State-funded faith schools

State-funded faith schools This paper will look at the way in which state-funded faith schools came into being in the United Kingdom. It will argue that government educational policy and its immigration and integration policies play a key role in determining the need for the provision of state faith schools. The state funding of faith schools has a long history in the United Kingdom. The National Society of the Church of England founded 17,000 schools to offer education to the poor between 1811 and1860. (DfES, p.2) The state funding of these schools began in 1870 when Church and other voluntary institutions began to receive funds to supplement and assist them in their educational provision. (Cush, p.435) As at January 2008, of the 20,587 maintained primary and secondary schools in the UK, 6,827 have a religious character and of these nine are Muslim. (Bolton, 2009,Table 1) There are three types of schools with religious character in the UK maintained, academies and independent schools with the state providing funding for the first two. Maintained schools are either: voluntary controlled which means the Local Education Authority provides all the funding in return for control mostly over religious education and governance (most Church of England schools are voluntary controlled); and voluntary aided where the state provides 90% of the funding for more control over religious education and governance (most other denominations fall into this category, especially Roman Catholic schools). (Cush p. 435-436). Christian and Jewish faith schools were the only faith schools receiving state funding until 1998 when the Islamia Schools Trust, after a battle of 12 years, was awarded voluntary aide d status for its schools. Whilst there are only nine state funded Muslim schools, there are over 100 Muslim schools in Britain. These independent schools tend to co-ordinate their efforts through the Association of Muslim Schools. On November 11th, 2007 during Prime Ministers Questions, the government stated that regarding education it is committed to a diverse system of schools driven by parental needs and aspirations; that the Government does not have targets for faith schools but remains committed to supporting the establishment of new schools by a range of providers. (Bolton, 2009, p.14) Reaffirming the Governments position on faith schools, Ed Balls, the then Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families said on January 9th, 2008: It is not the policy of the Government or my Department to promote more faith schools. We have no policy to expand their numbers. That should be a matter for local communities. (Bolton, 2009, p.16) The drive for some members of the Muslim community towards their own faith schools needs to be understood in light of the backdrop of Muslim migration into the UK, their subsequent integration and recent world events. The first Muslims arriving from South Asia in the 1950s were semi-skilled or unskilled labourers. They had a tendency to stay insulated from the wider community this being as much a function of their own choice as a response to the racism and social exclusion they were experiencing. (Hefner, p.227) Subsequent open immigration policies of the 1970s allowed their families to follow and now 75% of all Muslims in the UK are from South Asia. According to the 2001 census, the approximately 1.6 million British Muslims make up roughly 3% of the population. (Hefner, p. 227) In the UK, Muslim has become synonymous with Pakistani. Third generation British-born Muslim families no longer think of themselves as immigrants, although what it means to be a British Muslim is still a concept being negotiated. Our identities are defined as much by our own understanding of our histories as by how we think others perceive us. In recent years, the identity of Muslims has been tied up with world events and striking representations in the media. Since September 11th, 2001, Muslims have been bombarded by an overwhelmingly hostile media and a government apparently intent on impinging on the liberties and human rights of its Muslim citizens. Salma Hafejee described an event that evoked not uncommon feelings in her 21 year old son. Speaking on a film for Our Lives, a project which explored the insights and experiences of Muslim women in Bradford, she told the story of a weekend visit her son took to Barcelona. Coincidently, on the weekend of his trip there had been a series of arrests made in Barcelona in connection with what h ad been described as terrorist activities. On his return home, her son was met by police and questioned for several hours. She said he had always felt British and believed that his British passport would protect him, but for the first time he felt an alien in his own home. (Speak-it, 2009) One can well imagine that this experience and the constant barrage of negative images relating to his faith in the media must have been bewildering. Naturally surrounded by such hostility and otherised in this way, a community would have a tendency to close ranks and look inward for comfort, protection and security. This situation can be seen as some justification for why the Muslim community turned to Muslim schools to preserve their communal identity and Muslim practices. The Education Reform Act 1988 states that schools should promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and in society Some Muslims were beginning to question whether a non-Muslim schooling environment would be able to adequately fulfil that need for their children. The Education Act of 1944 made religion the only subject it was compulsory to teach in school, but the teaching