معرفت طبقات رجال کا تحقیقی جائزہ

According to the traditionists, a Hadith can only be considered reliable when its Sanad offers an unbroken series of credible and veracious authorities till the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.). The critical investigation of the Sanad had caused the Muslim Scholars to make thorough research. They endeavored not only to ascertain the names and circumstances of the narrators in order to investigate where and when they lived and which of them had been personally acquainted with the other, but also to test their reliability, truthfulness and accuracy in transmitting the texts, to make certain which of them were reliable. Special works are also devoted to this subject among them many of the so-called Tabqāt works (that is biographies arranged in Islam & Muslims of various scholars). This article develops the concepts and tools for the systematic study of the mechanics of survival for medieval Islamic books. These concepts and tools are then applied to studying the history of the earliest extant biographical dictionary of the Islamic tradition.

Teacher Leadership Practices and Opportunities in Pakistani Context: A Mixed Methods Study

The purpose of this study was exploring teachers' views about their practices as leaders and opportunities available to them for their leadership practices in the schools. Moreover, the study also explored the process of development of teachers as leaders in the schools of a private organization in Karachi, Pakistan. This study employed explanatory sequential mixed methods research which was completed in two phases. In the first phase, it explored teachers' practices as leaders along with the available opportunities through cross sectional survey administering questionnaires among the teachers of three schools functioning under the same organization. In the second phase, qualitative case study was employed to explore the process of teacher leadership development through conducting interviews of the school principal, primary section in-charge and four teachers selected based on certain criteria. The analysis of the quantitative data occurred in two level-main analyses followed by the additional analysis. The main analysis of teachers' views about their practices as leaders and opportunities available to them revealed that teachers performed both formal and informal leadership. As an informal leader teachers were reported to be making sure learning for all students in their classes using innovative students-centered strategies. Similarly, teachers were reported to be seeking to enhance their knowledge and skills, help colleagues in their professional development through sharing ideas and best practice and providing support to the novice teachers in the school. The school management was also reported to be encouraging teacher leadership and providing professional development opportunities to the teachers. The additional analysis revealed the existence of correlation between the available opportunities and leadership practices in the selected school. Furthermore, the qualitative case analysis revealed that teacher can be developed as leaders by providing opportunities of collaboration to the teachers parallel to the professional development opportunities. The school principal can play a fundamental role in teacher leadership development by facilitating need based intervention, providing leadership opportunities based on teachers' capacities and appreciating teacher leadership practices. However, the study findings suggest a need for the shift in the organizational structure of the school by involving teachers in decision making process and developing rules and polices related to teachers' professional development and students' learning.