Citizenship Education Pedagogy at an Islamic School: A Case Study from Chicagoland

• In Event: Faith-Based American Muslim Education: Challenges and Achievements

Abstract

A generic criticism of private religious education in the U.S. is that they segregate religious communities from the mainstream American society. Muslim schooling is not excluded from this argument with further claims that they encourage their students to show allegiance to their homelands in majority Muslim nations and the wider Muslim world. However, existing few empirical studies show that civic engagement among the graduates of such institutions is higher compared to their public schooled counterparts. To delve deeper into these limited findings, in this study, I explore the implementation of a pedagogy that promotes participatory citizenship at a Chicago based Islamic school as a case study. I aim to understand the civic values defined by their educators and their overall institutional approach to how those values are taught.

As Kymlicka (1995) argues, the modern state is based upon the idea that “a common language and history” are critical for membership in the society (p.77). Within the U.S. context, racial, ethnic, or religious groups can still participate in this shared “societal culture” through the English language while also maintaining their individual traits (p.75); how exactly these smaller communities position themselves and engage with this dominant society is to be analyzed. I argue that their self-established educational institutions are one way of accomplishing this. By using critical theory in education, I ask what students at an Islamic school are learning and how they are learning it (Peca, 2000) to be active citizens.

Data of this study consists of an examination of curriculum across several subject areas (social studies, history, Islamic studies, sciences, language arts, etc.), assessment reports, vision/mission statements, extracurricular activities, school decorations, teacher interviews and classroom observations. By using qualitative content analysis, I intend to understand how Islamic values, English language, and the American context criss-cross each other in the formation of participatory citizenship education that brings realization to students’ membership in the society at local, national, and global levels.

My findings so far indicate that students’ awareness of the dynamics of their city and state are created through engagement with their local Chicago communities through extracurricular activities; they are taught their civics and rights as American citizens by learning American history and constitution. Their global awareness is encouraged as members of the worldwide Muslim community where criticism of and discussions about other majority Muslim nations are not discouraged. All these levels of participation are inspired first and foremost by the Islamic faith which requires its followers to obey the law of the land.

The significance of this study lies in understanding of a culturally responsive pedagogy applied in the 21st century U.S. from the perspective of a faith-based education. Furthermore, Muslims in Chicago, home to one of the most diverse and most-established Muslim populations in the nation, remains understudied. It is critical to examine how this religious minority positions itself in a city that offers varying socio-economic, racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural dynamics as Chicagoans, Americans, and Muslims.

Author

• Derya Dogan, Indiana University