Differences in access to information and communication technologies: Voices of British Muslim teenage girls at Islamic faith schools

Author(s):

Glenn Hardaker, (Centre for Lifelong Learning, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education, University of Brunei Darussalam, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam)

Aishah Sabki, (Beyond Labels Ltd, Huddersfield, UK)

Atika Qazi, (Centre for Lifelong Learning, University of Brunei Darussalam, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam)

Javed Iqbal, (Independent Researcher, London, UK)

...Show all authors

Single Sentence Summary:

A discussion on British Muslims and research into the information and communication technologies differences beyond gender and ethnicity reveals that Islamic faith schools are framed by the wider diverse Muslim community, and the supplementary schooling of madrasahs.

Abstract:

Purpose

Most research on information and communication technologies (ICT) differences has been related to gender and ethnicity, and to a lesser extent religious affiliation. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this field of research by situating the discussion in the context of British Muslims and extending current research into ICT differences beyond gender and ethnicity.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper explores the ICT differences in access and use by British Muslim teenage girls at Islamic faith schools, and ICTs’ perceived influence on learning. The qualitative research was undertaken by conducting 45 semi-structured interviews with British Muslim teenage girls in Islamic faith schools.

Findings

The study provides tentative findings that Islamic faith schools are not only framed by the wider diverse Muslim community, but also by the supplementary schooling of madrasahs. The findings suggest that the home use of ICTs was reinforced rather than compensated for by the Islamic faith schools. This seemed to inhibit many pupils’ access to online educational resources. The authors found that didactic instruction was prevalent and this provided tentative insights into the types of digital inequity experienced by many pupils.

Originality/value

The research into ICT differences in the UK adopted the premise that the unity in Muslim identity increasingly transcends ethnicity and gender in the Muslim community.

Keywords:

Communication technologies, Inclusion, Islam, Learning methods, ICT difference

Type:

Research paper

Publisher:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Received:

01 May 2017

Accepted:

06 June 2017

Copyright:

© Emerald Publishing Limited 2017
Published by Emerald Publishing Limited
Licensed re-use rights only

Citation:

Glenn Hardaker, Aishah Sabki, Atika Qazi, Javed Iqbal, (2017) "Differences in access to information and communication technologies: Voices of British Muslim teenage girls at Islamic faith schools", The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, Vol. 34 Issue: 4, pp.351-366, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJILT-05-2017-0029

Downloads:

The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 201 times since 2017