APPROACHES USED BY ISLAMIC EDUCATION ISLAM …

APPROACHES USED BY ISLAMIC EDUCATION TEACHERS TO INTEGRATE MORAL VALUES IN

THEIR TEACHING: A CASE STUDY AT ANSARUL ISLAM SECONDARY SCHOOL, ILORIN, KWARA

STATE, NIGERIA.

BY

ASMAU IMAM ABDUL KABIR

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

2008

APPROACHES USED BY ISLAMIC EDUCATION TEACHERS TO INTEGRATE MORAL VALUES IN

THEIR TEACHING: A CASE STUDY AT ANSARUL ISLAM SECONDARY SCHOOL, ILORIN, KWARA

STATE, NIGERIA.

BY

ASMAU IMAM ABDUL KABIR

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Islamic

Education

Institute of Education International Islamic University

Malaysia

JANUARY 2008

ii

ABSTRACT

This study explores the approaches used by Islamic education teachers at Ansarul Islam Secondary School, Ilorin, Kwara State of Nigeria, in inculcating their students with moral values. It examines the extent to which the teachers understand the Islamic approach to moral education, as explained in the Qur’ān and Sunnah, and how their approach has produced the expected results among their students and the community at large. The study applies qualitative method of phenomenology for data collection and analysis. Data used in the study are based on school curriculum and text books, interviews with the teachers and students as well as observation of teachers and students when performing their respective duties. Analysis of data uncovered several themes related to the inculcation of moral values. This includes the principal values emphasized in the curriculum; teachers’ knowledge of, and concern with, the concept of morality in their work; teachers understanding and mastering of the approach of the Qur’ān and Sunnah; impact of approaches used on the students, and the suggestion for improvement. The study finds that teachers are generally aware of Islamic moral values and the Qur’ānic approach to morality. While students appreciate and recognise the validity of moral values they learn at school, they are confronted with other negative norms at home and in society that are not compatible with the Islamic morality. Thus, the study recommends that there should be more cooperation between school on the one hand and home and society on the other.

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ملخص البحث

بمدينة إلورن في ولاية كوارى تستكشف هذه الدراسة المناهج التي يتبناها مدرسو مدرسة أنصار الإسلام الثانوية

كما تعالج الدراسة مدى فهم المدرسين للمنهج الإسلامي . النيجيرية في غرس القيم الأخلاقية في أبنائهم الطلبة

التربوي طبقا لما في القرآن الكريم والسنة النبوية الشريفة ومدى فعالية مناهجهم المستخدمة في المدرسة وتأثيرها على

هذا وقد تبنت هذه الدراسة المنهج الوصفي الكيفي لجمع المعلومات . ص واتمع بشكل عامالطلاب بشكل خا

كما اشتملت " والكتب المقررة" "مناهج المدرسة"وتحليلها، حيث اشتملت المعلومات المستخدمة في الدراسة على

وقد اكتشف . درسين والطلاب معاعلى المعلومات المحصلة من إجراء المقابلات الشخصية والملاحظة الميدانية مع الم

تحليل المعلومات عن الجوانب المتعددة المتعلقة بغرس القيم الأخلاقية، ويشمل ذلك أهم القيم الأخلاقية الموجودة في

المناهج، ومدى دراية المدرسين واهتمامهم بمفهوم الأخلاقيات في مجال عملهم، ومدى مفهومهم وتطبيقهم لمنهج

ربوي، ومدى فعالية المناهج المستخدمة وتأثيرها على الطلاب، إلى جانب إبداء اقتراحات نحو القرآن والسنة الت

وأخيرا توصلت الدراسة إلى نتائج تفيد بأن المدرسين بصفة عامة عندهم خلفية معرفية عن القيم الأخلاقية . التطوير

درون شرعية القيم الأخلاقية التي يتلقوا في أفادت النتائج أن الطلاب يق. الإسلامية والمنهج القرآني نحو الفضيلة

. المدرسة إلا أم يقابلون بأضداد تلك القيم التي لا تتناسب مع التعليم الإسلامي خارج المدرسة في المترل واتمع

. فمن هنا، تقترح الدراسة ضرورية التفاعل والتعاون بين المدرسة من جانب والمترل واتمع من جانب آخر

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APPROVAL PAGE

I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion; it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Education.

