Supporting Modern Teaching in Islamic Schools: Pedagogical Best Practice for Teachers ed. by Ismail Hussein Amzat (review)

Reviewed by: Supporting Modern Teaching in Islamic Schools: Pedagogical Best Practice for Teachers ed. by Ismail Hussein Amzat Dina El Odessy, PhD researcher Supporting Modern Teaching in Islamic Schools: Pedagogical Best Practice for Teachers EDITED BY ISMAIL HUSSEIN AMZAT Routledge, 2022, 302 pages. The unprecedented challenges of the 21st century confront Islamic education with the pressing need to recenter its foundations to empower students through holistic flourishing. Against a backdrop of volatile uncertainty and ambiguous complexity, Supporting Modern Teaching in Islamic Schools: Pedagogical Best Practice for Teachers is a much-needed contribution to an under-explored field of study. Shedding light on contemporary educational practices in Islamic schools across the world, the book comprises both theoretical and empirical studies that address the gap in existent literature through insightful recommendations and a review of best educational practices. Edited by Ismail Hussein Amzat, an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Foundation and Educational Leadership at the International Islamic University Malaysia, the volume's diverse array of studies unravels the richness and multiplicity of educational practices in Islamic schools that nonetheless are faithfully aligned and in tune with the heterogenous nature of the Islamic Ummah. The book's three parts cover a panoply of topics ranging from classroom instructional practices to whole-school approaches. The first part tackles content knowledge, pedagogy, and teaching methods. Chapter one sheds light on effective and ineffective pedagogies in teaching Islam among Canadian Muslim educators who, coming from 17 countries, represent the nature of education in a globally diverse Ummah. Moving from the present to the past, chapter two explores the contemporary landscape of Islamic education through a historical lens and proposes a pluralist framework centered upon the multifarious needs of students. Chapter three presents an inspiring case study of a green initiative undertaken by an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia. The case demonstrates how religion can play a progressive role in raising awareness about environmental education through an innovative, project-based approach. The discussion in chapter four focuses on the assimilation of Western traditions in English Language Teaching in Islamic schools in Thailand and the neglected role of non-native norms, proposing that the learners' sociocultural realities should be represented in textbooks. Chapter five alternatively explores the need for adopting student-centered teaching approaches, underscoring the value of [End Page 123] integrating prophetic instructional strategies as well as inductive, deductive, and constructivist methods to prepare learners for the 21st century. The "community of philosophical inquiry" method is explored in chapter six as it can be used in Islamic education to promote deep learning as well as boost higher-order thinking skills in a stimulating, learner-centered environment. Chapter seven advocates integrating instructional design models and technology in Islamic education to create more relevant and authentic learning experiences for "digital native" students. The volume's second part contrasts the first by addressing professional development, responsibility, and lifelong learning with the aim of innovating teacher practices in Islamic education. Beginning with chapter eight, the focus shifts to the role of measures of physiognomies in predicting teachers' development and professionalism in Integrated Model Schools in Nigeria. Chapter nine recommends the assimilation of different instructional resources to develop teacher professionalism, presenting guidelines on the processes of their selection and application. Exploring the relationship between boosting self-motivation and professional development, chapter 10 showcases a successful case study of an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia. Chapter 11 presents a theoretical exposition of Islamic education, considered as a regeneration of the soul, that explores the role of family and society as factors affecting teacher professionalism. Returning once again to Indonesia, chapter 12 reviews how Islamic schools there aim to utilize and implement the multiple intelligences theory to the best interest of their students. Chapter 13 is a conceptualisation of lifelong learning in Islamic studies that offers a lengthy discussion of the significant role it plays in educational attainment and teachers' professional development. The book's third section is focused on assessment, Islamic curriculum reform, and the Islamization of knowledge. The research-to-practice gap is addressed in chapter 14, where the authors examine a research-based methodology used to reform and develop the curriculum of madrasas in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Shifting to...

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