Thread: Maktab/Islamic supplementary school Teacher trainin…

UK Muslim communities give great importance to the maktab/Islamic supplementary school system. The maktab provides an authentic, confessional religious & spiritual ed. to Muslim children. Since the 1st wave of Muslim migrants, mainly of South Asian origin, maktabs have increased

Many maktabs have managed to adapt to local needs. Work has been done on implementing and maintaining teaching/learning standards, updating curriculum and revising syllabus. However many are still playing catch up and are not lead by qualified and experienced leaders/teachers.

Furthermore, to my knowledge, structured, research driven, evidence based training courses or training manuals for those aspiring to be maktab teachers are non-existent. There seems to be an assumption that anyone can be a maktab teacher. As long as they know the content.

So a trad Darul Uloom/Islamic seminary graduate is seen as qualified to be a maktab teacher. They have extensive knowledge of Islam. But is that enough to be a maktab teacher? Should maktab SMT’s start looking into developing a QMTS qualification?

This is 1 of many trainee teacher handbooks for aspiring teachers in the mainstream. I’m sure maktab SMT’s value such training; what would a maktab trainee teacher handbook look like? Which discussions, ideas and theories are imp for a QMT? Or is having the knowledge sufficient?

I hope SMT’s at maktabs will collaborate with experienced Muslim educationists who understand the maktab system, maybe with Darul Ulooms too, and direct attention to fill this gap. To start work on a ‘trainee maktab teacher’s hand book’ and training courses that lead to a QMTS.

Someone may have knowledge of Islam but without any educational know how, training or expertise, how competent and effective will they be as a teacher? For those of us who are in maktab management, leadership or teaching what content would you say needs to be covered?

The Islamic scholarly tradition of ‘handbooks’ can be revived collaboratively. Let’s go back to the content of the handbook to give us ideas of discussions, theories and content for trainee maktab teachers...

On learning to teach:
1. What is Ilm?
2. The virtues of teaching & learning
3. The deeni dunyawi binary?
4. The history of UK maktabs
5. Why do you want to teach at a maktab? Quran literacy, Islamic studies or both?
6. Planning your journey through maktab training

7. Working with/shadowing a mentor
8. Reflective practice
9. Feedback & development
10. Potential challenges to teaching
11. Resilience...

What about teaching practice? That’s where discussions around ‘What do maktab teachers do?’ can take place...

1. The key aspects of the maktab teachers role
2. What is teaching and what are teacher competencies?
3. Pedagogy: Planning lessons, creating resources, being inclusive, classroom management, checking progress & assessment, pastoral support.

This can then be followed up with a part discussing maktab teacher CPD, because as teachers we should never stop reflecting on our practice and continue learning and benefiting from new research.

Working on such a project will help to improve the quality of maktab education, enhance teacher skills, raise classroom standards, facilitate for varied ability students and really drive for a much needed renewal in maktab teaching and learning.

This no doubt requires substantial financial and human resources, research, discussions, planning, time, sincerity, dua. Most of all, to recognise and acknowledge the need for well thought, structured maktab teacher training resources and programmes and not take it for granted.

I believe if we start to review the foundation and the core function of the maktab, which is the teaching and learning, we will make great progress in meeting the religious and spiritual needs of Muslim children in the UK.

Yes, maktabs are facilitating training for their teachers, however this is at times ad hoc, met with resistance from ‘teachers’, not delivered by experts in both Islamic subjects and education fields, theory centric, resources are not organic and there is little to no mentoring.

I hope this post inspires work on this project. May Allah Almighty bless & preserve all the efforts of Deen, may He facilitate it through us whilst we are informed by the trad but apply it effectively, in accordance with current needs & meeting new challenges.
والله ولي التوفيق

This thread was inspired by classroom discussions with my fellows (Darul Uloom grads working as Imams, maktab leaders, Is HE teachers etc) whilst studying at Warwick and led by my teacher, Professor Dr. Abdullah Sahin @WarwickIESS