of religion is relatively superficial, meaning that from the perspective of those for whom a religious ethos is important, mainstream schools are unable to provide the spiritual and religious dimension adequately. How governments deal with the provision of religion does seem to have some bearing on the educational choices of parents. An examination of Belgium and The Netherlands shows that when the government provision of religious education is high, the demand for religious schools is muted. In Belgium, 4% of the population is Muslim primarily of Turkish or Moroccan descent. Since 1975, it has been the law to provide Islamic instruction in state schools on the same basis as other religions are taught. The first, and only, state funded Islamic primary school opened in 1989 and seems to be linked to the inability of two municipalities to appoint officially recognised teachers and thereby their refusal to provide Islamic instruction. In The Netherlands, 6% of the population is Muslim and also primarily of Turkish or Moroccan descent. The state does not have a policy for the specific provision of Islamic instruction and there are 45 Islamic schools in The Netherlands. (Merry, 2005) In the UK, the lack of adequate provision of religious education in mainstream state schools, the hostility of the media, the government and the public to their faith and community, and the recorded underachievement of Pakistanis in mainstream schools combine to form a powerful motivator for Muslim parents to take over control of the education of their child. Given the UK governments expansive rhetoric about promoting and supporting Britain to be a multi-cultural society, and its stated commitment to a diverse system of schools driven by parental needs and aspirations, the support of Muslim state funded schools is an easy stretch. But an agreed definition of a multicultural society seems woefully lacking. The government has a policy of promoting multiculturalism but if it is unable to define what a multicultural society could look like, how does it know that the policies it is promoting are effective to meeting this end? Todays multicultural Britain has many faces dependent largely on ethnicity, geography and social class, which in turn is one of the determinants of educational achievement. Is multicultural simply the acknowledgment of diversity in our society or is it an engagement with that diversity to create a society that is pluralistic? Does it mean that we are all free to live in our own sub-worlds without interface with the wider community or does it mean that we are encouraged to engage with each other? Where is the thread that binds us as citizens if we live entirely culturally independent lives? This was a question that was raised by Ray Honeyford more than twenty years ago and it is still a question that warrants addressing thoughtfully today. In 1982 Bradford Council issued guidelines for its aim in education. These included: preparing children for a life in a multicultural society; countering racism and the inequalities of discrimination; developing the strengths of cultural and linguistic diversity; and responding to the needs of minority groups. Ray Honeyford was a headteacher in a Bradford middle school and he was concerned that the educational policies he was expected to implement were unworkable. He argued that the 20% of Bradfords Islamic immigrant population had intentions to remain in Britain. For their sake and for the sake of others, they should participate fully in British life, and that in order to do so effectively their education needed to stress the primacy of the English language, and British culture, history and traditions. (Dalrymple, 2002) In 1984, Honeyford wrote an article that was rejected by The Times Educational Supplement before being published by the far right Salisbury Review. The fact that it was this publication that was the first method of transmission connoted a lot to its readers and no doubt would have influenced the subsequent interpretation of the article itself. In Education and Race an Alternative view Honeyford (2006) suggested that the perversion of language (he had a Masters in linguist ics) around race and cultural issues had made it impossible to speak honestly about the concerns and realities that our increasingly diverse society was throwing up. He highlighted that lumping together all non-whites into one category that was black created a dichotomy of anti-white solidarity. What we, today, call other-ing. His primary concern was the impact of an imposed multicultural mindset on the education of his students. British law obliges a parent to ensure that his or her child is registered and attends school regularly. He argued that the tendency for Asian families to take their children out of school and send them to the sub-continent for months at a time was not only illegal but had obvious negative educational effects. The Department of Education and Science turned a blind eye leaving headteachers, like Honeyford, to comply with an attendance policy based on the parents country of origin. He found this indefensible and cast it as an officially sanctioned policy of r acial discrimination. (Honeyford, 2006) Honeyford further highlighted that the absence of English as a primary language of instruction at the school left the ethnic white minority students in his schools educationally disadvantaged. His broader concern was how the functioning of inner cities with its production of ethnic ghettos, and multi-racial educational policies could produce an integrated and harmonious society. He concluded: I suspect that these elements, far from helping to produce harmony, are, in