Keeping the faith: A study of Muslim schoolgirls’ identity, participation in

school-based PE and their PE teachers’ understanding of their religious needs

Jane McGee

• The predominant view of Muslim women is that they are objects of oppression ‘subordinated within starkly uneven gender distributions of power’ (Hargreaves 2000).

• For the Muslim female, sporting participation in school may conflict with the Islamic requirement for modesty.

• Carroll and Hollinshead (1993) reported that the wearing of the sports uniform caused embarrassment Communal showers caused severe problems even to the extent that some students absented themselves from school.

• ‘Every religion has a distinctive quality and the distinctive quality of Islam is modesty’ (Kazi, 1992, p.120).

• Physical Education (PE) is at greater risk than most other subjects in meeting Muslim requirements.

• Benn (2005) reports some instances where strict kit regulations were unhelpful and rigidly non-negotiable, the allowance of a tracksuit, would have solved the Islamic requirements for modesty

Whether PE teachers use

inclusive practices in their lessons.

The identity of Muslim schoolgirls.

PE teachers’ perception of the Muslim female identity and how they

meet the needs of female Muslim pupils in

PE and school sport

Whether the Muslim female identity impacts upon participation in school-based PE

Muslim pupils were in the minority in the two schools (3%)

The empirical data were gathered over a period of twenty months, mainly by in-depth interviewing, using semi-structured interview schedules. Thematic analysis was utilized for the analysis

and understanding of the obtained data.

The empirical data were gathered over a period of twenty months, mainly by in-depth interviewing, using semi-structured interview schedules. Thematic analysis was utilized for the analysis

and understanding of the obtained data.

Are any concessions made during PE to meet your religious needs?

Through triangulation the research illuminate s the

same issues from two different perspectives . pupils

and teachers

This method was chosen for its flexibility in accommodating a large spectrum of responses, thus maintaining the richness of the narratives and the themes emerging from interaction

Open-ended interview was the chosen tool for the research to provide for a greater breadth of data. Such interviews create a space to enter the psychological and social worlds of the participants, allowing them to share their personal experiences without a constraint of fitting them into a rigid paradigm

issues of kit, fasting during Ramadan and extra-curricular activities posed problems for Muslim pupils; these are features, which are especially

compounded when teachers are not aware of the issues..

issues of kit, fasting during Ramadan and extra-curricular activities posed problems for Muslim pupils; these are features, which are especially

compounded when teachers are not aware of the issues..

Teachers often cast Muslim pupils as

problems in the PE setting

Like when you are fasting some teachers will just shout and say ‘why ain’t you doin. it?’ They

don’t understand that we can get thirsty (Pardaj)

This girl didn’t tell me until mid way through a lesson that she was fasting. So I said to her you should have told me at the start, but then again I suppose I should have been aware of it as well

(Barry Slade)

Is there a school policy on Ramadan?

Not that I know of, if so it hasn’t filtered down to me unless I am meant to go and look for it(Nikki McCullough)

Wright (1995) suggests that teachers are fundamental points for change and reproduction.

Teachers have the potential to not only reproduce dominant gender discourses and practices but might also be productive in challenging them. This is also applicable to culture.

• intervention strategies must be approached holistically: they require change at a number of different points, beginning at the outset of higher education courses and permeating all aspects of ITT’s structure, practice and policy, and continuing professional development

Continuing Professional development is only effective when inclusive issues are supported by whole school policy.

implemented by Head Teachers

Muslim pupils need to see themselves as an integral part of school life, not on

the margins, or as separate

Culture and heritage needs to be reflected in the ethos of the school

The use of ‘student voice’ in schools could determine how extra-curricular PE

provision can be effectively addressed to meet religious and cultural needs

Effective home-school liaison is also crucial not only for Muslim families,

but also for those indigenous parents who do

not come into school

It is not enough to have the word, ‘inclusive’ embedded into the

mission statement of the school, if this is not

matched in practice

Recommendations

• The findings exposed the inadequacies of teacher training and the exclusionary nature of traditional physical education settings.

• Although teachers were committed to inclusive practice, in reality the experiences of pupils were more reliant upon the quality of individual teachers. Multi-cultural and racism-awareness courses appear to be indispensable for a better understanding of pupils