This paper responds to calls for renewal in Islamic schooling and education. In doing so, it provides insight into educators' views on Islamic Studies (IS) in five Australian Islamic schools, with a focus on senior years (years 10, 11 and 12). The study offers a 'dialogic alternative' of 'speaking with' rather than 'speaking for' educators in…

This paper originates from an earlier comparative study of professional learning in a Christian, a Jewish, and a Muslim Australian independent school, in which teachers and school leaders were asked to engage in critical reflection as to the school's distinctive characteristics. The paper recognizes the tension that may arise in all schools from…

The function of empowerment is to equip people with the knowledge, skills, and perspectives that can sustain and improve both personal and societal well-being. Empowerment can occur by means of education, as well as by supportive programs in social work, community development, and philanthropy. Especially when intended for the poor, marginalized,…

In a shrinking world where events across the globe become relevant for the lives of masses of people regardless of the distances that divide them, some serious issues have arisen which have particular significance for education policies and practice. Too many children are growing up against a backdrop of polarised views and attitudes which is a…

Studies which examine how educational leadership in faith-based schools is understood and practised are few and far between in the research literature. This is surprising given the important role faith-based schools play within the Australian school system and the controversy that has often surrounded them. Taking into consideration the gap in the…

This article is set in the context of multicultural 21st-century Australia, whose diversity is marked by religious plurality as well as varied ethnic groupings. The article reports on a study of professional learning in three Australian faith-based schools (Christian, Jewish and Muslim) that investigated the role such schools might play in the…

This paper draws on ideas of assemblage to examine the contingency and (in)coherence of education policy. The paper is a conceptual and thematic attempt to understand the policy terrain, broadly conceived, pertaining to opposition to the establishment of private Islamic schools in Australia and public Afrocentric schools in Canada. This opposition…

The latter part of the twentieth century saw huge movements of people across many areas of the globe through government-organized migration programs, through extended career pathways, and through the growing numbers of refugees and displaced persons as a result of war, famine, drought and other devastating scenarios. This has led to the rise of…