Exploring the Role of Muslim Faith-based Schools of Birmingham in Meeting the Religious, Cultural and Educational Needs of Muslim Children and the Expectations of Parents: An Empirical Study

This research explored the role of Muslim faith-based schools in the culturally and religiously diverse city of Birmingham in meeting the religious, cultural and educational needs of Muslim children and the expectations of their parents. The economy- focus post- Second World War mass migration to Europe has acted as the key catalyst for the modern Muslim presence in the UK and wider Europe. While Muslim communities came from ethnically and culturally diverse backgrounds, Islam has defined their collective identities. With the joining of their families, the first generation of British Muslims have began to realise the challenges of maintaining Islamic values and identities among their offspring who were growing up within an overall secular and multicultural society. This has marked the establishment of Mosques, community centres and most crucially faith-based Islamic school in the UK. The relevance and desirability of faith-based schooling in general and Muslim schooling in particular has come under a close security in the UK. This study focused on the case of Muslim schooling within the context of multi-faith and multicultural city of Birmingham. The study explored parental motives behind the choice of Islamic schools, their distinctive educational ethos and how they address the challenge of helping Muslim children integrate into the wider multicultural British society. The study adopted an empirical research methodology through utilising a mixed-methods research design to investigate its key questions. The main data collection tools were survey, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The study sample included 133 parents, 36 students who graduated from schools and 33 teachers and governors running Muslim schools. The quantitative data was analysed using the SPSS software and the interview and focus group discussion were analysed by adopting qualitative data analysis procedures. The overall research findings suggested that parents held positive views of the Muslim schools but at the same time had high expectations about their general academic achievement as well as the Islamic Education provision. Most of the parents shared the view that Muslim schools needed to adopt a more integrated approach to the curriculum striking the balance between Islamic and secular subjects. Parents overwhelmingly thought that the Muslim schools did contribute to the social and cultural of integration of Muslim children into the wider multicultural and multi-faith British society. However, one of the significant findings of the survey analysis was the fact that parents appeared to be ambiguous about the overall achievement of schools in adequately meeting the academic and Islamic religious, moral and spiritual needs of their children. The conclusion chapter summarised the key findings of the study and discussed the implications of the findings for improving the quality of Islamic faith-based schooling within the context of secular and multicultural British society