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PEDAGOGICAL CHALLENGES IN BURTON MADARSSAH
Introduction
The proposed study aims to evaluate the measures required by madressah education for improving the outcome of online classes. Primarily, the focus of the study will be in the light of lockdown measures or regulations proposed by the governments to curb the spread of the pandemic. Islam (2020) stated that it is evident that the current pandemic has forced the regulatory bodies of the developed and developing countries to change many practices, policies and behaviours at the level of people and countries. The restrictions suggested by the regulatory bodies are in line with measures that are meant to avoid congregational gatherings or any activity or event that may increase the probability of contracting the virus. Education is one of the affected sectors by the ongoing pandemic, as most countries of the world were forced to close their institutions, schools and universities to limit the spread of the Coronavirus because educational institutions are the most crowded place in the world. In this context, education settings are considered too vulnerable for conventional way learning. According to Rahman (2020), besides other schooling, Islamic schooling has also been shifted to online classes to reduce Coronavirus risk. Boris Johnson, prime minister of the UK, on 18th March 2020, announced the closure of schools. All form of non-essential contact was prohibited, almost 8 million pupils were affected by the decision. Therefore, madressah were urged to adopt online learning (Adams and Stewart, 2020). Although online classes and e-learning were considered one of the best ways to continue education and maintain social distancing, it has also increased various challenges to the students and teachers in madressah education.
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) highlighted the factors responsible for ensuring effective online classes, delivering clear instruction and explanation, growing confidence, adopting technological skills and knowledge, and managing pupils’ feedback for steady growth. The teaching skills complex and difficult to follow in online classes encompasses questioning elicitation and reflective debates (Jisc, 2020). However, the study aims to highlight the pedagogical practices for improved outcomes. In this regard, access to technological means is the initial step. It is a difficult task for madressah education to arrange facilities for all learners and mitigate technological barriers. However, by formulating a comprehensive record of accessibility by the learners, providing madressah resources to meet the needs of pupils without a technological facility, among other measures, can support online learning.
Background of the Study
The World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020 declared the outbreak of COIVD-19. Within a week, UNESCO reported the closure of education institutes due to the pandemic in 107 nations across the globe (Abuhammad, 2020). Islam (2020) stated that the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic forced countries of the world to close schools, affecting 103 million students across the Middle East and North Africa region. In mid-March, Jordan was one of the first countries in the region to respond to the crisis by imposing curfews and closing all educational institutions across the Kingdom. To sustain learning during the pandemic, the Ministry of Education of the majority of the Islamic countries like Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, and UAE have resorted to online learning practices, as officials rushed to make use of materials available to the private sector to develop an educational portal, in addition, schools and other educational institutes showed dedication to provide lectures via online platforms such as Zoom, Skype among others. According to the World economic forum, more than 1.2 billion learners in 186 countries are currently affected by Coronavirus. As a result, the usage of online learning software, video conferencing witnessed an upsurge (Li, Lalani and World Economic Forum, 2020).
The significant hurdle in carrying out online learning envisaged boredom. The activities must be inculcated within the teaching practices to reduce the influence of boredom (Hakim et al., 2019). Any activity that may take too long can result in saturation. Therefore, learners will not concentrate on the teaching material and important aspects of the class. The instruction and learning session needs to be planned for effective utilisation of time. The greater the student will be able to emphasise and follow the instruction greater will be the outcome. In this way, learners would participate more and more in activities, and a conducive environment can be established. However, this can only be possible if the learners and teachers are aware of the intricacies of teaching via online platforms. Researchers believed that adopting online platforms is another element of contention in practising online learning (Sartika et al., 2020). In this regard, Purwanto et al. (2020) suggested using Google forms to increase teachers’ creativity in online classes.
Several studies have expounded on the utility and barriers of online teaching (Abuhammad, 2020), (Baticulon et al., 2020). They have studied numerous areas, including personal difficulties such as financial ability, technological barriers, teaching time, language barriers, and computer literacy. These barriers can be dealt with recommendations provided by the researchers, such as teachers training to equip teachers with digital skills, availability of technological devices for the learners belonging to the unsound financial background, stable internet connection, and managing course material to use time effectively (Habibi et al., 2020). It is pertinent to mention that the primary goal of Islamic education is to create the perfection of human values that will lead to worship and happiness in this world and the hereafter.
Madressah education can increase students’ awareness of God’s servants and the work of caliphs on earth, which can be done by providing education through physical or online classes. Either physical or online classes, the curriculum which is taught in Islamic schooling is more considerate. Islam (2020) stated that the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic forced countries of the world to close schools, affecting 103 million students across the Middle East and North Africa region. In mid-March, Jordan was one of the first countries in the region to respond to the crisis by imposing curfews and closing all educational institutions across the Kingdom. To sustain learning during the pandemic, the Ministry of Education of the majority of the Islamic countries like Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, and UAE have resorted to distance learning tools, as officials rushed to make use of materials available to the private sector to develop an educational portal, in addition, schools and other educational institutes were dedicated to providing lectures on the Internet.
