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This article explores the motivation and engagement of adolescent non-Arab Muslim learners of Arabic (a-MLA) enrolled at Australian Islamic Schools (AIS). To this end, the 'L2 Motivational Self System' was used as a theoretical lens. This research gives 'voice' to learners and is dialogic, 'speaking with' rather than 'speaking for' learners in Islamic schools. It also responds to calls for the 'renewal' of Islamic Schools in the Western context, including in Australia, through a focus on Arabic learning. A basic interpretive qualitative approach was used, and data were collected from 40 participants using semi-structured interviews. The interviews were supplemented by classroom observations. In keeping with the emphasis placed on learners' voices, the data presented focus on the students' own words and perspectives. The findings suggest the presence of predominantly religious orientations to learning Arabic, but that a subset of other orientations also exists. The findings also indicate that several contextual factors can lead to disengagement and that the L2 Motivational Self System might not fully explain the situation of these learners. Nonetheless, these findings can inform the practice of teachers engaged with a-MLA and provide grounds for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper responds to calls for renewal in Islamic schooling and education. In doing so, it provides insight into educators' views on Islamic Studies (IS) in five Australian Islamic schools, with a focus on senior years (years 10, 11 and 12). The study offers a 'dialogic alternative' of 'speaking with' rather than 'speaking for' educators in Islamic educational research, planning, and renewal within K-12 Australian Islamic schools. It privileges educators' voice and enables an insight into their experience with one of the most important and distinct features of Islamic schools – IS. Using phenomenology as a methodological framework, educators' voice was elicited through focus groups where eighteen educators provided information describing their experience with IS. The study identified "strengths" and "challenges" of IS. Strengths includes parents' desire for IS, educators' personal connection with learner, knowledge of subject-matter, autonomy in teaching IS and unity among IS educators. The challenges outweigh the strengths and include insufficient time for IS, lack of resources, absence of a clear vision leading to a tokenistic and fragmented approach to the teaching of IS, low-level respect and recognition of IS educators and more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waterloo, in Sydney, Australia, is a neighbourhood currently dominated by a large public housing estate. The estate is to be redeveloped to be a 'socially mixed' community largely comprised of private residents. Many current residents of Waterloo have organised in opposition to the redevelopment. At the same time, government and community development agencies have implemented a number of capacity building and consultation programmes for residents, including a theatre performance. Programmes of empowerment are increasingly used by the state and the third sector to encourage disadvantaged or marginalised citizens to 'take responsibility' for their own lives. In this article, I examine a performance coordinated by a community theatre group that uses the 'Theatre of the Oppressed' format, intended to allow participants to identify ways to overthrow the forces that oppress them. I use a Foucauldian conception of power, subjectivity and resistance to critically examine the performance in its context. I explore ways in which the Theatre of the Oppressed format was applied (perhaps unintentionally) in such a way that it reinforced a vision of the situation as immutable and unchangeable, placing the onus on residents to transform their own actions to deliver change. Such framing makes any effort at resistance appear absurd, and is anything but empowering for residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of public housing estate renewal programs in Australia in the last decade has been one of the most prominent developments in social housing policy. These programs have undertaken a broad mix of renewal activity, ranging from outright physical redevelopment and stock replacement for sale, to community development type initiatives to improve social and employment outcomes for residents. However, while a number of evaluations of these programs have been undertaken, the development of evaluation methodology has lagged behind that of other countries. This in part is due to the lack of federal government interest or involvement in these programs which are essentially state specific. The article reviews the evaluations that have been undertaken in the last 10 years in Australia and assesses the relative importance of qualitative methodologies in these evaluations. Despite a strong focus among policy makers on value-for-money aspects of renewal, the authors show that qualitative methods have been commonplace, if limited in range, and argue this is a result of both the difficulty of obtaining comparative quantitative information especially when comparing dissimilar programs between states. In this context, qualitative methods are more easily managed by researchers and offer more insightful assessments than quantitatively based approaches. The article concludes by arguing for a national evaluation methodology to assist in more rigorous evaluations and the extension of qualitative evaluation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides insight into senior secondary learners' views on Islamic Studies (IS) in three large Australian Islamic schools. This study offers a 'dialogic alternative' of 'speaking with' rather than 'speaking for' learners in Islamic educational research, planning, and renewal within K-12 Islamic schools. The study privileges learners' voice and enables an insight to their experience with one of the most important features of Islamic schools—Islamic Studies. Using phenomenology as a methodological framework, learner voice was elicited through focus groups where 75 learners (years 10, 11, and 12) provided information describing their experience with Islamic Studies. Thematic content analysis of the textual data suggests that learners' dissatisfaction far outweighs their satisfaction with Islamic Studies. The findings of this paper can benefit Islamic schools in Australia and other Western contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]