..................................................... Ssekamanya Siraje Abdallah Supervisor

I certify that I have read this study and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Education.

..................................................... Adnan bin Abd Rashid Examiner

This dissertation was submitted to the Institute of Education and is accepted as a partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education.

..................................................... Ahmad Marzuki Zainuddin Director, Institute of Education

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except

where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently

submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.

Asmau Imam Abdul-Kabir Signature ………………………………… Date …..…………………

vi

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION

OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH Copyright © 2008 by Asmau Imam Abdul Kabir. All rights reserved.

APPROACHES USED BY ISLAMIC EDUCATION TEACHERS TO INTEGRATE MORAL VALUES IN THEIR TEACHING: A CASE STUDY AT

ANSARUL ISLAM SECONDARY SCHOOL, ILORIN, KWARA STATE, NIGERIA.

No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder except as provided below.

1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research may only be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement.

2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit

copies (print or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes.

3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a

retrieval system and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other universities and research libraries.

Affirmed by Asmau Imam Abdul Kabir.

Signature…..………………. Date……………………….

vii

DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to my parents for guiding me to the right path, to my lovely husband who has given me moral support and encouragement to finish this study, and to my children for their endurance and sacrifice throughout my study. My sincere thanks are due to my brothers for their admonition upon embarking on my education.

viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

All praises be to Almighty Allah, the Lord of the Universe and may His peace and blessings be upon Muhammad (saw), the last of the Messengers and seal of the prophethood.

In the completion of this work, I would like to acknowledge my gratitude to all those who have helped me in a variety of ways to the success of this work. I would like to express my appreciation to Dr. Ssekamanya Siraje Abdallah, my supervisor, for his academic and moral support from the beginning to the completion of this project. His critical but insightful observations have enhanced my self-confidence to undertake this work. My appreciation is also due to Prof. Rosnani Hasim, for her sincere concern to ensure that this thesis is intellectually rewarding and spiritually satisfying.

I would also take this opportunity to graciously thank the principal of Ansarul Islam Secondary School of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria, and all the staff of the school, particularly teachers of Islamic education, for generously parting with their precious time to respond to the interviews and allowing me to observe them while teaching in class. So also, I would like to thank those students that participated in this study. Without their participation and their teachers’ support, this study would not have materialized.

I would like to acknowledge my utmost gratitude to my family for their understanding and support during the completion of this work. I wish to present my heartfelt thanks to my husband, Dr. Abdul Kabir Hussain Solihu, for his understanding, endurance, moral, emotional and financial support during this study, and my children, Bushra Omotayo Abdul Kabir, Abdul Rahman Bolaji Abdul Kabir, and Amin Opeyemi Abdul Kabir, for their endurance and emotional support during the writing of this thesis. I extend my appreciation and thanks to my father, al-Sheikh Ya`qub Imam Ali-agan, my mother, Alhaja Fatimoh Ya`qub Imam Ali-agan and late father-in-law, Alhaji Hussain Omomeji Agbaji. Similar thanks go my brothers and sisters, Alhaji Ibrahim Baba Imam Ali-agan, Dr. Abubakar Imam Ali-agan, Lawyer Mubaraq Imam Ali-agan, Mrs. Sherifat Hussain-Abubakar, and all members of Imam Ali-agan family, and Alhaji Hussain Omomeji Agbaji family.

