Arab Educational Information Network

In a time of increasing anxiety between ‘The Muslim World’ and ‘The West’, it is important to investigate the philosophical assumptions that seem to undergird the two parties’ Weltanschauung-particularly as we are slowly realizing that they are not neccesarily exclusive entities. However, given the gravity of what is at stake, it seems imperative to undergo such an exploration through a concrete case-based philosophical study in how these worldviews approach education instead of a merely theoretical discussion. This article is a comparative analysis between Nel Noddings’ concept of Ethical Care-and its application by scholars such as Thomas Lickona and Becky Bailey-and the author’s selection of what seem to be the most relevant aspects of Islamic Pedagogy. Particular emphasis is placed upon comparing the Secular Humanist philosophical assumptions underlying Ethical Care in its Western form and the Islamic philosophical assumptions underlying Islamic Pedagogy with the objective of finding common ground between two worldviews presumably in tension-while acknowledging differences where each can benefit from the other. (Published abstract)