Course: Islamic System of Education (6505) Semester: Spring, 2021

Level: MA /M. Ed.

Assignment No. 1

Q.1 Explain the concept of knowledge according to idealism and progressivism.

The term metaphysics literally means "beyond the physical." This area of philosophy focuses on
the nature of reality. Metaphysics attempts to find unity across the domains of experience and
thought. At the metaphysical level, there are four* broad philosophical schools of thought that
apply to education today. They are idealism, realism, pragmatism (sometimes called
experientialism), and existentialism. Each will be explained shortly. These four general
frameworks provide the root or base from which the various educational philosophies are
derived.

* A fifth metaphysical school of thought, called Scholasticism, is largely applied in Roman

Catholic schools in the educational philosophy called "Thomism." It combines idealist and
realist philosophies in a framework that harmonized the ideas of Aristotle, the realist, with
idealist notions of truth. Thomas Aquinas, 1255-127, was the theologian who wrote "Summa
Theologica," formalizing church doctrine. The Scholasticism movement encouraged the logical
and philosophical study of the beliefs of the church, legitimizing scientific inquiry within a
religious framework.

Two of these general or world philosophies, idealism and realism, are derived from the ancient
Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle. Two are more
contemporary, pragmatism and existentialism. However, educators who share one of these
distinct sets of beliefs about the nature of reality presently apply each of these world
philosophies in successful classrooms. Let us explore each of these metaphysical schools of
thought.
Idealism
Idealism is a philosophical approach that has as its central tenet that ideas are the only true
reality, the only thing worth knowing. In a search for truth, beauty, and justice that is enduring
and everlasting, the focus is on conscious reasoning in the mind. Plato, father of Idealism,
espoused this view about 400 years BC, in his famous book, The Republic. Plato believed that
there are two worlds. The first is the spiritual or mental world, which is eternal, permanent,
orderly, regular, and universal. There is also the world of appearance, the world experienced
through sight, touch, smell, taste, and sound, that is changing, imperfect, and disorderly. This
division is often referred to as the duality of mind and body. Reacting against what he perceived
as too much of a focus on the immediacy of the physical and sensory world, Plato described a
utopian society in which "education to body and soul all the beauty and perfection of which they
are capable" as an ideal. In his allegory of the cave, the shadows of the sensory world must be
overcome with the light of reason or universal truth. To understand truth, one must pursue
knowledge and identify with the Absolute Mind. Plato also believed that the soul is fully formed
prior to birth and is perfect and at one with the Universal Being. The birth process checks this
perfection, so education requires bringing latent ideas (fully formed concepts) to consciousness.

In idealism, the aim of education is to discover and develop each individual's abilities and full
moral excellence in order to better serve society. The curricular emphasis is subject matter of
mind: literature, history, philosophy, and religion. Teaching methods focus on handling ideas
through lecture, discussion, and Socratic dialogue (a method of teaching that uses questioning to
help students discover and clarify knowledge). Introspection, intuition, insight, and whole-part
logic are used to bring to consciousness the forms or concepts which are latent in the mind.
Character is developed through imitating examples and heroes.

Realism
Realists believe that reality exists independent of the human mind. The ultimate reality is the
world of physical objects. The focus is on the body/objects. Truth is objective-what can be
observed. Aristotle, a student of Plato who broke with his mentor's idealist philosophy, is called
the father of both Realism and the scientific method. In this metaphysical view, the aim is to
understand objective reality through "the diligent and unsparing scrutiny of all observable data."
Aristotle believed that to understand an object, its ultimate form had to be understood, which
does not change. For example, a rose exists whether or not a person is aware of it. A rose can
exist in the mind without being physically present, but ultimately, the rose shares properties with
all other roses and flowers (its form), although one rose may be red and another peach colored.
Aristotle also was the first to teach logic as a formal discipline in order to be able to reason about
physical events and aspects. The exercise of rational thought is viewed as the ultimate purpose
for humankind. The Realist curriculum emphasizes the subject matter of the physical world,
particularly science and mathematics. The teacher organizes and presents content systematically
within a discipline, demonstrating use of criteria in making decisions. Teaching methods focus
on mastery of facts and basic skills through demonstration and recitation. Students must also
demonstrate the ability to think critically and scientifically, using observation and
experimentation. Curriculum should be scientifically approached, standardized, and distinct-
discipline based. Character is developed through training in the rules of conduct.

