructional media. Fourthly, funding and accountability. Hence, one of the efforts that can be done to overcome this problems is to empower the surau and madrasah Minangkabau West Sumatra Indonesia. Keywords: surau, madrasah, islamic non formal education
Journal of Education and Educational Development, 2016
This research article explores the perceptions of Muslim educationists in Malaysia about the Islamic and the western education systems. Views of two faculty members, who are active proponents of Islamic education, were acquired through interviews and their perceptions on Islamic and western education systems were analyzed and then contrasted against the views of Dr. Syed Naquib al-Attas, who is considered to be one of the architectsof the project of Islamization of knowledge and education.Qualitative exploratory methodology was followed for this research, where the views of the two educationists were analyzed using thematic analysis,and the views of Dr. Naquib al-Attas were derived through document analysis of his writings on education and finally contrasted.It was revealed that there exists a gap in the understanding of the depth of philosophical concepts and issues of education between these educationists and Naquib al-Attas.