An Islamic Voice for Openness and Human Development in Education: The Relevance of Ibn Khaldun's Ideas to Australian Teacher Education Programs Today

Raewyn Connell in her discussion of Southern social science theories, considers Ibn Khaldun's contribution to the understanding of civilisation and sociology as so rich and important that it is still relevant today. This paper builds on Connell's introduction to Ibn Khaldun's work by first reviewing his ideas of education in the Muqaddimah and then investigating the extent of their contemporary relevance, for example, in teacher education programs today in Australia's multicultural society. Ibn Khaldun was a Muslim scholar born in what is now called Tunisia, North Africa, in 1332. His writings, which encompassed history, philosophy of history, sociology, education and pedagogy, are best exemplified in his greatest work, the Muqaddimah, written as an introduction and commentary on his universal history. Ibn Khaldun provided a long and detailed discussion of the concept of education and pedagogy in Chapter Six of the Muqaddimah. His classification of knowledge according to classical Islamic tradition is a valuable guide to the range of sciences in existence at that time. He also provided his views on teaching and learning issues which have their counterparts in today's classrooms. The latter part of this paper looks at the nature of curriculum in current teacher education programs in Australia and considers the development of a more inclusive approach in relation to Islamic communities in Australia. Such a move could result in Ibn Khaldun's ideas on education being incorporated into teacher education programs in Australia.