Pragmatism (Experientialism)
For pragmatists, only those things that are experienced or observed are real. In this late 19th
century American philosophy, the focus is on the reality of experience. Unlike the Realists and
Rationalists, Pragmatists believe that reality is constantly changing and that we learn best
through applying our experiences and thoughts to problems, as they arise. The universe is
dynamic and evolving, a "becoming" view of the world. There is no absolute and unchanging
truth, but rather, truth is what works. Pragmatism is derived from the teaching of Charles Sanders
Peirce (1839-1914), who believed that thought must produce action, rather than linger in the
mind and lead to indecisiveness.

John Dewey (1859-1952) applied pragmatist philosophy in his progressive approaches. He

believed that learners must adapt to each other and to their environment. Schools should
emphasize the subject matter of social experience. All learning is dependent on the context of
place, time, and circumstance. Different cultural and ethnic groups learn to work cooperatively
and contribute to a democratic society. The ultimate purpose is the creation of a new social order.
Character development is based on making group decisions in light of consequences.

For Pragmatists, teaching methods focus on hands-on problem solving, experimenting, and
projects, often having students work in groups. Curriculum should bring the disciplines together
to focus on solving problems in an interdisciplinary way. Rather than passing down organized
bodies of knowledge to new learners, Pragmatists believe that learners should apply their
knowledge to real situations through experimental inquiry. This prepares students for citizenship,
daily living, and future careers.

Existentialism
The nature of reality for Existentialists is subjective, and lies within the individual. The physical
world has no inherent meaning outside of human existence. Individual choice and individual
standards rather than external standards are central. Existence comes before any definition of
what we are. We define ourselves in relationship to that existence by the choices we make. We
should not accept anyone else's predetermined philosophical system; rather, we must take
responsibility for deciding who we are. The focus is on freedom, the development of authentic
individuals, as we make meaning of our lives.

There are several different orientations within the existentialist philosophy. Soren Kierkegaard
(1813-1855), a Danish minister and philosopher, is considered to be the founder of
existentialism. His was a Christian orientation. Another group of existentialists, largely
European, believes that we must recognize the finiteness of our lives on this small and fragile
planet, rather than believing in salvation through God. Our existence is not guaranteed in an after
life, so there is tension about life and the certainty of death, of hope or despair. Unlike the more
austere European approaches where the universe is seen as meaningless when faced with the
certainty of the end of existence, American existentialists have focused more on human potential
and the quest for personal meaning. Values clarification is an outgrowth of this movement.
Following the bleak period of World War II, the French philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre, suggested
that for youth, the existential moment arises when young persons realize for the first time that
choice is theirs, that they are responsible for themselves. 

Progressivism

Progressivists believe that individuality, progress, and change are fundamental to one's
education. Believing that people learn best from what they consider most relevant to their lives,
progressivists center their curricula on the needs, experiences, interests, and abilities of students.
Progressivist teachers try making school interesting and useful by planning lessons that provoke
curiosity. In a progressivist school, students are actively learning. The students interact with one
another and develop social qualities such as cooperation and tolerance for different points of
view. In addition, students solve problems in the classroom similar to those they will encounter
in their everyday lives. Progressivists believe that education should be a process of ongoing
growth, not just a preparation for becoming an adult. An obvious example of progressivism
would be our class. We are in groups a lot and we actively learn through discussion. We talk
about how what we read can be incorporated into our future teaching careers. Dr. Theodore takes
into account the suggestions from the previous semester's students and modifies his class
accordingly.

After reading John Dewey’s book and discussing his thoughts and ideas in class, one can see
John Dewey's relationship to progressivism. He wanted students to learn through action and
being involved in the processes that will get to the end product. He wanted the students to work
on hands-on projects so learning would take place, rather than memorization. In a regular
classroom students just memorize what they need to know and it goes away after the test. In
Dewey’s mind, the students would have to exercise their brain by problem solving and thinking
critically, resulting in learning (even though the students may not even know it!). This allows the
individual's brain to develop, so as the individual grows learning becomes easier! After attending
a school Dewey would have set up, a child would be ready for the real world and a lot of the
everyday setbacks that an individual would experience, such as losing a button, changing a tire,
making lunch, or balancing a checkbook

Reference:

https://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP2.html

https://www.siue.edu/~ptheodo/foundations/progressivism.html

Q.2 Critically discuss the educational objectives of Pakistan.

