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The evolution of madrasah school system in Singapore : with special emphasis on its curriculum development
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Type
Thesis
Abstract
It has been documented, albeit scarcely, that the presence of Muslim religious education precedes other forms of educational institutions in early Singapore. The madrasah, and its predecessors like the Quran school, has played an important part in the socio-religious life of Muslims in Singapore. In the mid 1990s and thereafter, the madrasah in Singapore was thrown into the limelight when the plan to impose Compulsory Education (CE) was mooted by the government and was debated extensively by many interest groups – madrasah fraternity, Muslim organizations, educationists, interested individuals, and politicians. To the Muslim community at large, the fear that the madrasah will be abolished under the CE legislation seemed real and, therefore, the concerted and frantic efforts by the community to defend the educational institution via varied channels of discourses, individually or collectively.
During the debate, the strengths and weaknesses of the madrasah were measured in relation to nation building, national identity, and socio-economic and technological developments. Central to these discourses is the recurring issue of the madrasah curriculum as the locus of the madrasah’s very existence. What has the madrasah curriculum been offering to the Muslim community such that it is worth defending? What is the philosophy of madrasah education and, more importantly, is it still relevant to the dynamism and vigorous demands of post-modern and urban Singapore?
Taken from the angle of curriculum enquiry, this thesis hopes to provide answers to these questions by examining the essence and nature of the curriculum of the present-day full-time madrasahs, which is the main concern of our study. But the madrasah, in its present form, does not occur in a vacuum. It has evolved through phases of socio-historical continuum, from pre-Independence to the present, and has displayed a pedagogy of social conservatism, hints of early internal religious and socio-educational reforms, and numerous changes impacted by state policies and socio-economic developments of the day. Such a socio-historical framework lends meaning and context to the present-day madrasah’s curriculum initiatives and responses to externally-induced reforms. It forms an important part of our research. As the title of our thesis suggests, the madrasah has evolved and is still evolving. That madrasah curriculum is a social reality and a social construct, which is both impacting and impacted by social factors and social situations, including socioeconomic changes, of which it is a part, is the challenge to be proven by this thesis.
During the debate, the strengths and weaknesses of the madrasah were measured in relation to nation building, national identity, and socio-economic and technological developments. Central to these discourses is the recurring issue of the madrasah curriculum as the locus of the madrasah’s very existence. What has the madrasah curriculum been offering to the Muslim community such that it is worth defending? What is the philosophy of madrasah education and, more importantly, is it still relevant to the dynamism and vigorous demands of post-modern and urban Singapore?
Taken from the angle of curriculum enquiry, this thesis hopes to provide answers to these questions by examining the essence and nature of the curriculum of the present-day full-time madrasahs, which is the main concern of our study. But the madrasah, in its present form, does not occur in a vacuum. It has evolved through phases of socio-historical continuum, from pre-Independence to the present, and has displayed a pedagogy of social conservatism, hints of early internal religious and socio-educational reforms, and numerous changes impacted by state policies and socio-economic developments of the day. Such a socio-historical framework lends meaning and context to the present-day madrasah’s curriculum initiatives and responses to externally-induced reforms. It forms an important part of our research. As the title of our thesis suggests, the madrasah has evolved and is still evolving. That madrasah curriculum is a social reality and a social construct, which is both impacting and impacted by social factors and social situations, including socioeconomic changes, of which it is a part, is the challenge to be proven by this thesis.
Date Issued
2009
Call Number
LC910.S55 Sae
Date Submitted
2009