reality, operating to produce a sense of fragmentation and discord. And I am no longer convinced that the British genius for compromise, for muddling though, and for good natured tolerance will be sufficient to resolve the inevitable tensions. (Honeyford, 2006) Post-publication, Honeyford endured a protracted and bitter campaign against him leading to his eventual early retirement. The vitriolic response to his assertions for better and more integrative education did not raise the government action. Issues raised by the Honeyford Affair continue to be debated more than two decades later. Honeyfords tough and courageous questioning of issues that the government was too uncomfortable to raise and try and work through have left a lasting vacuum on integration and the harmonious and multicultural world we reasonably aspire to. In light of these affairs, the debate on faith schools which predominantly relates to maintained schools leads us first to ask what the aim and purpose of education is. Is education intended to provide us with skills for employment, in which case it is driven by a practical measurable output? Or is in intended for, as Aristotle called it, human flourishing? And are these two necessarily mutually exclusive? If education is deemed a human right, then what role does the child play in determining the education that he receives? These questions dont seem to have been directly touched upon by those debating the desirability of faith schools. Given the faith school debate touches on areas of education, politics and religion it is unlikely to be a dispassionate one. Most of the debate is opinion- rather than evidence-based (Cush p.440) and writers on the issue repeatedly bemoan the lack of empirical evidence to substantiate claims from either side. As Muslims are becoming acutely aware of their minority status, the drive towards Islamic schools is as much a response to the attack on their identity as it is about the ethos of education. According to Heffner and Zaman (2007, p. 228) In recent years, the issue of Islamic education has been a vital part of the debate about what it means to be a British Muslim today and an important terrain in the negotiation of identity, citizenship and co-existence. Mainstream education tends to view the world though an Anglo-Saxon lens and achievements are Europeanised. The study of the contributions made by Muslim scholars over the centuries in many subject areas is a boost to self-esteem and those calling for Muslim schools are looking for a change in the way the world is viewed. The mission statement of the Islamia Trust Schools states that it strive[s] to provide the best education in a secure Islamic environment through the knowledge and application of the Quran and Sunnah. (Islamia) What this requires is a reconception of the way in which any subject can be taught, negotiating as it must through the Quran and the Sunnah. The argument being made is that Muslim children are becoming de-Islamised (Khan-Cheema, p.83) and that mainstream schools are failing to provide an ethos in which all, not just secular, aspects of a childs life are catered for. Concern for the lack of single sex provision in the mainstream for girls is also voiced as a co ncern and a reason for requiring the provision of Muslim schools. The academic underachievement of Pakistanis in mainstream schools is well recognised, but their achievement in faith schools is well above average (Bolton, 2009). The direct connection linking improved academic results and faith schools should be made cautiously as academic achievement is also liked to the economic and social class of the family. The case against Muslim faith schools is a compelling one. Those fighting this position say that these schools are a breeding ground for fundamentalist and intolerant religious views that are not inclusive of the majority. They propagate segregation and voluntary apartheid and create ghettos which exclude other races and faiths, thus creating social division. With Islam almost universally cast as a threat to world order this raises questions relating to citizenship and loyalty. Those in this camp may draw some of their inspiration from the position Honeyford took on the need to integrate rather than segregate more than 2 decades ago. Why would, and how could, an immigrant who lands in the UK who is able to create for himself an environment that reflects culturally, socially, and educationally the one which he left, have any opportunity to build loyalty to his host country. Clearly the governments position on what a multicultural Britain would look like needs to be debated much more openly if only so we can try and understand how we will get there. A laissez-faire each-to-his own policy cannot surely provide the way forward. The questions Honeyford asked more than 20 years ago, distasteful as they were, are questions we might need to ask again today. References Bolton, Paul Gillie, Christine (2009). Faith schools: admissions and performance. House of Commons Library Standard Note SN/SG/4405 Cush, Denise (2005). Review: The Faith Schools Debate. British Journal of Sociology and Education, Vol.26, No.3 (Jul.,2005), pp. 435-442 Department for Children, Schools and Families (DfES). Faith in the System: The role of schools with a religious character in English education and society. Hefner, Robert W. Zaman, Muhammad Q. (2007) Schooling Islam: The culture and politics of Modern Muslim Education. Princeton University Press. Hewer, Chris (2001). Schools for Muslims. Oxford Review of Education, Vol. 27, No. 4, The State, Schools and Religion (Dec.,) 2001), pp.515-527 Hewitt, Ibrahim (1996). The Case for Muslim