Last, but not the least, I wish to thank all my friends here and in Nigeria for their love and support, and those who in one way or another contributed to the success of this study.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………...... iiAbstract in Arabic …………………………………………………………………. iiiApproval Page. …………………………………………………………………….. ivDeclaration Page……………………………………………………………………. vCopyright Page…………………………………………………………..…………. viDedication…………………………………………………………………………... viiAcknowledgements…………………………………………………………………. viiiTable of Contents…………………………………………………………………… ixTransliteration………………………………………………………………………. xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION………………………………………….…… 1 Introduction 1 Statement of the Problem……………………………………………………. 5 Purpose of the Study………………………………………………………… 6 Research Questions………………………………………………………….. 6 Significance of the Study……………………………………………………. 7 Definition of Terms…………………………………………………………. 8 Research Method……………………………………………………………. 8 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………. 14 Nature of Islamic Education………………………………………………... 14 Aims and Objectives of Islamic Education………………………………….. 16 Curriculum of Islamic Education……………………………………………. 18 Faith and Moral Value………………………………………………………. 20 Relationship Between Values and Education……………………………….. 22 Concept of Moral Value……………………………………………………... 25 Theories on Moral Values…………………………………………………… 27 Moral Values in Islam……………………………………………………….. 29 Western Educational Approach…………………………………………….. 32 Values and Muslim Education In Nigeria…………………………………… 39 CHAPTER 3: TEACHINGS OF THE QUR’ĀN AND THE PROPHETIC SUNNAH ON INCULCATING MORAL VALUES …………………………… 44 Approaches of the Qur’ān to Moral Values ………………………………… 45 Approaches in the Qur’ān to Moral Values…………………………………. 48 Storytelling…………………………………………………………...... 49 Modelling (Qudwah) …………………………………………………... 51 Reward and Punishment………………………………………………... 53 Instruction Method……………………………………………………... 54 Question Method……………………………………………………….. 56 Conversation and Dialogue…………………………………………….. 57 Repetition Method……………………………………………………… 58 Practical Demonstration………………………………………………... 59

x

Prophetic Approach to Moral Values……………………………………….. 61 Modelling (Qudwah) …………………………………………………... 63 Practical Demonstration………………………………………………... 66 Instruction Method……………………………………………………... 70 Advice Method…………………………………………………………. 72 Dialogue Method……………………………………………………….. 73 Question Method……………………………………………………….. 75 Repetition Method……………………………………………………… 76 Correction Method……………………………………………………... 77 Praise and Encouragement……………………………………………... 78 CHAPTER 4: APPROACHES USED TO INCULCATE MORAL VALUES AT ANSARUL ISLAM SECONDARY SCHOOL……………………………… 80 Moral Values in the Curriculum of Ansarul Islam Secondary School……… 81 Teacher’s Knowledge of the Concept of Morality………………………… 83 Teacher’s Knowledge of the Approaches of the Qur’ān and the Prophetic

Sunnah…………………………………..…………………………………. 84

Approaches Used to Inculcate Moral Values at Ansarul Islam……………. 86 Students’ Reaction to the Approaches Used by Their Teachers…………… 90 Impact of the Teachers’ Approaches on Students………………………….. 93 Problems Faced in Inculcating Moral Values and Students Difficulties in

Islamic Studies Lesson……………………………………………………… 96 Students Perception of Their Teachers……………………………………… 101 A Comparison Between Teachers’ Approach and the Qur’ānic and

Prophetic Approach of Inculcating Moral Values………………………….. 102 Suggestion for Improvement………………………………………………… 104 Summary of the Findings……………………………………………………. 106 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 108 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………. 118 APPENDIX……………………………………………………………………...… 126

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TRANSLITERATION

Consonants

� ط b ب

� ظ t ت

� ع th ث gh غ j ج

f ف � ح

q ق kh خ

k ك d د

l ل dh ذ

m م r ر

n ن z ز

h ه s س

w و sh ش

� ء � ص Y ي � ض

Vowels and Diphthongs

a ا ā ى ā

i ي ī ي ay

u و ū و aw

1

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background From the Islamic perspective, education is a form of ‘ibādah (worship) where

Muslims share a common set of values based on the Qur’ān and Sunnah (the two

fundamental and reliable sources for many fields of knowledge). It is a lifelong

process of preparing an individual to actualize his role as a vicegerent (Khalīfah) of

Allah on earth thereby contributing fully to the reconstruction and development of his

society in order to achieve well-being in this world and hereafter.

