WHAT MAKES AN ISLAMIC SCHOOL ISLAMIC? ::: DEVELOPING THE CURRICULUM
WHAT MAKES AN ISLAMIC SCHOOL ISLAMIC? ::: DEVELOPING THE CURRICULUM [A paper presented by B. Aisha Lemu at the National Conference of NAMIS (Nigerian Association of Model Islamic Schools) in Ibadan, 4th/5th April 2003.] Schools are places where knowledge is imparted. But what knowledge? Knowledge simply means "things that are known". There is no way that all things that are known can be taught to students in primary and secondary schools, or even in universities. Therefore there has to be selection of knowledge. To establish a school curriculum, groups of experts over the years have identified various fields of knowledge which are given names like languages, maths, history, physics, art, technology, literature, geography and so on. Over the centuries and in different civilizations the curriculum in schools has changed. These changes reflected not only the knowledge that was available at the time, but also what a particular civilization at a particular tim