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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into teaching practice of the University of al‐Qarawiyyin, Morocco, with a particular focus on Islamic pedagogy.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted daily participant observations of “teaching circles” over a seven‐month period. The participant observation was achieved from engaging in the daily life of al‐Qarawiyyin and from developing relationships with teachers and students of the university.FindingsThe fieldwork has shown that teaching methods of particular significance are based on the characterising concepts of knowledge and the sacred; and on the development of skills such as orality (both seen as oral transmission from teacher to students and as a traditional mode for transmitting knowledge in the Arab cultures) and memorisation of the sacred text. Islamic pedagogy is understood by the way these aspects are woven together.Originality/valueThe paper demonstrates that what is unique to the Islamic pedagogy of al‐Qarawiyyin is the deep certainty of belief in God and this underpins the oral transmission, thus facilitating memorisation, and the didactic approach towards sacred texts.

This anthropological study of a higher education British Madrasah was undertaken to increase our awareness of the spectrum of sensory experiences that shape Islamic pedagogy. We started our anthropological study from an Islamic premise of the inseparable nature of knowledge and the sacred. Pedagogy is defined as not a matter of simple methods and technique but as a holistic approach that deals with the capacity to form the human person. Islamic pedagogy is represented by the heartfelt interactions between the teacher and learner through orality, facilitating memorization, and the didactic approach towards sacred texts. This research has explored the sensoria of a British Madrasah from a spiritual approach and this provides the foundation for shaping our understanding of the madrasah concept of Islamic pedagogy. An Al-Ghazali's mystical-theoretical approach toward learning is evident in this research in defining the madrasah as a spiritual rather than social construct, and is optimized by the embodiment of learning.

). For lifelong learning to become 'a reality for all' the Lisbon Strategy (European Commission, 2005) states everyone should have equal and open access to high quality learning opportunities throughout their lives (Reding, 2003). The Lisbon Strategy also emphasises that learning opportunities should be provided in a variety of ways to suit individual needs and this in part has shaped our research. 'Searching for the middle way' is driven by a desire to understand the lifelong learner in the context of styles of learning and the emerging implications of technology enhanced learning for digital equity . We begin with the view that learning is a cognitive process that is intrinsic to the learner in both formal and informal settings (Courtney, 1979). A traditional perspective on learning and education is explained by Merriam & Brockett (1997) who state:"learning can occur both incidentally and in planned educational activities, while, it is only the planned activities we call education."Our research adopts a contemporary lifelong learning perspective of education in both formal and informal settings and our understanding of 'equality for all' is shaped by a critical multicultural perspective (Delpit, 1995;Bennett, 1999;& Gay, 2000) that supports a commitment to learning about peoples' differences. The lifelong learning viewpoint has become an increasingly important perspective through the unprecedented growth of the Web and more recently Web 2.0 and participative social networks. The learning environment, physical and virtual space, is a characterising feature of learning along with the cognitive learning style. The move towards a more holistic use of the term lifelong learning embraces both formal and informal learning and in part is central to the renewed interest in learning styles. Recognizing cognitive learning styles is the first step educators need to take in order to be most effective in working with students of diversity and bridging across formal and informal settings (Tomes, 2008). According to Messick (1976) cognitive style is the inclination people have in processing information in a particular way. This way of processing comes from the individual learners' experiences and develops incrementally over time, and as such it is not easily changed or modified. According to Dunn et. al. (1981) cognitive style cannot be truly assessed or understood outside of the environment to which the learner finds themselves. As such this highlights the importance of research that takes into account not only the environment learners are in but also the social elements of culturally diverse learners and their respective experiences (Gay, 2000; and Neito, 2000). This is supported by Whetton & Cameron (2005) who see the identification and use of cognitive styles as a way for learners to improve their relationships with others as well as developing critical self-awareness. Cognitive style cannot be viewed in isolation, even though cognitive style can be seen as an individual's preferred or usual way of processing and orga...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore what is believed to be a deep connection between Islamic pedagogy as a way to cultivate personal learning experiences. The paper discusses the relationship between the characterising features of Islamic pedagogy and personalised learning that remains central to Islamic institutional developments. The paper concludes by highlighting the importance of the embodiment of knowledge in Islamic pedagogy for personalised learning. Design/methodology/approach – The endeavours to define the characterising features that represents the relationship between Islamic pedagogy and knowledge embodiment. Findings – The paper proposes that Islamic pedagogy is dependent on both a personalised approach towards teacher and student embodiment. From an Islamic perspective, embodiment has a physical and spiritual dimension where prophecy is retained and is inherent to existence and daily practice. Without the embodied learning the Islamic approach towards pedagogy is seen to disconnect with many students seeking knowledge. This highlights the centrality of the teachers’ relationship with the student and the distinguishing belief of Islamic pedagogy in knowledge embodiment. Originality/value – The papers contribution to knowledge is in considering personalised learning within the context of Islamic education.