ریت کیسے اسے الفت کی نبھانی آئے
’’جب سمجھ میں نہ محبت کے معانی آئے‘‘
میں یہ سمجھی تھی کہ تم سے ہے نظامِ ہستی
کیا غضب تم سے ہی اب آنکھ میں پانی آئے
ساتھ چلنے کا ہنر دے کے بچھڑنے والے
چال میں کیسے وہ پہلی سی روانی آئے
دیکھ کے اس کو بہک جائیں فرشتے بھی یہاں
جب کبھی لے کے وہ جھرنوں سی جوانی آئے
وقت کی نبض کو میں خوب سمجھتی ہوں فضاؔ
ذہن و دل میں نہ کوئی یاد پرانی آئے
Ijtiha'd is to make utmost endeavor in the light of the basic sources of Islam, the Qur'an and Sunnah to develop the most viable rulings on the new challenges of the time. Muslim scholars have always risen to new challenges. In the contemporary period many Muslim scholars attempted to resolve new problems keeping in view the very objectives of Islamic Law (mtufd al-shari’ah) , which is totally different from literal understanding and application of the rulings of the Qur'an and Sunnah. This article seeks to highlight the contribution of some Muslim scholars in the contemporary period to the application of matpsid al-shari'ah as a principle of ijtihud
Universities have been placing an increasing emphasis on evaluating the quality of teaching for the last many decades across the globe. The two key motives for this growing interest in evaluation of teaching in universities are improvement and accountability. Driven by an unprecedented emphasis on these motives, universities focused attention on developing policies and procedures, along with more objective criteria, formalized, and systematic methods for evaluation of faculty teaching across the globe. Literature reveals that the most frequently used sources of information for evaluation of teaching in universities generally include: student evaluations of teaching [SETs], self-evaluations, administrator evaluation, peer evaluations, teaching portfolios and scholarship of teaching and learning [SOTL]. Considering the significant role of teaching evaluations in improving the quality of teaching and satisfying the demands of accountability in higher education at international level, the Higher Education Commission [HEC] of Pakistan also placed emphasis on the evaluation of teaching in universities. Consequently, HEC took a number of initiatives and provided general guidelines to HEIs for evaluating faculty teaching. Universities are, however, facing some challenges at policy and practice level in the development, designing and effective implementation of teaching evaluation system in the absence of clear-cut policies and detailed guidelines. The key rationale behind conducting this study was to address these challenges. To address the challenges regarding the evaluation of university teaching in Pakistan, this study specifically analyzed the existing teaching evaluation practices in Pakistani HEIs with the intention to develop a framework for evaluation of teaching. To be explicit, this study first examined the existence of teaching evaluation practices in universities of Pakistan at policy level. Secondly, this study analyzed the teaching evaluation processes and their components from holistic perspective at practice level. Subsequently, this study determined the desirability and likely applicability of a proposed potential framework for evaluation of teaching in universities of Pakistan. Finally, a comprehensive framework for evaluating teaching in universities of Pakistan was suggested. In pursuing the objectives of the study, initially a conceptual framework was developed after extensive review of literature. This conceptual framework provided methodological basis to this study. In alignment with research objectives, this study used multiphase series of studies mixed methods design which comprised a mix of quantitative and qualitative data gathering approaches, and involved three phases. In phase-1 (i.e., Analytical Phase), the concurrent triangulation approach was used to examine the existing teaching evaluation policies and practices in 130 Pakistani HEIs. This phase used qualitative and quantitative components concurrently to collect data. For the qualitative component (QUAL), policy documents related to evaluation of teaching were collected. These documents were publicly available at websites of HEC and universities in Pakistan. Analysis of these policy documents was done using the ‗summative approach to qualitative content analysis‘ which has both quantitative and qualitative aspects referred to as ‗manifest content analysis‘ and ‗latent content analysis‘ respectively. Analysis pointed out that there was absence of written policies, procedures and detailed guidelines necessary for effective implementation/execution of teaching evaluation practices/processes. To triangulate the results of content analysis of policy documents, a survey (QUAN) was used concurrently to explore the real practices of HEIs in relation to the use of six potential sources/processes of collecting data for evaluation of faculty teaching as perceived by teachers and administrators. Using a ‗census approach‘, all the faculty members and administrators accessible through email, were invited to complete a 67 item questionnaire in online format. A total of 617 questionnaires were received back from 507 teachers and 110 administrators (response rate 36 percent and 30 percent respectively). The collected data were analyzed by applying either descriptive statistics and/or inferential statistics. Analysis of policy documents and survey responses in Phase-I identified that most of the teaching evaluation practices are not actually used in Pakistani HEIs and those which are claimed to be employed, have implementation flaws during execution process, are not closing the feedback loop in actuality. This implies that there was a dire need to develop a comprehensive teaching evaluation framework to fill the gap between literature-supported ideal notions of teaching evaluations and current practice in universities of Pakistan. The phase-II (i.e., developmental phase) of the study was actually informed by inferences derived from Phase-I (i.e., the analytical phase). The purpose of phase-II of the study was to devise a ‗robust‘ framework for evaluation of teaching for HEIs in Pakistan. To achieve the objective, the explanatory sequential design was used in this phase. The researcher first administered a quantitative (QUAN) survey, followed by focus group discussions and individual interviews in this phase. The key purpose of the quantitative component in phase-II was to collect and analyze faculty members and academic administrators‘ suggestions/perceptions to determine the ‗desirability‘ and likely ‗applicability‘ of a proposed potential framework for evaluation of teaching. Purposefully selected 200 teachers and administrators were invited to participate in a survey questionnaire, comprising 92 items, and 126 finally responded. The collected data were analyzed by applying either descriptive statistics and/or inferential statistics. Results indicated that participants believe, with high consensus, that all the six teaching evaluation practices involved in proposed potential framework, are ‗highly desirable‘ for effective evaluation of faculty teaching. However, their ‗applicability‘ was comparatively low. This ‗high desirability‘ but likely ‗low applicability‘ suggested that respondents were in favor of all the six teaching evaluation practices but with some reservations. The second small component in Phase-II (i.e., developmental phase) was qualitative (QUAL), comprising focus group discussions and individual interviews with faculty members and administrators. The main objective of this component was to explore possible reasons for the discrepancies in participants‘ views regarding ‗desirability‘ and likely ‗applicability‘ and to seek suggestions for improving the comparatively ‗low applicability‘ of certain aspects of proposed potential framework for evaluation of teaching. Focus group discussions/individual interviews were conducted with 59 faculty members and administrators. Finally, the responses were analyzed using thematic analysis method to draw out key themes. The focus group participants stressed that there is a dire need to develop policies, procedures, detailed guidelines and some structural elements vital to enhance the applicability of teaching evaluation practices/processes, and for more effective teaching evaluation process. Analysis of policy documents, questionnaires‘ data and focus group responses provided strong basis for developing a framework for evaluation of teaching in universities of Pakistan. In phase-III (i.e., Integration Phase), results from the concurrent and sequential phases of the study were incorporated into a coherent framework developed for evaluation of teaching in Pakistani HEIs. Consequently, a framework for evaluation of teaching in universities of Pakistan was recommended for individual university faculty members, the university administrators, the units within institutions (departments, disciplines, schools and faculties), universities, and HEC of Pakistan.
