Unit: 4 Handout
The Role of Teachers
In the Islamic education process, a teacher or educator has an important role
in training Muslim youth to behave ethically as the fi rst step. According to
Ibn Miskawayh (Nadia 1994), in his book tahdhib al-akhlaq (Refinement of
character), teachers as trainers must make an impact on the young educators
in terms of desirable knowledge, moral, customs and behavior, in mounding
them into becoming role models within Muslim Community which makes
them the acceptable human model within the Muslim community. Therefore,
the training of adab has been considered as an important duty for Muslim
teachers well as educators. However, i t questions are raised on what they can
do about th is issue, especially their thought and perception towards
correlation between Islamic manner and Islamic work ethic. Hence, an
understanding of how educators or teachers are motivated towards a positive
work ethic within school structure and tasks, will not only effect the
performance outcome of the teachers and educators, but will also influence
on the extent in which the school encourages a positive work ethic of the
individual to benefit the organization (Mohd 2013). In the same way, the
cultural self-representation theory can be associated with what Kreitner and
Kinicki (1992) pointed out on ethical behaviors in work place. They suggested
that religion and belief or cultural influences have a prospective to enclosure
individual’s ethical codes in work place which, subsequently, leading to the
ethical behaviors. In other words, selfconcept of individual correlates with the
culture and their work practices, and i t affects their work behaviors
accordingly (Mohd 2013). Rafiq (1996) stated that individual factors which
individuals come to work with different values. Factors affecting one’s ethical
behavior include: stages of moral development, personal values and morals,
family influences, peer influences, and l i fe experiences. According to Rice
(1999), Islam contains i ts own ethical system which offers specific guidelines
for conducting business and work. These guidelines, in turn, relate to the
noble concepts of unity, justice and trusteeship. Islamic work ethics, the focus
of th is study, constitutes Islam's expectations with
respect to one's behavior at work which includes his or her effort, dedication,
cooperation, responsibility, social relations and creativity. Essentially, when
one has a close relationship with God, one's attitudes and behaviors would tend
to be consistent with the rules and stipulations of the religion (Nik Mu'tasim,
Nordin and San usi 2006). Hence, on th is basis, a person's commitment to his or
her work ethics would be expected to be significantly related to their beliefs and
behaviors to the organization (Si dek 2013).
Teacher as a Role Model
There should not be any doubt in our mind that highest rank teacher is Allah
(SW T). He not only taught Adam to upgrade his ranking but also through His
Holy book, the Qu’ran, revealed “We said: Get ye down all from here; and i f, as
is sure, there comes to you Guidance from me, whosoever follows My guidance,
on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.” The teaching profession is noble
and given high status in the society because the nature of the job is next to that
of parents. Qur’an and the Hadiths of the Prophet (SAW ) clearly indicated the
responsibilities as: “As part of the mercy of God, you deal with them gently; i f
you were severed and hard heart, they would have broken away from you.” The
Holy Prophet (SAW ) said, “Teach without chiding. Teachers are preferable to the
scolders”. He also said, “Use leniency to those whom you teach and those who
learn from you”. He the prophet (SAW ) is reported to say, “Teachers who have
three students of social classes and do not treat them equally, will be in the l ine
of the traitors on the Resurrection Day.” Ibn Maskub said, “Pupils should be
praised and rewarded for any good manner and favorable act they show.” Imam
al-Sh afi’i, the famous jurist, said: “Whoever learns from books will miss the
required achievement.”10 Imam Al-Ghazzali, regards the fi rst duty of a teacher
to accept the child unconditionally as his own. He quotes the saying of our
Prophet (SAW ): “I am to you l ike a father who desires to save his child from the
fi res of hell.” In the next few l ines we will highlight the teacher’s responsibilities
and qualities.
1. Influential Person in Student’s Life
A teacher should discover those vast reserves inside the student, inspire and
encourage them to str ive for greatness.
2. Communication Specialist
A teacher should be a communication specialist. I can recall, my ideal teacher used
to say that the best teacher must be the best actor. His speech, body language and
other actions should reflect what he wants to communicate.
3. Personal Characteristics
A teacher must possess the abilities of motivation, dedication, encouragement
and a caring nature. He should be fair and respect his students to establish a
strong interaction. He must be enthusiastic and enhance the confidence of
students to work unsupervised. He should enhance their ability to
conceptualize and utilize their skills, professionally as well as in daily l i fe.
Personal guidance can mean a lot to a student i f they have confidence in the
material and teaching methods of their teacher.
4. Encouragement
Encouragement is a key ingredient in enhancing the students’ hidden qualities. Ju st
few words l ike Come on, you can do i t, Hey, I believe you can achieve more; give i t a
try” etc. will do the job.
5. Support
The teacher should make his students to believe in him as a person whom they
can trust and approach personally, during extended office hours, get tutoring or
after-hours help etc. He should establish l iking, respect, and a desire for
students to do well. This should be in class as well outside class.
6. Challenge
The teacher should aim for high standards and help them achieve i t.
7. Resource Provider
Teacher should share instructional resources /materials, websites and readings. They
might also share professional resources such as journal articles, books, lesson or
unit plans, and assessment tools.
8. Course/Subject Specialist
The teacher should be well prepared in terms of the contents of the topics and be
able to teach them with different approaches.
9. Learning Facili tator
Teachers in the 21st century have evolved. They are no longer the source of all
knowledge in the classroom. We should inspire our students to take ownership
in their own learning. We engage, lead, inspire, and encourage the students in
our classrooms.
10. Mentor
There are many views about what types of actions can or cannot be defined as
mentoring. In my opinion, we often make i t much more complicated than i t needs to
be. At i ts core, mentoring is the act of l istening, of asking good questions, and of
probing others to be able to clearly articulate their ideas. Mentoring is about
encouragement and inspiration. I t is about investing time and energy in other people,
because other people matter to us.
11. Available for Advice and Guidance
The community at most of the universities includes people of different races and
cultural background therefore, i t is the responsibility of a teacher to break the ice
and make them feel at home as one family. I f one is really murabbi (Patron), he
can enlighten the student with Islamic reference along with subjective specialty.
Consequently, th is International community will be future ambassadors for the
University the teacher should not be judged solely on what he is doing but rather be
judged on the performance of his students. The most
important quality of a teacher is not what he knows but what he is, ” From time
to time, the teacher should encourage his students without their identification
to identify their difficulties and give suggestions for improvement in the
teaching-learning process.
Teacher ’s Quali ties, Responsibili ties and Role…
• Making lectures more meaningful learning experiences
• Encouraging students to read and come prepared for class
• Transmitting information electronically
• Make sure that contents being taught are well understood by the students
• Helping students to become self-directed learners
• Encouraging students to participate more in class.
• Helping students to take notes that are worthwhile and foster learning
• Making your (large) lecture classes much more interactive
• Asking good questions to stimulate students' reflection.
• Break ice to encourage students to ask questions in class and visit for help
frequently during office hours.
• Give good briefing on their mistakes on assignment/quizzes/exams etc.
• Although the advancement in technologies enhances the capabilities of a
teacher to teach more effectively in many ways but at the same time, the
internet, mobile phones, and social media have brought new challenges to
teachers. We should work on finding solutions to those challenges rather than
discouraging the use of new technology.
• U se of LM S, LCD /Pr ojector to expl ai n com pl i cated di agr am s/Fi gu r es,
wh i te board for explanation.