Some of the major objectives of Education are as follows: 

Education has a great social significance. Since earliest Limes philosophers have devoted to it a
good deal of attention defining its nature and objectives.

In modern times too eminent educational philosophers and outstanding teachers have accorded
education a high place in their works.

Various views expressed:

The seventeenth century Czech educator Johann Amos Comenius is considered the first great
educational philosopher of modern times. He criticized the prevalent emphasis upon logic and
classics and insisted that the method of instruction should be consistent with the mental
development of the child and that the subject-matter should be adopted to his interests.

John Locke, the English philosopher, wrote that education should aim al menial discipline and
that it should be secular rather than religious. Rousseau taught that the objective of education is
to direct the child’s natural inclinations wisely in order to train him properly. He also advocated
popular education.

Forebel, who was the founder of the kinder-garten, believed that the aim of education is
“complete living”. According to Pestalozzi education should aim at the harmonious development
of all the faculties, the ultimate objective being the improvement of the lot of the masses. John
Dewy, the father of the movement of progressive education, held that education is the living of
life, not a preparation of life. Auguste Comte, the father of Sociology, contended that education
should aim at cultivating sympathy for, and understanding of our fellowmen. Herbert Spencer
asserted that education should prepare the individuals for a well rounded life in society.

Lester, F. Ward regarded education as a means to social progress. Sumner held that education
should produce in the individual a “well developed critical faculty” which will prevent him from
acting on mere suggestion or impulse and from following uncritically traditional ways but
instead will enable him to act rationally by judgment. He, however, did not regard education as a
panacea for all ills. He wrote, “We apply schooling as a remedy for every social phenomenon
which we do not like………….. our faith in the power of book learning is excessive and
unfounded.
It is a superstition of the age.” Giddings felt that education should aim to develop in individuals
“self-confidence and self-control, emancipate them from superstitious beliefs and ignorance, give
them knowledge, make them think realistically, and help them become enlightened citizens.” To
Durkheim the aim of education is “socialization of the younger generation.”

Thus, we find writers defining the objectives of education variously.

Following Arnold these objectives may be briefly described as follows:

(i) To Complete the Socialization Process:
The first and the foremost objective of education is “to complete the socialization process.”
Though family is a great source of socialization, yet in modern times it leaves much undone in
the socialization process. A sociologist explains the failure of the family to develop attitudes of
responsibility in children in the following words:

“The situation has arisen partly because of our shift to urban life and to what the sociologist calls
secondary-group organisation of society, that is, society marked by the disappearance of home
and garden, the predominance of specialization of occupation, individualization of choice as to
friends, religious life and forms of recreation, and a general “touch-and-go”, impersonal kind of
social contact. Life in our cities, as compared to country and village life of a few generations
ago, is superficial.”

We pointed out how modern family has failed to perform the role of a socializing agency. The
school has stepped in the vacated places. Now it is felt that it is the school’s business to instill in
the child the qualities of honesty, fair play, consideration of others and a sense of right and
wrong.

The parents who have lost control of their own adolescents now expect the class room to make
up for any deficiencies in home training of manners and morals. Mounting pressure is laid on the
school to perform the task of socialization which once was the function of the family. In addition
to the socialization of the young the school also devotes much of the time and energy to the
themes of cooperation, good citizenship and doing one’s duty. The patriotic sentiments are
instilled in the students.
(ii) Transmission of Cultural Heritage:
Secondly, education should aim at the transmission of cultural heritage. By cultural heritage we
mean the knowledge of the past, its art, literature, philosophy, religion and music. Through
history text books and indirectly through celebration of patriotic holidays the child is acquainted
with his cultural heritage. However, it is only at higher levels of education that any serious
attempt is made to realise this objective.

(iii) Reformation of Attitudes:

Thirdly, education should aim at the reformation of attitudes wrongly formed by the children
already. Within his family group the child often comes to absorb a host of attitudes, beliefs,
loyalties and prejudices. To reform these beliefs and prejudices is the function of education.
Though the school cannot do much in this respect as the attendance of the child in the school is
intermittent, yet it should continue its efforts for his attitude reformation.

(iv) Occupational Placement:

Education has also a utilitarian end. It should prepare the adolescent for earning a livelihood.
Education should enable him to do a productive task and earn enough for himself and his family.
It should make the young person a citizen who produces to the limit of his natural and acquired
capacities. The youth should be enabled to play a productive role in society.

