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MA Islamic Education: Theory and Practice

About the Course

The central objective of the MA Islamic Education: Theory and Practice is to enable diverse groups of teachers and Muslim educators to become research-based reflective practitioners whilst facilitating teaching and learning of Muslim faith and its historical and modern expressions within diverse contemporary educational settings. By adopting an interdisciplinary research framework, you will critically examine perceptions of education in Muslim textual sources and intellectual heritage as well as engage with modern educational theory and pedagogic practice.

This course will develop your ability to engage, apply and develop a range of research and methodological approaches to your own professional practice and provide opportunities for your own professional development and reflection. Emphasis is placed on providing you with the opportunity to engage with a range of dynamic and challenging concepts and methods and to apply these to your professional experience and contexts. The first part of the programme has therefore been designed to enable you to explore a range of research methods relevant to your particular area of professional expertise in Religions, Society and Education. As an independent practitioner in Islamic Education, you will apply, develop and then extend your own professional practice and academic skills, culminating in the submission of an extended study in the form of a 20,000-word dissertation.

This programme draws on current staff research and teaching expertise as well as both academic and professional relationships developed by staff in the Warwick Religions and Education Research Unit (WRERU) within Education Studies.

Suitable for

The emphasis on the Islamic Education Pathway is research-based critical engagement with theory and practice of Islamic Education within contemporary Muslim minority and majority contexts. The programme is designed for opening up professional development pathways for diverse groups of educational practitioners, Muslim educators and faith leaders who work within the context of formal and informal Islamic and general educational settings.

The programme is ideally suited for candidates progressing into or within senior leadership positions, including senior faith leaders, staff running the Islamic Education provision within the Mosque and Madrassa, as well as subject leaders, head teachers and senior leadership teams within schools. This programme is also suited to Muslim youth workers, chaplains and Islamic Studies specialists based in general higher education institutions and traditional Muslim seminaries. The programme is open to religious education practitioners who wish to deepen their knowledge and understanding of Islam and be able to respond effectively to the educational and spiritual needs of Muslim children and young people under their care.

In a personal capacity the programme is designed to enhance practitioners’ appreciation of and competences within their professional field. In a professional capacity the programme is designed to equip practitioners for progression within their chosen career structure.

Course aims and benefits

  • To provide opportunities for advanced and sustained levels of reflection on professional practice in the field of Islamic Education.
  • To enable students to explore, develop and apply, at an advanced level, a range of research-related methodological approaches to the study of and reflection on professional practice in the area of Islamic Education.
  • To provide opportunities for students to acquire advanced knowledge and understanding of the background literature and critical approaches to research in the area of Islamic Education and professional practice.
  • To ensure that students develop and can demonstrate, at an appropriately advanced level, the range of transferable, personal and generic skills required for a taught Master’s programme, critical thinking and reflection on professional practice.
  • To enable students to make an independent contribution to the advancement of professional knowledge and practice in the field of Islamic Education.
  • To prepare students for independent level 8 research-based and practice-orientated enquiry within a field-related research degree programme (such as EdD, PhD and MPhil).

Course structure

The distinct pedagogical approach of the programme is grounded within a facilitated transformative teaching and learning experience that nurtures academic, personal, and professional formation within a particular community of learners. The programme is offered both full-time and part-time.

The emphasis within the seminars and teaching sessions is on full candidate participation, guided learning and independent research-based enquiry that enhances professional reflective practice. Individual candidates concentrate on research problems or questions emerging from their own professional practice and experience.

Core modules

Scholarships are available
from

Aziz Foundation

Key Facts

Course duration

- 1 year full-time; 2-3 years part-time

Study programme

- 2 Core Modules

- 1 Optional Core

-1 Optional Module

- Dissertation

Assessment

- 4 assignments of 5,000 words each (or equivalent)
- Dissertation of 20,000 words

Entry requirements

Find information on our entry requirements