In this regard, all Muslim philosophers, both past and present, have

unanimously agreed on the common theme that education in Islam must aim at

developing a God-conscious and balanced individual. As we shall see in chapter two,

The first world conference on Muslim education which convened in Makkah in 1977

suggested that all Muslim countries must implement Allah’s decree in their

educational systems and mould the lives of the new generation based on Islamic

moral values.

Education is one of the most important aspects in human development and the

most influential social institution in any society. In general, the aim of education is to

transmit a common set of beliefs, values, norms, and understanding from the adult

generation to the youth. Morality, on the other hand, is to maintain order in the

society, to respect persons and to regard them “holistically” (Mclean & Ellrod, 1992).

In the view of Lickona (1991, 9):

“The teacher and school were characterized as a place where children [were] shaped according to certain values and needs of the immediate society”. Many teachers responded to this negative charge of “value

2

inculcation” and indoctrination by keeping their moral views and values to themselves”. Nodding (1995) argued that schools have been at the receiving end of those

changes, thus their role is more passive that active. However, schools need to adapt to

the changes in the society. She lamented that:

“while the schools have responded albeit sluggishly, to technology changes with various additions to curriculum and narrowly prescribed methodologies of instruction, they have largely ignored massive social changes, when they have responded, they are done so in a piecemeal fashion, addressing isolated bits of problem”, (365). Some contemporary Muslim scholars (al-Alwānī, 1989; al-Qara�āwī, 1987)

argue that humans should use the intellect to interact with the world in virtuous ways.

As such, the intellect should incorporate the transaction between divine and natural

realities in order to inject meaning and value into schooling. Khalil (1991) represents

the proper use of intellect as follows, “... man, as the vice-regent of Allah, [was] put

on earth to continue the task of regulating life according to Divine intentions".

Education is generally believed to be a strong weapon for the facilitation and

promotion of national unity and international understanding. The present status of

Muslims can only be improved through modifying the Islamic education curriculum

and the methods used in teaching it. It is equally necessary to integrate Islamic moral

values into the Islamic education curriculum and analyze the strategies of inculcating

Islamic moral values in the new generation.

The mission of Islamic society is not to imitate other people's life style and

culture, but rather it aims to lead and be exemplary to others as it was in the early

period of Islam. Islam, in its early history, was leading the entire world in the

spiritual, intellectual and economic arenas, to mention but a few. Fatunwa (1974, 42)

laments that:

3

For decades scholars have realised that Arabic as a language and Islamic as a religion have contributed substantially to the world civilization and culture. It was Islam that revived the human pursuit of science and it was through the Arabs and not the Romans that the modern world achieved light and power through science. However, present day Muslims are faced with many challenges and

difficulties that have led to their loss of leadership as mentioned earlier. Today,

Muslim communities occupy the lowest position in the world due to their failure to

integrate Islamic moral values into the present educational system. Muslims are

educationally backward, scientifically marginal, politically insignificant and

economically poor, due to the loss of identity of Islamic knowledge. This situation led

to the Makkah Conference in 1977.

Generally, the Muslim world is economically under-developed and suffers

from the social evils of deplorably low standards of living and increasing pressure of

population. This is a result of many factors, including the introduction of a dual

system of education (Islamic and secular) with an inappropriate system of inculcating

moral values. Aderinoye (1993, 42) notes that:

What we are experiencing today in the field of Islamic education is opposite to what Islam says about acquiring knowledge and its implication. It is a long historical process through which we arrived at the present pitiful conditions of Muslim countries in the field of education. Every educational system is founded upon a philosophical and social base, but

the system currently in use in the Muslim world is influenced by Western

philosophies, theories and ideologies, some of which give human life no meaning.

Thus Muslim community has been secularized by the formal colonial masters.