(v) To Instill the Sense of Competition:

The school’s main emphasis is upon personal competition. For each subject studies, each child is
compared with his companions by percentage of marks or division. The teacher praises those
who do well and frowns upon those who do not do well. The school not only ranks all those
within its walls but also sifts its raw material, passing some and rejecting others on the basis of
intelligence and diligence. It thus acts as a social selector.

Probably the best statement of the aims of education has been given by Cardinal Newman.
Speaking of the university education he says:

But a University training is the great ordinary means to a great but ordinary end: it aims at
raising the intellectual tone of society, at cultivating the public mind, at purifying the national
taste, at supplying the true principles to popular enthusiasm and fixed aims to popular aspiration,
at giving enlargement and sobriety to the ideas of the age, at facilitating the exercise of political
power, and refining the intercourse of private life.

It is this education which gives a man a clear conscious view of his own opinion and judgement,
a truth in developing them, an eloquence in expressing them, and a force in urging them. It
teaches how to see things as they are, to go right to the point, to disentangle a skein of thought, to
defeat what is sophisticated, and to discard what is irrelevant. It shows him how to accommodate
himself to others, how to throw himself into their state of mind, how to bring before them his
own, how to influence them, how to come to an understanding with them, how to bear with
them.

He is at home in any society, he has common ground with every class; he knows when to speak
and when to be silent; he is able to converse; he is able to listen; he can ask a question pertinently
and gain a lesson reasonably, when he has nothing to impart himself; he is ever ready, yet never
in the way; he is a pleasant companion, and a comrade you can depend upon; he knows when to
be serious and when to trifle, and he has a sure tact which enables him to trifle with gracefulness
and to be serious with effect.

He has the repose of a mind which lives in itself, while it lives in the world, and which has
resources for its happiness at home when it cannot go abroad. He has a gift which serves him in
public, and supports him in retirement, without which good fortune is but vulgar, and with which
failure and disappointment have a charm. The art which tends to make a man all this, is in the
object which it pursues as useful as the art of wealth or the art of health , though it is less
susceptible of methods and less tangible, less complete in its result.

The Radhakrishnan Report on University Education in India adds: “The purpose of all education,
it is admitted by thinkers of East and West, is to provide a coherent picture of the universe and
integrated way of life.” And in fact if education can achieve this objective then any product of
our educational institutions could well play his role in life and help in building a better world.

Herein, it may also be remarked that education is sometimes used as a medium of indoctrination.
In the communist countries, the students are taught lessons in communism while in Islamic
countries they are taught Islamic fundamentalism. In India, although the old forms of social
stratification based on caste are coming to an end, yet social stratification is making its
appearance in a new form.

The public school system has given birth to a new class—the upper class children who do not
mix or play with the lower class children getting education in Government schools. An elite’
class of children taught western style of living has come up.

Reference:

https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/education/education-objectives-major-objectives-of-
education/24306

Q.3 Give your own reflection on education and training in Pakistan

Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values,

morals, beliefs, and habits. Educational methods
include teaching, training, storytelling, discussion and directed research. Education frequently
takes place under the guidance of educators, however learners can also educate themselves.
Education can take place in formal or informal settings and any experience that has a formative
effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. The methodology of
teaching is called pedagogy.

Formal education is commonly divided formally into such stages

as preschool or kindergarten, primary school, secondary school and then college, university,
or apprenticeship.

There are movements for education reforms, such as for improving quality and efficiency of
education towards applicable relevance in the students' lives and efficient problem solving in
modern or future society at large or for evidence-based education methodologies. A right to
education has been recognized by some governments and the United Nations.[a] Global initiatives
aim at achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 4, which promotes quality education for all.
In most regions, education is compulsory up to a certain age.
Etymology

Etymologically, the word "education" is derived from the Latin word ēducātiō ("A breeding, a
bringing up, a rearing") from ēducō ("I educate, I train") which is related to
the homonym ēdūcō ("I lead forth, I take out; I raise up, I erect") from ē- ("from, out of")
and dūcō ("I lead, I conduct").

History

Education began in prehistory, as adults trained the young in the knowledge and skills deemed
necessary in their society. In pre-literate societies, this was achieved orally and through
imitation. Story-telling passed knowledge, values, and skills from one generation to the next. As
cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond skills that could be readily learned through
imitation, formal education developed. Schools existed in Egypt at the time of the Middle
Kingdom.

