Islamic Schooling Conference to focus on curriculum renewal

Director of UniSA’s Centre for Islamic Thought and Education (CITE), Prof Mohamad Abdalla says the Islamic schooling conference being held at Mt Lofty House, Adelaide, next week will be a watershed event for the education sector.

“The conference will be run over two days, 11 and 12 July, 2017 and will focus on renewal of curriculum for Islamic schools” Abdalla says.

“The conference will explore the possibilities of a curriculum that would reflect the elements and the form of other national curriculum key learning areas.

“It will also explore a curriculum that would allow educators in Islamic schools, both the religious staff and teachers from other teaching areas, to have far more dialogue and far more opportunities to integrate cross-curricula learning, which is a feature of the Australian curriculum.”

Program director of Islamic education at CITE, Dylan Chown says delegates of all faiths and sectors will have much to take away from the conference keynote speakers.

“As educators we can never afford to be insular, we need to be reaching out to colleagues across sectors, be it the state system or other colleagues in faith- based or independent schooling more broadly,” says Chown.

“I know delegates will see the breadth and the agility of the Australian curriculum and be inspired to really engage in innovative responses and approaches to the integration of beliefs, values and traditions within our schools, in what a quality curriculum is."

The 2nd Annual Australian Islamic Schooling Conference will take place from July 11-12 at Mount Lofty House, Crafers, SA.