Muslim scholars argue that the modern experience of educated Muslims has

resulted in an intellectual duality that contradicts an elemental obligation to find a

balance between what is worldly and what is religious (Ahmad, 1986; Lodhi, 1989;

4

al-Qara�awī, 1987). They explain that this duality is in large part a product of the

imperialism of the colonial period. Moreover, they suggest that modern science has

introduced additional cultural distortions that separate educated Muslims from

knowledge that is fundamentally Islamic in nature. Khalil (1991) argues that not all

disciplines are able to benefit from an Islamic strategy that would bring secular and

spiritual aspects of experience into harmony. Based on this, Muslim society needs

harmony between knowledge and belief and science and religion. Thus our present

educational system is generally unable to offer humanity the ultimate goal of

knowledge. Muslim theories sometimes may produce creative thinkers who do not

adhere to the Islamic higher values of life.

As a result of emulating the Western models, the system of education in most

Muslim countries has not played a major role in developing strong moral conduct in

the new Muslim generations. This is the current situation in Nigeria. In his article,

Rafiu Ibrahim Adebayo (2004, 7) points out that, “It is sad to note that in spite of the

level of education of her citizens as well as the natural endowment of the nation,

Nigeria is still lagging behind morally, economically, socially and politically.” This

problem is faced not only by Nigeria, but also by many other Muslim countries.

Presently, there is a feeling of an increased pace of change in the world. This

necessitates having some form of system to inculcate moral values in the education

curriculum. This may help Muslim societies to deal with the problems thrown up by

these rapid changes. Raji (1996, 62) states that “one of the interim solutions to the

contemporary crisis in Muslim education is the integration of traditional Islamic

curriculum into Western education, the provision for which is made in Nigeria by the

national policy.” Therefore, Muslims have to be competent in Islamic moral

teachings and know the best methods to inculcate Islamic values in the new

5

generation of Muslims in order to regain the lost glory. Muslims must also know how

to develop their identity, which includes Islamic moral values, and appreciate their

own lifestyle rather than following a Western style of life. However, in approaching

this research, the researcher decided to interview a selection of both students and

teachers at Ansarul Islam Secondary School.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The world is changing very fast, and becoming more challenging. Unfortunately,

Muslims are not prepared to take a leading role because of moral decay among them.

The pervasive influence of secular materialism and its value system seriously

challenges religious-minded individuals and communities. The future will depend on

how well we train our children today and to what extent we are successful in

transferring to them the sacred vision of life as Muslims. What is at stake is nothing

less than the moral and spiritual survival of our children and our communities as

Muslims. Without a proper understanding of the Islamic moral values and strategies

to transfer them to the Muslim youth, the future generation of Muslims will be at risk.

Fortunately, a sense of improvement is in the air today and enlightened Muslims are

eager to find real solutions to the problems and challenges facing the Muslim

community, including re-examination of both how and what we teach our children

about Islam.

In Nigeria, the issue of teachers’ approach to teaching Islamic moral values is

overwhelmingly neglected by the teachers of Islamic education (Bidmos, 1984;

Adebayo 2004). Therefore, the quality of teaching Islam in schools is such that it has

been unable to achieve its aim, which is mainly due to the lack of appropriate ways of

inculcating moral values into students. Bidmos (1984) finds that the moral standards

6

of Nigerian youths had grossly degenerated due to the ineffectiveness of religious

education in the public schools of Nigeria.

Presently, there are a great many social ills among teenagers in Nigeria,

particularly in Kwara State. Abuse of drugs or drug addiction, violence, depression,

high rate of teenage pregnancy, vandalism, moral decline and illegal sexual habits

represent only a few of the categories of crises among the youth in the society. This

situation will only change when teachers use appropriate approaches to teach moral

values in our education system. As Haneef, (2005, 34), states in his book, “If we are

truly to liberate ourselves from the dominant paradigms developed in the West, there

is a need to develop a methodology for dealing with Western thought.” Thus, teachers

as the most important factor in schools should be able to inculcate moral values in

their students.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study is to examine the approaches/strategies, methods, and

techniques that are employed by teachers of Islamic education in secondary schools

and their awareness of the Qur’ānic and Prophetic methods of inculcating values. In

order to discover ways for improving approaches to inculcate values in Nigerian

schools, this study has sought to find out how the teachers integrate Islamic moral

values into their curriculum, class management and administration, and the extent to

which they contribute to the development of moral character in students.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

While exploring the approaches used by teachers of Islamic studies in teaching

Islamic moral values, the following research questions guided this study:

7

1. To what extent are teachers aware of the Qur’ānic and Prophetic

approaches to the inculcation of Islamic moral values according to the

Sunnah?