Plato founded the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in Europe. The city

of Alexandria in Egypt, established in 330 BCE, became the successor to Athens as the
intellectual cradle of Ancient Greece. There, the great Library of Alexandria was built in the 3rd
century BCE. European civilizations suffered a collapse of literacy and organization following
the fall of Rome in CE 476.

In China, Confucius (551–479 BCE), of the State of Lu, was the country's most influential

ancient philosopher, whose educational outlook continues to influence the societies of China and
neighbours like Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Confucius gathered disciples and searched in vain
for a ruler who would adopt his ideals for good governance, but his Analects were written down
by followers and have continued to influence education in East Asia into the modern era.
The Aztecs also had a well-developed theory about education, which has an equivalent word
in Nahuatl called tlacahuapahualiztli. It means "the art of raising or educating a person",or "the
art of strengthening or bringing up men". This was a broad conceptualization of education, which
prescribed that it begins at home, supported by formal schooling, and reinforced by community
living. Historians cite that formal education was mandatory for everyone regardless of social
class and gender. There was also the word neixtlamachiliztli, which is "the act of giving wisdom
to the face." These concepts underscore a complex set of educational practices, which was
oriented towards communicating to the next generation the experience and intellectual heritage
of the past for the purpose of individual development and his integration into the community.

After the Fall of Rome, the Catholic Church became the sole preserver of literate scholarship in
Western Europe. The church established cathedral schools in the Early Middle Ages as centres of
advanced education. Some of these establishments ultimately evolved into medieval
universities and forebears of many of Europe's modern universities.

 During the High Middle Ages, Chartres Cathedral operated the famous and influential Chartres
Cathedral School. The medieval universities of Western Christendom were well-integrated
across all of Western Europe, encouraged freedom of inquiry, and produced a great variety of
fine scholars and natural philosophers, including Thomas Aquinas of the University of
Naples, Robert Grosseteste of the University of Oxford, an early expositor of a systematic
method of scientific experimentation, and Saint Albert the Great, a pioneer of biological field
research. Founded in 1088, the University of Bologne is considered the first, and the oldest
continually operating university.

Elsewhere during the Middle Ages, Islamic science and mathematics flourished under the

Islamic caliphate which was established across the Middle East, extending from the Iberian
Peninsula in the west to the Indus in the east and to the Almoravid Dynasty and Mali Empire in
the south.
The Renaissance in Europe ushered in a new age of scientific and intellectual inquiry and
appreciation of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Around 1450, Johannes
Gutenberg developed a printing press, which allowed works of literature to spread more quickly.
The European Age of Empires saw European ideas of education in philosophy, religion, arts and
sciences spread out across the globe. Missionaries and scholars also brought back new ideas
from other civilizations – as with the Jesuit China missions who played a significant role in the
transmission of knowledge, science, and culture between China and Europe, translating works
from Europe like Euclid's Elements for Chinese scholars and the thoughts of Confucius for
European audiences. The Enlightenment saw the emergence of a more secular educational
outlook in Europe. Much of modern traditional Western and Eastern education is based on
the Prussian education system.

In most countries today, full-time education, whether at school or otherwise, is compulsory for
all children up to a certain age. Due to this the proliferation of compulsory education, combined
with population growth, UNESCO has calculated that in the next 30 years more people will
receive formal education than in all of human history thus far.

Reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education

Q.4 Write a note on core curriculum with Quran references

Education has played a central role in Islam since Ancient times, owing in part to the centrality

of scripture and its study in the Islamic tradition. Before the modern era, education would begin
at a young age with study of Arabic and the Quran. Some students would then proceed to
training in tafsir (Quranic exegesis) and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), which was seen as
particularly important. For the first few centuries of Islam, educational settings were entirely
informal, but beginning in the 11th and 12th centuries, the ruling elites began to
establish institutions of higher religious learning known as madrasas in an effort to secure
support and cooperation of the ulema (religious scholars). Madrasas soon multiplied throughout
the Islamic world, which helped to spread Islamic learning beyond urban centers and to unite
diverse Islamic communities in a shared cultural project. Madrasas were devoted principally to
study of Islamic law, but they also offered other subjects such as theology, medicine, and
mathematics.

