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Factoring-in Faith Fairly: A Contribution from Critical Realism to the Authentic Framing of Muslims-in-Education

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Muslim Students, Education and Neoliberalism

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Abstract

Classical sociology has tended to reduce faith and the human dimension of the spirit to other experiential factors and this reductionism is problematic for researchers of young Muslims, for whom faith is an elemental and causally determinate factor in their identities, daily praxis and educational outcomes. This chapter shows how ‘laminated’ and ‘articulated’ ontologies of the Muslim learner derived from the philosophy of critical realism can provide multi-dimensional, nuanced frameworks for factoring-in the faith and faith-based identities of Muslim young people into research without swamping research with considerations of faith. This model and the importance of factoring-in faith fairly are illustrated with results from an empirical study of the effects of History education on a cohort of 307 Muslim young people in education in England.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Two obvious examples of demi-reality are Nazi ideology and the Indian caste system, both of which are false ideological accounts of the world that have/had real effects on peoples’ lives.

  2. 2.

    This was measured through each pupil’s National Curriculum Level and survey independent variables: 3a, The history I have studied at Key Stage 3 (KS3) has given me a good understanding of the history of England, 3b, The history I have studied at KS3 has not given me a good understanding of the history of the rest of Britain, 3c, The history I have studied at KS3 has helped me understand the history of other countries, and 8d, The history I have studied in Years 7, 8 and 9 has helped me think more deeply about the world I live in, and related Principal Component Factor Analysis (PCFA). Intellectual Success further explored in interview data and through classroom observations.

  3. 3.

    It was measured by independent variables: 5d, The history I have studied at KS3 has helped me think about my own religion, 5e, The history I have studied at KS3 has not helped me to think about what is right and what is wrong, and 5f, The history I have studied at KS3 has taught me important Lessons-for-Life, and related PCFA.

  4. 4.

    It was measured by independent variables: 5c, The history I have studied at KS3 has not helped me to think about my own cultural background, and 9 k, I talk about history with my family at home and related Regressions and PCFA.

  5. 5.

    It was measured by independent variables: 7a, I am going to take history at GCSE and an open-ended variable: 7b, I am going to take history at GCSE because… and related PCFA.

  6. 6.

    It was measured by independent variables: 4a, The history I have studied at KS3 has helped me understand how Parliament developed, 4b, The history I have studied at KS3 has not helped me to understand the changing role of British Kings and Queens, 4c, The history I have studied at KS3 has helped me understand what a democracy is, 4e, The history I have studied at KS3 has helped me think about what it means to be a British citizen, and 4f, I am more likely to vote when I am old enough, as a result of the history I have learnt and 5b, History lessons have helped me feel more at home in England.

  7. 7.

    This was derived as an aggregated factor from dependent variables: 8c, The history I have studied in Years 7, 8 and 9 has helped me think more deeply about myself, and 8d, The history I have studied in Years 7, 8 and 9 has helped me think more deeply about the world I live in, and explored more deeply in the interview data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of London, London, UK

    Matthew Wilkinson

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  1. Matthew Wilkinson
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Correspondence to Matthew Wilkinson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School, Newman University , Birmingham, United Kingdom

    Máirtín Mac an Ghaill

  2. Media and Cultural Studies, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom

    Chris Haywood

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Wilkinson, M. (2017). Factoring-in Faith Fairly: A Contribution from Critical Realism to the Authentic Framing of Muslims-in-Education. In: Mac an Ghaill, M., Haywood, C. (eds) Muslim Students, Education and Neoliberalism. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56921-9_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56921-9_5

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