2. How do the teachers of Islamic education integrate Islamic moral values

in their curriculum and teaching methods?

3. To what extent are the approaches used by the teachers consistent with

methods advocated in the Qur’ān and Sunnah?

4. How do the students perceive the approaches used by the teachers in

inculcating moral values?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The findings of this study on the approaches used by teachers in disseminating moral

values and ethical conduct in their teaching will be useful to educators in Nigeria, in

particular, as well as Muslim educators in general. This area of study would be useful

for teachers and students in the acquisition of knowledge and the development of the

teaching and learning process. It would also help the administrators to formulate an

approach to teaching moral values that would meet the needs of the students.

Integrating moral values into the schools will help to prepare students to succeed in a

rapidly changing world, and will also help teachers, and the entire Muslim Ummah to

upgrade its status through the appropriate way of inculcating moral values in Muslim

youths.

The study can also make a significant contribution to the teachers’ educational

level by enabling them to reconsider their role in the light of the expectation and

desires of the students, parents and administrators and thereby better prepare teacher

education programmes to suit the needs of the students and the society.

8

DEFINITION OF TERMS

The following terms have been employed in this study.

Islamic education: al-Attas (1999) defines Islamic education as the process of

instilling and inculcating Islamic values into students.

Moral values: are things held to be right or wrong or desirable or undesirable, the

good virtues or conduct. While morality is sometimes described as ‘innate’ in

humans, the scientific view is that a capacity for morality is generally determined in

us, but the set of moral values is acquired, through example, teaching, and imprinting

from parents and society. (Wikipedia).

RESEARCH METHOD

Basically, the study is a qualitative research that employs phenomenological research

design. Qualitative research methods are particularly suited to uncovering meanings

people assign to their experiences (Hoshmand, 1989; Polkinghorne, 1991 as quoted

by Creswell, 1998).

Qualitative research

Qualitative research is a type of educational research in which the research relies on

the views of the participants by asking broad, general questions, and collecting data

consisting largely of words (or text) from the participant (Creswell, 2000). It involves

an in-depth understanding of human action and the reasons that govern human

behaviour.

The qualitative method was developed to enable researchers to study social

and cultural phenomena. “Qualitative data sources include observation and participant

observation (fieldwork), interviews and questionnaires, documents and texts, and the

researcher’s impressions and reactions” (Myers 1997). Qualitative research generally

9

involves on the spot investigation using unstructured or structured in-depth

interviewing (Alan Bryman, 1988). This entails sustained immersion of the researcher

among the people he/she seeks to study and this will be made possible by the length

of the study.

Phenomenology

Hancock (1998) defines Phenomenology as the study of phenomena. “It is a way of

describing something that exists as part of the world in which we live. Phenomena

may be events, situations, experiences or concepts”. Phenomenological research

begins with the acknowledgement that there is a gap in our understanding and that

clarification or illumination will be of benefit. Phenomenological research will not

necessarily provide definitive explanations but it does raise awareness and increases

insight Hancock, (1998).

The reason to choose the phenomenological approach is that it makes it easy

to gathering 'deep' information and perceptions through inductive, qualitative

methods such as interviews, discussions and participant observation, and representing

it from the perspective of the research participant(s). Phenomenology is also the most

efficient way of understanding and uncovering meanings that people assign to their

experiences.