Muslims historically distinguished disciplines inherited from pre-Islamic civilizations, such

as philosophy and medicine, which they called "sciences of the ancients" or "rational sciences",
from Islamic religious sciences. Sciences of the former type flourished for several centuries, and
their transmission formed part of the educational framework in classical and medieval Islam. In
some cases, they were supported by institutions such as the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, but
more often they were transmitted informally from teacher to student. While formal studies in
madrasas were open only to men, women of prominent urban families were commonly educated
in private settings and many of them received and later issued ijazas (diplomas) in hadith studies,
calligraphy and poetry recitation. Working women learned religious texts and practical skills
primarily from each other, though they also received some instruction together with men in
mosques and private homes.

Education in pre-modern Islam

The centrality of scripture and its study in the Islamic tradition helped to make education a
central pillar of the religion in virtually all times and places in the history of Islam. The
importance of learning in the Islamic tradition is reflected in a number of hadiths attributed to
Muhammad, including one that instructs the faithful to "seek knowledge, even in China".This
injunction was seen to apply particularly to scholars, but also to some extent to the
wider Muslim public, as exemplified by the dictum of Al-Zarnuji, "learning is prescribed for us
all". While it is impossible to calculate literacy rates in pre-modern Islamic societies, it is almost
certain that they were relatively high, at least in comparison to their European counterparts.

Education would begin at a young age with study of Arabic and the Quran, either at home or in a
primary school, which was often attached to a mosque. Some students would then proceed to
training in tafsir (Quranic exegesis) and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), which was seen as
particularly important. Education focused on memorization, but also trained the more advanced
students to participate as readers and writers in the tradition of commentary on the studied
texts. It also involved a process of socialization of aspiring scholars, who came from virtually all
social backgrounds, into the ranks of the ulema.

For the first few centuries of Islam, educational settings were entirely informal, but beginning in
the 11th and 12th centuries, the ruling elites began to establish institutions of higher religious
learning known as madrasas in an effort to secure support and cooperation of the
ulema. Madrasas soon multiplied throughout the Islamic world, which helped to spread Islamic
learning beyond urban centers and to unite diverse Islamic communities in a shared cultural
project.Nevertheless, instruction remained focused on individual relationships between students
and their teacher The formal attestation of educational attainment, ijaza, was granted by a
particular scholar rather than the institution, and it placed its holder within a genealogy of
scholars, which was the only recognized hierarchy in the educational system While formal
studies in madrasas were open only to men, women of prominent urban families were commonly
educated in private settings and many of them received and later issued ijazas in hadith studies,
calligraphy and poetry recitation. Working women learned religious texts and practical skills
primarily from each other, though they also received some instruction together with men in
mosques and private homes.

From the 8th century to the 12th century, the primary mode of receiving education in the
Islamicate world was from private tutors for wealthy families who could afford a formal
education, not madrasas. This formal education was most readily available to members of the
caliphal court including the viziers, administrative officers, and wealthy merchants. These
private instructors were well known scholars who taught their students Arabic, literature,
religion, mathematics, and philosophy. Islamic Sassanian tradition praises the idea of a 'just ruler'
or a king learned in the ways of philosophy. This concept of an 'enlightened philosopher-king'
served as a catalyst for the spread of education to the populous.
Madrasas were devoted principally to the study of law, but they also offered other subjects such
as theology, medicine, and mathematics The madrasa complex usually consisted of a mosque,
boarding house, and a library. It was maintained by a waqf (charitable endowment), which paid
salaries of professors, stipends of students, and defrayed the costs of construction and
maintenance. The madrasa was unlike a modern college in that it lacked a standardized
curriculum or institutionalized system of certification.

Madrasa education taught medicine and pharmacology primarily on the basis of humoral
pathology. The famous Greek physician Hippocrates is credited for developing the theory of the
four humors, also known as humoral pathology. The humors influence bodily health and emotion
and it was thought that sickness and disease stemmed from an imbalance in a person's humors,
and health could only be restored by finding humoral equilibrium through remedies of food or
bloodletting.Each humor is thought to be related to a universal element and every humor
expresses specific properties. The interpenetration of the individual effects of each humor on the
body are called mizādj. Black Bile is related to the earth element and expresses cold and dry
properties, yellow bile is related to fire and subsequently is dry and warm, phlegm is related to
water and it expresses moist and cold properties, and blood is air displaying moist and warm
qualities.

