Western Parameters of Freedom of Expression: A Critique from Islamic Perspective

This study explores Western parameters and principles of freedom of expression from an Islamic perspective. Western thought advocates infinite freedom of speech but it also has some regulations, limits and restraints. Every Western human rights instrument and convention guarantee freedom of expression, but in fact, the excess of freedom is bringing the society to a harsh kind of clash and conflict. In simple words, freedom without sufficient legal and moral restrictions cannot be managed. It is also observed that without strict legal and moral boundaries, it cannot become fruitful for the state and society. Even the Western world, which is representative of maximum freedom of speech, also bounds freedom of expression with some parameters and restrictions. However, it is propagated that the Western laws provide outclass freedom of expression and speech. The actual situation is not as good as it is expressed, because on one hand, the international instruments provide freedom of speech and on the other, they limit it through certain laws. It means freedom of expression is not free of boundaries in the West also. In other words, it is only a mythology and controlled propaganda that the Western thought and civilization provides absolute and unlimited freedom of expression and press in their countries. Instead, Islamic teachings categorically agree to provide the right to freedom of expression but on the other hand, it binds them with some social, moral and legal boundaries to save the society from any kind of clash and conflict. It is perceived Western legal instruments limit freedom of expression with some legal boundaries and laws rather than ethics and morals. It is recommended on behalf of this study that the Western world also puts moral and religious boundaries on freedom of expression for its safety. An analytical & critical approach with qualitative research methodology is adopted in the study.

Exploring Pre-Service Teachers Motivation for Joining the Teaching Profession in Karachi, Pakistan

Teacher recruitment and retention remains an important concern, as not many people make teaching a profession of choice, which results in teacher shortage. The teacher shortage worldwide has given mount to conduct studies on pre-service teachers' motivations for joining teaching career. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate pre-service teachers' motivation for joining the teaching profession and their perception about teaching. Furthermore, it explored the association between the motivational factors and the perception constructs. It also compared the pre-service teachers' motivation across the selected demographic variables (i.e. prior qualification and achievement grades in higher secondary). Using a cross-sectional survey, Factors Influencing Teaching Choice (FIT-Choice) scale was directly administered to 220 pre-service teachers enrolled in B.Ed. (lions) programme in Karachi, which were recruited from six teacher education institutes. Results revealed that the pre-service teachers highly considered teaching a sacred profession which would help them to promote peace and harmony through teaching (religious motives). Further, the desire to influence the next generation by providing service to society was also an important factor for the pre-service teachers in joining the teaching profession (social utility value). On the other hand, they reported to choose teaching as a last resort career (fallback career). The pre-service teachers perceived teaching as highly demanding (task demand) with moderate return in salary and status (task return) and they exhibited a relatively higher level satisfaction with their choice of profession. A positive relationship was found between the intrinsic career value (r=0.62, p<0.001) and perceived ability (r=0.61, p<0.001) to satisfaction with choice. Contrarily, a negative association p<0.01) was observed between the intrinsic career value and social dissuasion. Comparison across prior academic qualification revealed that the arts group preservice teachers were more intrinsically motivated (intrinsic career value) than their science group counterparts (p<0.01). Further, the low achieving pre-service teachers reported to have more positive outlook for the teaching profession by scoring significantly higher on religious motive (p<0.05), intrinsic career value (p<0.001), social utility value (p< 0.001), ability (p<0.001) and personal utility value (p<0.01) as compared to the high achievers. Interestingly, fallback career (p<0.05) was relatively rated high by the pre-service teachers falling in the category of high achievers as compared to mediocre and low achievers. The study provides insights to the teacher educators for counselling their students about their future aspiration and opportunities pertaining to the field of teaching. The tool adapted can be a valuable addition to the contextual literature which can