Pre-service teachers' knowledge about Islam: a snapshot post September 11, 2001.

Pre-service teachers responded to a twenty-item survey on the topic of Islam. The survey was designed to both assess their knowledge about Islam as well as to gauge their reaction to Islam in the wake of the events of September 11, 2001. An analysis of the 218 responses indicate that many of the pre-service teachers in the sample lack a rudimentary knowledge as to the nature of the Islamic faith as well as the global nature and influence of Islam. In addition the survey responses suggest that the majority of this sample of pre-service teachers did not grasp the diverse nature of Islam. Although pre-service teachers' responses concerning how they would treat Muslim students indicated sensitivity, few seemed to be aware of specific ways in which to integrate diversity into their teaching. Pre-service coursework needs to address the misconceptions and lack of knowledge concerning Islam and Muslims. It also should address strategies for infusing diversity into the curriculum.

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In recent years there has been much concern that as our nation's population becomes more diverse, our public school teachers need to better understand this diversity and how to work with diverse populations of students (Sleeter, 2001). With the events of September 11, 2001 as a backdrop, once again the issue of understanding diversity re-emerged. Countless discussions about the events on September 11 and after have occurred throughout thousands of classrooms. While no doubt these discussions were multi-faceted in nature ranging from American reaction to the September attack to understanding why those who perpetrated the act did so, one issue that no doubt arose during the course of these discussions concerned the nature of the Islamic religion.

As roughly seven million Americans claim the Islamic religion and an increasing number of our nation's school populace is Muslim, it became of interest to contemplate the nature of students' schemata about Islam. Research in cognitive psychology has shown that often students' pre-conceived ideas about virtually any topic, let alone pre-existing ideas about religion or ethnicity, are very powerful and as such difficult to change (Barrass, 1984; Steffensen, Joag-Dev, & Anderson, 1979). University students' pre-existing knowledge, and specifically that of pre-service teachers became our particular focus. Based on schema theory it would follow that pre-service teachers' schemata held in reference to a religion such as Islam would have some impact, if not a large one, on how these future teachers dealt with student questions about the events of September 11 as well as on how these future teachers interacted with students of the Muslim persuasion.

Methodology

The major research question focused upon the nature of pre-service teachers' knowledge about Islam. Approximately one month after the September 11 events, pre-service teachers were asked to complete a 20-item survey on the topic of Islam. All of the respondents were undergraduate students seeking teacher certification at a mid-sized state university in a mid-atlantic state; the total number of teacher education majors at the university was approximately 1,450. The investigators explained that an analysis of this survey was to be undertaken to understand the nature of students' schemata and as a means of modeling to pre-service teachers one method by which to ascertain the nature of students' schemata. Students were also informed that the survey answers would be reconsidered and discussed during an upcoming unit on diversity. For the latter reason, two courses taken by all teacher education majors after the freshman year that contained units on the topic of diversity were selected as the focus of the study. By the time students enrolled in these courses, most of them had completed their general education requirements; one of these requirements was a course in history although students could choose from a wide variety of options. The topic of diversity was integrated into the coursework required of education majors, although this sample was still in the process of completing that coursework.

One of these courses, educational psychology was a sophomore level course and the other, instructional media, was a junior level course. Of the 12 sections of educational psychology offered during the fall, 2001 semester, four were randomly selected for participation in the study; of the 12 sections of instructional media, four were randomly selected as well. A total of 218 students responded to the survey; of this number 111 were enrolled in educational psychology and 107 in instructional media. Of the 218 respondents, majors were represented as follows: early childhood education (20), elementary education (87), special education (37), physical education (30), music education (9), and secondary education (35). Of the 218 respondents, 174 were female and 44 were male, 91% were Caucasian while 6% were African-American, 2.3% Latino-American, and .7% Asian-American.

The survey consisted of 20 open-ended items; of these 15 required answers that could either be assessed as correct or incorrect while five of the items required the respondents to answer divergent type questions (see Appendix A). The respondents were told that their participation in completing the survey was on a voluntary and anonymous basis.

Results

The percentage of the respondents who answered the factually based questions accurately varied widely according to the question posed. The great majority of respondents (82%) knew that followers of Islam were called Muslims and that Allah was the god of Islam (76%). Roughly half of the respondents (51%) knew that the Koran was the Islamic holy book while a little less than half of the sample (47%) replied that Mecca was the holiest Islamic city and that monotheism was commonly shared by Muslims, Jews, and Christians (45%). Interestingly, about one in seven respondents indicated that Jerusalem was the holiest city of Islam.

Approximately one-third (36%) of the sample knew that Asia was the continent where the greatest number of Muslims lived, that Mohammad was the founder of Islam (34%), and could name Ramadan as the holy observance during which followers fast (32%). About one-quarter of the sample (24%) was able to identify Malcolm X as the 1960' s Civil Rights leader who was Muslim; other frequent responses included Mohammed Ali, and Martin Luther King.