In order to aid in medical efforts to fight disease and sickness, Ibn Sina also known as Avicenna,
wrote the Canon of Medicine.This was a five book encyclopedia compilation of Avicenna's
research towards healing illnesses, and it was widely used for centuries across Eurasia as a
medical textbook Many of Avicenna's ideas came from al-Razi's al-Hawi.

Muslims distinguished disciplines inherited from pre-Islamic civilizations, such as philosophy

and medicine, which they called "sciences of the ancients" or "rational sciences", from Islamic
religious sciences. Sciences of the former type flourished for several centuries, and their
transmission formed part of the educational framework in classical and medieval Islam In some
cases, they were supported by institutions such as the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, but more
often they were transmitted informally from teacher to student.

The University of Al Karaouine, founded in 859 AD, is listed in The Guinness Book Of

Records as the world's oldest degree-granting university. Scholars occasionally call the
University of Al Quaraouiyine (name given in 1963), founded as a mosque by Fatima al-Fihri in
859, a university, although some scholars such as Jacques Verger writes that this is done out of
scholarly convenience. Several scholars consider that al-Qarawiyyin was founded and run as
a madrasa until after World War II. They date the transformation of the madrasa of al-
Qarawiyyin into a university to its modern reorganization in 1963. In the wake of these reforms,
al-Qarawiyyin was officially renamed "University of Al Quaraouiyine" two years later. The Al-
Azhar University was another early university (madrasa). The madrasa is one of the relics of
the Fatimid caliphate. The Fatimids traced their descent to Muhammad's daughter Fatimah and
named the institution using a variant of her honorific title Al-Zahra (the brilliant).Organized
instruction in the Al-Azhar Mosque began in 978.

Modern Education in Islam

In general, minority religious groups often have more education than a country's majority

religious group, even more so when a large part of that minority are immigrants. This trend
applies to Islam: Muslims in North America and Europe have more formal years of formal
education than Christians. Furthermore, Christians have more formal years of education in many
majority Muslim countries, such as in sub-Saharan Africa. However, global averages of
education are far lower for Muslims than Jews, Christians, Buddhists and people unaffiliated
with a religion.Globally, Muslims and Hindus tend to have the fewest years of
schooling.However, younger Muslims have made much larger gains in education than any of
these other groups.

There is a perception of a large gender gap in majority Islam countries, but this is not always the
case. In fact, the quality of female education is more closely related to economic factors than
religious factors. And, although the gender gap in education is real, it has been continuing to
shrink in recent years. Women in all religious groups have made much larger educational gains
in recent generations than men.

Women in Islamic Education

One of the largest roles that women played in education in Islam is that of muhaddithas.
Muhaddithas are women who recount the stories, teachings, actions, and words of Muhammad
adding to the isnad by studying and recording hadiths. In order for a man or woman to produce
hadiths, they must first hold an ijazah, or a form of permission, often granted by a teacher from
private studies and not from a madrasa, allowing a muhaddith/muhadditha permission to transmit
specific texts. Some of the most influential Muhaddithas are Zaynab bint al-Kamal who was
known for her extensive collection of hadiths, A'isha bint Abu Bakr was Muhammad's third wife
and she studied hadith from the early age of four. A'isha was well known and respected for her
line of teachers and ijazahs allowing her to present information from the Sahih collections of al-
Bukhari, the Sira of Ibn Hashim, and parts of the Dhamm al-Kalam from al-Hawari. Rabi'a
Khatun, sister of the Ayyubid sultan Salah al-Din paid endowments to support the construction
of a madrasa in Damascus, despite the facts that women were often not appointed teaching
positions at the madrasas. Because of Rabi'a Khatun's contributions to Damascus, scholarly
traffic in the region increased greatly and involvement of women scholars boomed. As a result,
female participation in hadith dissemination also grew.

Reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Islam

Q.5 Give your reflections as a teacher on the relationhship between student and teacher

teacher-student relationship is essential for quality teaching and student learning. Most
students don’t know that the relationship between teacher and student is the best. They also don’t
try to understand it, while others don’t care for it. In this teacher-student relationship guide, we
have mentioned some points that will help you build a healthy relationship between teachers and
students in the classroom.

the student-teacher relationship must be like a friendship where one person tries to understand
the problems faced by the other and help him to try to solve them. Teachers can also be like a
mother who worries about her children and their studies, sorrows, problems, etc. A teacher who
behaves like a mother will provide his student with love, attention, and special care. A teacher
can also be thought of as a god who watches over his children’s activity and help them correct
their mistakes.

