Contemporary Curriculum Design for Higher Education: An Islamic Appraisal

Education is a key to developing positivity in human beings. It helps to become a good citizen. In Islam, education has a central role that every Muslim must seek. Islamic education is centered on the teaching of the Quran and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The Quran is revealed in Arabic, therefore sources of the teachings of Islam are in Arabic. It is the religious duty of the Muslim Ummah to learn Arabic and have command in it. The Quran is the only Book that provides complete guidance to humanity, whether the matters related to social life, economic matters, political issues, or religious life. Keeping this in view, the curriculum should also be prepared in the light of the teachings of the Quran and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). Focusing on the contemporary curriculum design for Islamic studies for higher education, this paper describes the missing material in the existing curriculum and suggests that the use of modern resources, arranging conferences, and an expansive transformative framework for Islamic studies are the key tools for its implementation. It stresses the curricular designers to approach the existing curriculum more comprehensively which covers Islamic Law, comparative studies, contemporary trends in world traditions, peace dialogue, and practical involvement of students too. This goal can be gained through amendments or revising the existing curriculum. The outcome of it will results in students' critical thinking, positivity, comprehensive knowledge, language proficiency, and character building.

Contribution of Head Teachers’ Motivation Techniques to the Performance of Teachers of Government Secondary Schools of Karachi

Motivation is an integral part of human resource management. Without it, the employees of an organization will not give their excellent performance. The survival of an organization is conditioned by its motivated workforce. The study aimed to examine the contribution of motivation techniques, used by the head teachers in public secondary schools of Karachi, for the better performance of teachers. The study was conducted in two public secondary schools of Karachi, Pakistan through case-study method within the qualitative paradigm. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews of a head teacher and two teachers from each school. Document analysis was also used to further triangulate the data. The findings of the study revealed that HTs used improvement of institutional environment, measures for teachers’ prestige and recognition, career development opportunities, accountability, reward, constructive feedback, incentives in form of professional development opportunities, freedom of expression for expectations, recommendation for promotion, status of prominence by creating teacher leadership structures, encouragement offered and interest shown enhanced the performance of the teachers as motivation techniques. The findings of the study revealed that the motivation techniques used by the head teachers worked to a great extent and resulted in excellent performance of teachers. The effect of motivation techniques was visible in the overall milieu of the school. The motivated behaviour and the body language of the teachers were the evidence of it. Moreover, the findings revealed some factors also that hindered the process of motivation like powerlessness of head teachers, corruption, ineffective use of ACR, and lack of transparency In the light of the above findings the study suggests that motivation techniques may be included in training courses of teachers, a special training course may be arranged for educational managers, administrators and supervisors and measure may be taken to facilitate the promotion of motivation process.