Call for Papers

Disability and the Global South
www.dgsjournal.org

Disability Inclusion in Islamic Education: The Case of Indonesia

Guest Editors: Dina Afrianty (Australian Catholic University) and Karen Soldatic (Western Sydney University)

Islamic Education has become a globally contentious area of global politics since 9/11. Western commentary over the last 15 years or so, frequently suggests the values and ethical orientations of Islamic education stand in contradistinction to those of Western liberalism and the promotion of political pluralism, humanism, and egalitarianism.

Islamic education systems, however, have much to offer in terms of resistance to Western Imperialism and processes of colonisation. For example in Indonesia they emerge in direct opposition to the Dutch colonial conquest of the late nineteenth century. Now spanning across the Indonesian Archipelago, Islamic education is offered from primary and secondary schools (madrasah and presantren schools) through to college and university (State Islamic University). Each institutional layer is funded directly by the Indonesian Ministry of Religion. A conditionality of government funding is the delivery of both secular mainstream curriculum with core Islamic teachings from the Koran and a range of diverse interpretative texts.

Democratisation in many countries such as Indonesia, alongside growing economic integration into the global economy, has led to an increase in demand for Islamic schooling. Parents are thus increasingly seeking a combined curriculum of technical skill acquisition alongside Islamic ethical orientations for self-development and civic engagement. Clearly, this expanding religious educational sector has implications for persons with disabilities, particularly in relation to their potential inclusion within such educational institutions.

This special issue seeks to examine the inclusion of disability within the Islamic education system in Indonesia across all tiers, from primary and secondary schooling through to college and university. The aim is to bring together a diverse set of theoretical, conceptual and applied papers that:

• examine the processes and practices of disability inclusion within Islamic education settings drawing upon a range of methodological approaches;
• examine core Koranic (and associated interpretative texts) teaching in relation to disability and the implications for including persons with disabilities into Islamic education institutions and settings;
• provide space for students with disabilities’ experiences of Islamic education and educational practices of inclusion (e.g. physical accessibility, curriculum design and/or or faith based teaching);
• draw upon life narratives of disability inclusion within Indonesian Islamic educational institutions across the life course and implications for individual outcomes
• trace the development and inclusion of disability inclusive education within and/or across Islamic education at all levels, highlighting key points of continuity, change and diversity.

Those wishing to submit an article, please email a full paper, maximum 8000 words including bibliography to Dina Afrianty (Dina.Afrianty@acu.edu.au) and Karen Soldatic (k.soldatic@westernsydney.edu.au). Please insert ‘Submission for Indonesian Islamic Education and Disability Special Issue’ in the subject line.

Manuscripts will be sent anonymously for double peer review, and comments and recommendations relayed to authors through the editors.

FULL PAPERS due by: 1 April 2017 for first round reviews.