Schools in Issues in Islamic Education. The Muslim Educational Trust, London. Hussain, Imitiaz, A. (2003), Migration and Settlement: A Historical Perspective of Loyalty and Belonging in British Muslims: Loyalty and Belonging, ed Mohammad Siddique Seddon, Dilwar Hussain, Nadeem Malik. The Islamic Foundation, Leicestershire. Khan-Cheema, Muhammad, A. (1996). British Muslims in State Schools: a positive way forward in Issues in Islamic Education. The Muslim Educational Trust, London. Lawson, Ibrahim (2005). Leading Islamic Schools in the UK: A challenge for us all. National College for School Leadership. Merry, Michael S. Driessen, Geert (2005). Islamic Schooling in Three Western Countries: Policy and Procedure. Comparative Education, Vol. 41, No. 4 (Nov., 2005), pp. 411-432 Parker, Stephen (2005/2006). Review: In Good Faith: Schools, Religion and Public Funding. Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 21, No. 1 (2005/2006), pp. 217-219 Speak-it Productions (2009). Film Our Lives Project http://www.youtube.com/ourlivesproject#p/u/4/lFnuhPijzXM

Stress Essays -- essays research papers

Stress Stress is the "wear and tear" our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually changing surroundings. It has physical and emotional effects on us and can make good or bad feelings. As a good influence, stress can help motivate us to do something, or help us through the day. As a bad influence, it can result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger, and depression (overall, make you feel really crappy), which in turn can lead to health problems such as headaches, upset stomachs, rashes, insomnia, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease, and strokes. With the death of a loved one, the birth of a child, a job promotion (or demotion), or a new relationship, we experience stress as we change our lives to cater to this. In so adjusting to different circumstances, stress will help or hurt us depending on how we react to it. The circumstances that cause stress are called stressors. Stressors vary in harshness and duration. For example, the responsibility of caring for a sick parent may be an ongoing source of major stress, whereas getting stuck in a traffic jam may cause mild, short-term stress. Some events, such as the death of a loved one, are stressful for everyone. But in other situations, individuals may respond differently to the same event—what a stressor is for one person may not be stressor for another. For example, a student who is unprepared for a chemistry test and anticipates a bad grade may feel stress, on the other hand a classmate who stud...

Drugs in Schools Essay

It is said that the majority of high school students have witnessed illegal drugs being used in their schools, illegal drugs being sold, illegal drugs in the possession of students, students high on drugs and students that are drunk. Parents think that until they get rid the schools of drugs, students will not bring good grades and achieve high marks. In schools in Newfoundland and Labrador, drugs are a huge issue. Smoking weed has become as regular as smoking a cigarette. The youth are even selling marijuana amongst themselves. All kinds of drugs are being used such as crystal meth, pot and ecstasy. In America, 60% of high school students and 30% or middle school students returned to school this year where illegal drugs are used, kept and sold. Many reports found that drug abuse will increase and will add $41 billion to the cost of elementary and secondary education this year for class disruption and violence, special education and tutoring. Parents say that drugs have infested schools and threatened students and their ability to learn and develop their talents. If parents would feel strongly about drugs in schools, we would have drug-free schools. It seems that more and more high school students are using drugs every year. Mostly, 10.5% of the youth that come for treatment are kids who started using drugs before the age of eleven. The media says that it is the parents, school board and the authorities to be held responsible for this because they never asked for drug-free schools.

Human s Problems And Issues - 1562 Words

Human’s problems and issues in this real world are required spectacular potential solutions that is created by design thinkers. Design thinking is the process of examining and defining the world from multiple perspectives using the distinct feature of design thinking. Thus, this leads to develop and create new methods that meet the consumer’s requirements and needs. Steve Jobs is one of the most successful entrepreneur in the world that has provoked various solutions to the customers throughout analysing the critical problems and considering all the opinion of the customers using empathy. This is demonstrated in 2001 when he announced the new Apple device iPod. Therefore, Jobs’ success is based on his ability to initiate empathy which is one of the design thinker’s feature that guided him to have an obvious connection and awareness of consumer’s issues, also evaluate and choose what is the valuable demands. Design thinking is a phenomenon that enables humans to draw, think and explore distinct and challengeable new aspects which obtain people’s desirable necessity and discover what they like and dislike in their lives. Therefore, it is one of the most essential tools that have been used by design tinkers to solve market problems and facilitate all business process. According to Herbert Simon in the Sciences of the Artificial (1969), Design thinking is â€Å"transformation of existing conditions into preferred ones† which means it is the capability to learn more about