Participants

The participants in this study include both teachers and students of Ansarul Islam

Secondary School of Ilorin, the capital city of Kwara State, Nigeria. Located at Ilorin

West, approximately three kilometres away from the Ilorin Central Mosque, this

school was established in 1971, initially in the private sector (Kwara State Muslim

Community) and later taken over by the government. The school follows the Nigerian

10

educational system which consists of six years of primary school, three years at junior

secondary level for students between 12 and 15, three years at senior secondary level

for students between 15 and18 and four years of university education for students of

age 19 and above. This is known as 6-3-3-4.

The Ansarul Islam Secondary School consists of more than two thousand

students and almost 100 academic and non-academic staff. The school follows the

Government Curriculum, and is not affiliated with any foreign University. Its status is

just like any other Nigerian Government secondary school, and the students have to

follow the same procedure as in other schools to gain admission into University,

whether in Nigeria or overseas. There are many notable scholars, politicians and

business tycoons who have graduated from this school.

The participants were three male and three female teachers of Islamic

education in the school under study as well as 10 students, five from the senior level

and five from the junior level. The ages of the chosen teachers in this research range

between 30 and 45 years, which indicates that they are in the normal age for a

teaching career.

Regarding the academic qualification of the chosen teachers, three of them are

degree holders; two of them have a diploma certificate in Islamic education, while the

remaining one has a master’s degree. At the initial stage, as was stated by one of the

respondents, Islamic studies teachers are required to have diploma certificate of

Arabic and Islamic studies. Graduates of College of Arabic and Islamic Studies were

also considered for the teaching of religious study, but presently the new system is

that Islamic studies teachers must have at least a first degree in Islamic education.

With respect to their teaching experience, some of respondent of teachers have

between 5 and 10 years of teaching experience, which indicates that all of them have

11

served as Islamic studies teachers for more than five years. Since the study employs

phenomenological design, randomization was not necessary in the selection of

participants.

Data Collection Procedure

The data for this study was collected by the researcher herself. She visited the school

in order to get permission to carry out the study. First of all, an official letter was

submitted to the principal of the school under study for permission to conduct the

study. Then selected teachers were informed about the purpose of the study and they

all helped the researcher a lot during the study at the school. The students also

cooperated and responded to the researcher satisfaction. The researcher was given the

privilege to conduct the study with both teachers and students, and also to observe

some teachers while teaching in class.

The principal and the researcher addressed the target teachers and the students

that are participated in this study. Thus, the subjects of this study were approached

and asked if they would like to participate in a research project involving the tape

recording of their description of the approaches used to inculcate moral values in

students. Their response was satisfactory.

Data Collection

The researcher interviewed and recorded via audiotape the participants regarding their

perceptions of the approaches used to inculcate moral values. The interviews were

conducted separately, and were unstructured. Each interview began with the

questions: “To you, what are the concept of moral values” “What are the moral

values that you inculcate in the students” “Can you explain the extent to which your

teaching methods are in line with the Qur’ānic and Prophetic methods of teaching”

12

and so on. During this study the researcher checked the work scheme of the school

curriculum to find out whether it contains the teaching of the Glorious Qur’ān and the

Prophetic Sunnah.

The teachers’ were also observed while teaching in class in order to ascertain

whether they were able to incorporate Islamic moral values into their teaching

process. In addition, some other open ended questions were asked in order to give the

participants an opportunity to speak their minds. This facilitated a free flow of dialog

between the researcher and the participants, which allowed other open ended

questions to be asked based on the emergent data.

Data Analysis

The data collected through interviews, observation and document analysis was coded,

repackaged and analyzed with respect to the themes and issues identified in the

literature review. These themes were analyzed with respect to the research questions

and objectives. The taped interviews of the six teachers and ten students were

transcribed, and the significant statements were extracted from these transcriptions

which became the raw data for analysis.

After being transcribed the statements were subject to the procedure outlined

below.

1. The transcripts were read a number of times in order to

achieve a holistic and intuitive understanding of their

responses.

2. Significant statements were extracted from each description

of phrase and sentences that directly pertain to the

investigated phenomenon. The researcher then removed any

repeated or irrelevant statements.