About one-third of the sample also knew the approximate percentage of the world's population that was Muslim (35%), and could name Pakistan as one of the three countries in the world with the greatest number of Muslims (31%). However, no respondent in the sample was able to identify either Indonesia or Bangladesh as two of the three most populous Muslim countries along with Pakistan The majority of those answering this question instead wrote either Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, or Saudi Arabia. Fewer than five percent of the sample was able to accurately report the number of Muslims in the United States; in fact, about one in seven respondents indicated that the Muslim population in the United States numbered less than 20,000 people and approximately one-third of the sample stated that the Muslim population in the United States was one million or less, falling far short of the six million figure cited in a new report commissioned by American Muslims called "The Mosque in America."

Less than five percent of the sample also knew that the Shiites and the Sunnis were the two major Muslim sects, could explain the meaning of the word Islam, or list the five main religious duties of Islam. However, in response to the query about the five main religious duties of Islam, about half the sample (53%) listed praying five times a day while approximately one-quarter indicated a pilgrimage to Mecca, and one-quarter listed fasting during Ramadan. Interestingly, several respondents indicated that not eating pork was one of the five main religious duties of Islam.

Responses to the divergent type questions also varied widely. About half of respondents did not answer the question about how they thought the Islamic religion had influenced the world. Likewise, an alarming percentage of the sample did not respond at all (32%) to questions about how they believed followers of Islam view the United States and what commonalities they shared with followers of Islam (34%). Nearly one-fourth of respondents did not answer the question that asked what teachers could do to facilitate the experience of an Islamic student in their classroom while roughly one-fifth of the sample did not respond to the query about what Islam made them think of.

Among those who did respond as to how they think followers of Islam view America, roughly one-third said "as materialistic or self-indulgent" followed by "unholy or as sinners", "as having too much freedom", and "as giving too many rights to women". About one-third of the sample that responded shared a negative reaction upon heating the term Islam; among their specific associations with the term were "terrorists, enemy, trouble, war, Bin Laden, and unfair treatment of women". Other frequently offered answers as to what Islam made these respondents think of included the Middle East, Arabs, turbans, long beards, prayer, and deserts.

The most frequently cited commonalities the respondents thought they shared with followers of Islam were "belief in one god, prayer, basic human needs, and strong religious beliefs"; however, roughly one in seven respondents indicated that they thought they had nothing in common at all with followers of Islam. Of those who responded, reactions were mixed as to how they perceived the Islamic faith influencing the world; about a third said that the influence was a negative one, about a third thought it was a positive one, and another third believed Islam had some, but not much influence on the world. While several of those who thought the influence was negative specifically mentioned the events of September 11, several of those who believed the influence was positive noted that the Islamic religion promoted peace. Interestingly, only two respondents said that the mainstream Islamic religion was different than the Islamic extremists.

When queried as to how they as teachers would treat Islamic students in their classroom, one-fourth of those who responded said they would try to be sensitive to their religious celebrations, another one-fourth reported that they would try to teach their culture and religion, and roughly half indicated that they would try to learn more about Islam themselves. However, approximately eight percent of the sample wrote that they thought they could not bring up religion in any way in a public school setting; interestingly, only about five percent of the sample shared that they would stress with their classes that followers of Islam are not terrorists.

Discussion

In examining pre-service teachers' responses to the survey, it is important to keep in mind that the nature of the responses, in particular those which indicated a negative reaction to Islam, may very well have been skewed by the recent events of September 11, 2001 and as such not accurately reflect how this sample may have responded earlier. However, in terms of both inaccurate knowledge and the lack of any knowledge concerning Islam, the survey responses do warrant concern. While it may be argued that a majority of survey items pertained only to factual knowledge and not to deeper understanding of the topic, surely these deeper understandings are hard to arrive at without requisite basic knowledge. The survey responses do indicate that many of the pre-service teachers in the sample lack a rudimentary knowledge as to the nature of the Islamic religion. Furthermore, the survey responses suggest that the majority of these pre-service educators lack an understanding as to the global nature and influence of Islam as well as the extent to which American Muslims will potentially impact the United States via their representation in our nation's populace.

Perhaps even more importantly, the survey responses show that this sample of pre-service teachers does not grasp the diverse nature of Islam in that respondents often equated Islam with either terrorists, a religion that promotes the oppressive treatment of women, the Middle East, or Arabs. Judging from the nature of the survey responses, the large majority of respondents would probably be surprised to learn that a woman currently leads the most populous Muslim country, Indonesia, and that in recent years a woman also headed the government of Pakistan. In fact, east of Afghanistan Islam imposes fewer restrictions on women in general. And along with this fact is the reality that the future of Islam lies in Asia in terms of the preponderance of its followers living there and not in the Middle East or Arab world.