theShow MoreRelatedWorking With A Human Service Professional889 Words   |  4 PagesGary s surroundings have affected his conduct and basic leadership amid his puberty a considerable measure. The reality his mom is a smashed and has various sweethearts does not help Gary in particular. Gary s choices in life stem from decisions his folks made, even more so the decisions his mom has made, and is presently mak ing. I feel Gary must be guardian to 11-year-old sister and additionally his mom. Gary s dad assumes a noteworthy part too, by not being a piece of his child s life. GaryRead MoreConsider The Lobster By David Foster Wallace1691 Words   |  7 Pagesacceptable. This paper will discuss Wallace s examination of his question and how the solution relates to preference, morals, and ethics. While on the surface the essay is about why those eating lobster find it alright to torture the creature first before consuming it, what the author is really exploring is humans preferring not to cross paths with moral problems like torture, causing ethical practices to progress the avoidance and less urgency of these moral problems. Many people at the Maine Lobster FestivalRead MoreAgent Orange, Ddt, And Benzene809 Words   |  4 Pagesenvironment can create devastating health problems such as cancer in humans. This paper will evaluate three of the many carcinogenic chemicals that have the propensity to cause cancer and other health problems. Therefore, the paper will evaluate Agent Orange, DDT, and Benzene. In addition, the paper will discuss incidents relating to each respective chemical. Also depicted in this paper is the type of cancers caused by each chemical and other related health problems associated with each chemical. FinallyRead MorePsychiatric Model Is The Predominant View Of Mental Health1540 Words   |  7 Pagesbut invoke an element in varying degrees that the reductive, neurological approach is not enough to understand the whole scope of the human mind and to resolve all of the issues concerning mental health. This paper will analyze the psychological views of Freud, Jung and Laing and how each of their views analyze mental health in a unique and valuable way. Freud s view of the mind begins with his formulation of the unconscious. Freud made the astute observation when he was studying patients thatRead MorePersonal Work Priorities And Professional Development1056 Words   |  5 Pagesstudent Number: A160013       Student Name : ANKIT ANKIT Unit/s. : BSBWOR501 - Manage Personal Work Priorities and Professional Development 1 . Five key pieces of legislation that apply to managing human resource. 1. Health and safety legislation 2. Equal opportunity / anti- discrimination legislation 3. Workers’compensation legislation 4. Organisational policiesRead MoreThe Cloning Should Not Be Banned By The Human Body886 Words   |  4 Pagesof Dolly s skin cells and engineered an egg to be insert with then nucleus. This egg could have fertilized in a mothers uterus. Following this discovery, mice, pigs and cattle have been cloned based on the same concept. In 2012, a group of scientists took cloning a step further and cloned human embryos. With great certainty, human cloning will be banned by the government due to human rights. The government has already deemed it illegal to fund human cloning projects. Despite the human rights issueRead MoreAnnotated Bibliography On Human Trafficking1278 Words   |  6 PagesProspectus on Human Trafficking in the United States For my research paper, I will be explaining the issue of human trafficking in the United States and propose a course of action we can take to help combat the growth of this problem. Article 3, paragraph (a) of the United Nation s Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons essentially defines trafficking as the harboring or transportation of a person through any means, including force, threats, fraud, and coercion (42). Read MoreEnvironmental Case Analysis: the Risks of Global Climate Change1185 Words   |  5 Pagesdeterioration, the means that would reverse it, and the prospects for human life in the future (Newton, Dillingham, Choly, 2006, p. x). The environment and its protection is an extremely serious issue. Many environmental issues exist including endangered species, waste pollution, over population, and water pollution. Another fascinating, threatening, and potentially disastrous environmental issue is global climate change. This issue, global climat e change, was discussed in a case within the book WatershedsRead MorePractical Ethics, By Peter Singer, The Modern Bioethical Philosopher1469 Words   |  6 PagesAny Topic (writer s Choice) Practical Ethics Introduction Practical Ethics is a book by Peter Singer, the modern bioethical philosopher. It analyzes how and the reasons as to why beings’ interests should be weighted. According to Singer, a being’s interest should be weighted on the basis of the properties of the being and never on the basis of its affiliation to some abstract group (Peter n.p). The book studies a wide array of ethical issues including abortion, sex, race, ability, infanticide, politicalRead MoreEnvironmental Issues Essay1260 Words   |  6 Pagesthe advance of humans could be potentially fatal at the same time? What about a disease that was considered amp;#8220;dead;, resurfacing and killing unsuspecting people? What about the fact that we as human beings are ruining the only place for us to live, the earth? These questions sound outrageous, right? Wrong, these issues are considered environmental problems that we will soon face. These issues are very serious and many people have no idea that they even exist. To have problems and not even