توجيهات نبوية لتعزيز المسؤولية الاجتماعية لدى الشباب

The role of youth in development of any society is vital. They are the vanguard of any nation. The youth cannot play their role properly and positively unless they understand their responsibilities fully. Creating sense of responsibility in individual of a society especially in its youth is inevitable for the collective and dynamic development of a society. The life of the holy Prophet (r) is a complete guide for all spheres of our life. It is evident from the teachings of the holy Prophet (r) and the general commandments of Islam that the youth play a very important role in socio economic and politico educational development. The holy Prophet (r) showed complete confidence in youth. He delegated them with different responsibilities, provided complete guidance and encouraged them for discharging their duties properly. The companions of the holy Prophet (r) who embraced Islam as a result of his first invitation were young between the ages of 20 to 30. The worst enemy of Islam- Abu Jahal was got killed by two young brothers. Likewise a young man Muṣ‘ab bin ‘Umayr (Ï) was sent to Madina, and Mu‘āz bin Jabal (Ï) and Abu Mūsá Ash‘arī (Ï) were sent to Yemen. Zayd bin Thābit (Ï) was directed to learn other languages. He also compiled the holy Qur’ān in Caliphate of Abū Bakar (Ï). The holy Prophet appointed Ḥuzayfa (Ï) to take census. For creating leadership characteristics, Usāmah bin Zayd was sent to different war expeditions. These are ample proofs of holy Prophet’s confidence he had in the youth.

Exploring the Early Childhood Education Teachers’ and Grade I Teachers’ Perceptions Regarding School Readiness for Children’S Transition to Primary School: A Quantitative Study in the Context of Private Schools in Karachi

Early childhood years are significant for the development of young children and for later life. Children’s school readiness is an integral part for their holistic development consisting of physical well-being, social and emotional development, cognitive and language skills, understanding of the world, mathematical skills, and creative arts and so on. Given the scarcity of empirical studies on early years of children’s school readiness transitioning to primary education globally and specifically in the context of Pakistan, this study sought to explore early childhood education (ECE) and grade I teachers’ perceptions regarding school readiness for children’s transition to private schools across Karachi, Pakistan. A cross-sectional survey was carried out within the quantitative research paradigm. A total of 275 (162 ECE and 113 grade I) teachers selected through stratified random sampling technique, participated in the study. To fulfill the purpose of the study, a contextually relevant tool was developed, based on six key learning areas stated in the National Curriculum for Early Childhood Education (NC for ECE) 2017 for school readiness. A descriptive analysis was employed and the non-parametric ‘Mann Whitney U test’ was applied to explore the differences or similarities between the ECE and grade I teachers’ perceptions. The findings of the study reveal that both ECE and grade I teachers highly regarded all the competencies stated in NC for ECE 2017, as fundamental for young children’s school readiness. The results of the comparisons between these two groups of teachers were not significant for all six key learning areas. Whereas one comparison was significant (p = < 0.014) for the competency within Basic Mathematical Concepts i.e. number operations. This implies that grade I teachers regarded number operations more important for children starting grade I as compared to ECE teachers. The results of the study show that the similarities and differences in teachers’ perceptions suggest that opportunity must be provided to ECE and primary teachers to meet together to discuss the NC for ECCE for its effective use and also for the vertical alignment of curriculum. The study recommends further research in this area, especially qualitative inquiry for an in-depth understanding of school readiness, its opportunities and perceived challenges in the context of private schools in Karachi, Pakistan.