In addition, the wide majority of respondents may be surprised to learn that countries with an overwhelming percentage of Muslims vary greatly in their perception of the United States; countries such as Indonesia and Bangladesh have in general more favorable impressions of the United States than do Iraq. The perception of Muslim countries also must be seen within the context of history. For instance, after World War I the Westernization of such countries as Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq became popular among Arab elites. And despite the legacy of Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran, the current president of Iran has lifted many social and cultural restrictions. It is equally as important for these pre-service teachers to understand that through the 20th century Western-style economic methods and political institutions too often brought poverty and tyranny to the Middle East. In addition, these pre-service teachers need to recognize that mainstream Islam holds viewpoints toward the West very different from the Islamic extremists who were behind the September 11 events.

In light of both the inaccurate knowledge and lack of knowledge about Islam among this sample of pre-service teachers, pre-service education needs to address basic content knowledge about the Islamic religion as well as provide some understanding of the historical context of recent events. In addition, the extent of Islam's global influence and presence in American life must be considered.

Pre-service teachers' responses to the questions about what they would do to facilitate the education of a Muslim student in their classroom indicated sensitivity to cultural and religious differences as well as a willingness to learn more about the Islamic faith. However, roughly 25 percent of the sample did not know how to respond to this question and eight percent thought they were not allowed to address religion at all in public schools. In addition, of those who responded to the question, few seemed to be aware of specific ways in which to integrate diversity into their teaching. Clearly pre-service courses need to speak to what extent public school teachers may address religion in the course of teaching as well as to specific strategies for infusing diversity into the curriculum.

Implications

In addition to addressing basic factual information relative to the Islamic religion, pre-service education must concern itself with modifying pre-service teachers' incorrect schemata relative to Islam. Of course this issue of addressing pre-service teachers' misconceptions is not only germane to a religion such as Islam but also to other major world religions as well as a variety of cultural and ethnic groups within the United States. If in fact other samples of pre-service teachers' preconceived notions about Islam are similar to those in this sample, the consequences of not addressing these misconceptions are alarming. It is sobering to imagine future teachers passing on their ignorance and misconceptions about the Islamic faith to their students especially in view of recent events as well as their far-reaching implications; a large number of this sample planned to teach at the elementary level and presumably will be teaching social studies. It is also most unfortunate to envision future teachers who harbor these misconceptions working with Muslim students in American classrooms.

Perhaps the most powerful way pre-service education can address this issue is to first find out the nature of pre-service teachers' schemata, similar to the effort undertaken by the investigators in this study. Following this effort, instructional strategies designed to effectively counteract incorrect schemata need to be employed. The complex nature of Islam could be taught by using the following approaches: guest speakers, field experiences to both local mosques as well as to classrooms with diverse student populations, independent research projects and subsequent peer teaching of new-found information, as well as readings on the topic.

Appendix A

1. What are followers of the Islamic faith called?

2. In what city is Islam's most holy site located?

3. The greatest number of followers of Islam are found on what continent?

4. Name the founder of Islam.

5. What is the name of the god of Islam?

6. Name Islam's annual holy observance during which followers fast.

7. What are Islam's holy scriptures called?

8. What is the approximate number of people in the United States who claim Islam as their faith?

9. Name any or all of the five main religious duties required of the followers of Islam.

10. What prominent Civil Rights leader of the 1960's was a follower of Islam?

11. What percentage of the world population are followers of Islam?

12. What belief is shared among the followers of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity?

13. Name either or both of the most prominent Islamic sects.

14. What does the term Islam literally mean?

15. Name the three countries in the world with the greatest number of followers of Islam.

16. Speculate about how a follower of Islam might characterize American culture.

17. What is the first thing that occurs to you when you hear the term Islam?

18. In your opinion how has the Islamic faith influenced the world?

19. What is your perception of commonalities between yourself and a follower of Islam?

20. As a teacher how do you anticipate you will treat any of your students who are followers of Islam?

References

Barass, R. (1984). Some misconceptions and misunderstandings perpetuated by teachers and textbooks of biology. Journal of Biological Education, 18, 201-06.

Sleeter, C. (2001). Epistemological diversity in research on pre-service teacher preparation for historically underserved children. Review of Research in Education, 25, 209-50.

Steffensen, M.S., Joag-Dev, C., & Anderson, R.C. (1979). A cross-cultural perspective on reading comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 15,10-29.

Dr. Thomas Mastrilli, Associate Professor, Educational Methods and Instructional Technology, West Chester University. Dr. Deborah Sardo-Brown, Professor, Educational Psychology, West Chester University.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr. Thomas Mastrilli, Rm 203c Recitation Hall, West Chester University, West Chester, PA 19383; [e-mail]