Teacher-Student Relationship

It is straightforward to build up a perfect teacher and student relationship after knowing each
other appropriately. The only thing a student needs to have is trust, love, and respect towards his
teacher. It will also help if the student discusses all the problems, such as what troubles him or
makes him unhappy. A teacher can surely do something to help. The student also shouldn’t try to
hide anything from a teacher.

Learn each student’s name quickly.

The teacher who calls each student by their name has more chances of building positive student-
teacher relationships. The teacher can ask each student to come in front of the class and
introduce themselves. This way, the teacher can focus on one student and get enough time to
know them.

Learn some personal stuff about each student.

It will make the teacher connect with the student on a personal level. The teacher can ask
personal questions from the students while they are introducing themselves.

Teach with enthusiasm and keep a positive attitude.

When a teacher teaches with enthusiasm and passion, it creates a positive environment in the
classroom. It also makes the student comfortable around his teacher.

Conduct a discussion about any recent event.

The teacher can conduct a debate in the class where no student can interrupt or disagree with
another student while he is talking. Here, the students will learn about the importance of listening
and respecting others’ opinions.

Provide positive comments when needed.

Appreciation is one of the primary factors in maintaining a positive teacher-student relationship.

But a teacher mustn’t overdo it as it can spoil the kids. Appreciating students when required will
also encourage them to study well.

Make learning fun.

We all know and have realized as a kid that it is easy to get distracted in the classroom,
especially if it is a boring one. So, the classroom sessions must be interactive and fun so that the
students can stay engaged while learning.

Treat students with admiration and respect.

Students can quickly become irritable and argue with their teachers as they go into higher
classes. But they won’t behave in this manner if they are treated with passion, respect, and
admiration.

Show care and support to each student.

The teacher must not forget that a student can have personal issues (relating to his family). So,
they must care for their feelings and support them whenever the student seems low or sad.

Avoid punishing or using ill-language.

When a student misbehaves with the teacher or fellow students, the teacher should use a time-out
method instead of giving them a harsh punishment or threatening language.

Stay unbiased.

The teacher may find it easy to like some students, while others can be somewhat challenging.
Despite this, the teacher must not play favorites and give each student an equal opportunity to
perform different tasks.

Teach supportive behavior among the students.

A classroom can have different kids under the same roof, some coming from an economically
rich background while others may have a little less of it. But it is the teacher’s responsibility to
teach kids to accept each other’s differences and be supportive.

Laugh with the students.

Humor is the best way to make any bond stronger, including the student and teacher relationship.
The more a student laugh with his teacher, the less hesitant he becomes.

Create an environment where no one will hesitate to ask questions.

When a student feels unbound to answer any question or ask a question, he becomes more
comfortable with his teacher. A teacher must encourage this behavior and appreciate it whenever
a student asks for a more detailed explanation for any topic.

the student-teacher relationship can help the teacher in many ways. Having a healthy teacher and
student relationship can make students free from tensions, worries, etc. If students are so close
with a teacher, they will indeed discuss their problems with her, and she will surely solve them.
This way, a student can stay happy and away from tension. It will also motivate him to study
well as a teacher will always guide him towards the right path. The following are some other
benefits of having a positive student-teacher relationship –

Promotes academic success

A positive relationship between the teacher and student won’t help in academic success alone.
But it can encourage the students to be more devotional towards their study and try harder to
learn their subjects.

Develops self-worth in students

If a teacher appreciates his student on every effort he makes to learn, it will create a sense of self-
worth in him. It is essential, especially for students belonging to low economic status or having
difficulties in learning.

Creates a thriving environment in the classroom

When there is a positive environment in the school, both the teacher and student thrive. They
support each other to grow and develop an upbeat personality.
Avoid behavior problems

When a teacher and student show mutual respect towards each other, it is less likely for any
student to cause disturbances during the teaching process. Instead, it creates a positive learning
environment in the classroom.

Helps in professional growth

Positive student-teacher relationships will also help teachers to excel in the profession. It will
help them in improving their interpersonal and professional skills.

Reference:

https://www.techprevue.com/relationship-between-teacher-and-student/