As mentioned above, the Ministry of Education of the countries has also supported teachers to implement new interventions to facilitate the transition to distance learning. A newly launched teacher training platform that offers training courses on distance learning tools, blended learning, and educational technology can help the teachers of Islamic supplementary schools to provide online classes. Suryaman (2020) stated that technological and scientific advancement had changed many aspects of the social and moral order that have been strongly supported. Currently, moral and social values are often ignored, so it is only for the students to observe science and technology. Science and technology are also influencing globalisation. Globalisation has created an open and dependent world between nations. Technological development and information effect do not only knowledge but also the value of Islamic education. This includes lifestyle changes such as dressing and improper relationships, eating food and spending free time.
According to Laato (2020), values are becoming more common, especially among young people who have social, economic and religious influences. Therefore, it is necessary to analyse the current issues Burton madrassa faces to gauge the criticality of the issues faced by the students. Sometimes religious values are abandoned because values are considered outdated and abandoned. In the meantime, those who follow current trends are considered progressive and modern. They are not aware of the decline of religious and moral values. One way to counteract the effects of globalisation is to improve the education system, especially Islamic supplementary education. The successes and failures of the education system govern the public education system. The existence of supplementary Islamic teachings should focus on enhancing the personality of the Islamic students. Islamic education aims to create the perfection of human values, leading to worship and happiness in this world and the hereafter.
Islamic supplementary education can increase students’ awareness of God’s servants and the work of caliphs on earth, which can be done by providing education through physical or online classes. Either physical or online classes, the curriculum which is taught in Islamic schooling is more considerate. Islam (2020) stated that it is evident that the current pandemic has forced the regulatory bodies of the developed and developing countries to change many practices, policies and behaviours at the level of people and countries. Education is one of the affected sectors by the ongoing pandemic, as most countries of the world were forced to close their institutions, schools and universities to limit the spread of the Coronavirus because educational institutions are the most important crowded place in the world. Therefore, educational institutes are considered to be most vulnerable to infection with this virus. That is why countries of the world sought to search for solutions to complete pupils and students’ academic and educational paths, and they found only a basic mechanism, namely e-learning platforms (Laato, 2020).
This is known about distance learning education. It exists before, however, in its traditional form, where the process was carried out through correspondence, sending study courses to students and after completing the registration procedures, whether through governmental or private institutions. Students are examined by attendance or by correspondence, and a certificate of success is granted or proving the level of the learner after completing the scheduled period and passing the exam, and many countries have experience in this field. According to Rahman (2020), besides other schooling, Islamic schooling has also shifted its classes to online classes to reduce Coronavirus risk. Although online classes and e-learning were considered one of the best ways to continue education and maintain social distancing, it has also increased various challenges to the students and teachers in Islamic schooling. Therefore, the study aims to scrutinise the change of pedagogical methods used in Islamic supplementary schooling for online classes during the Coronavirus Pandemic.
The difficulties of online operating middle and high school physical education classes included monotony related to limited environmental conditions and educational content, which ultimately decreased the effectiveness of conveying the value of physical education to students. Therefore,it is necessary to discuss the value of physical education during online classes. Second, physical education teachers across the country lacked expertise in employing online content and resort to trial-and-error methods. It is expected that effective content will develop student’s knowledgeand improve their horizon. A systematic evaluation was not possible because of the online nature of the classes. There is a possibility that a new evaluation method that can be operated effectively in online classes will need to be constructed.
Aim of the study
The study emphasises the pedagogical challenges encountered by the teachers in the Islamic education setup at the Burton Madressah during a move from a classroom environment to an online environment during the lockdown measures implemented because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Research Questions
In the light of the comprehensive research of previous researches and the present day scenario in Islamic education in the UK, the study aimed to explore the answers to the following questions;
- What are the pedagogical challenges faced by Islamic madressah education while conducting online classes amid the Coronavirus?
- What is the impact of pedagogical challenges (the adaptability of teachers to online platforms) for Burton Madressah, and what instructional strategy was used by Islamic madrassah education during the coronavirus pandemic?
- How to teach the measures for the improvement of online teaching Burton Madressah education?
Research Objectives
- To identify the pedagogical challenges Islamic Madrassah education faces for passive students while adopting online practices during lockdown caused by the pandemic.
- To evaluate the impact of pedagogical challenges of adaptability in teaching in Burton Madrassah
- To recommend effective measures and instructional strategies needed to be taught to improve online teaching in Burton Madrassah education during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Rationale of Research
Covid-19 has significantly affected the personal and economic practices and to reduce the increasing risk of corona-virus maintaining social distancing is essential due to which educational institutes have been closed. However, Islamic schools have started to pursue a student’s education through online classes to continue their education. The study will providethe restrictions suggested by the regulatory bodies that are in line with measures meant to avoid congregational gatherings or any activity or event that may increase the probability of contracting the virus. Moreover, the study will help the Islamic schools understand the factors impacting the online classes so that the efficiency of the online classes during the global pandemic environment of Covid-19 can be enhanced.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]