This paper explores the status of girls' education in the schools of rural Balochistan in Pakistan, and examines the dimensions of access, enrolment and retention. In order to explore the complexities of this governmental problem, we will propose the concept of postcolonial Islamic governmentality. Drawing on Foucault's work on the arts of…

The gradual restructuring of the political economy of Turkey after the 1980s has changed the positioning of the middle class and the importance of its social, economic, and cultural capitals. In particular, lowering the quality of public education through systematic privatization and Islamisation has constituted a significant threat to this class'…

The public funding or even toleration of religious minority schools, particularly Muslim faith schools, is controversial in West European countries. Political theorists often posit that parents' right to choose these schools conflicts with the equally or more important societal concerns with child autonomy and civic integration or education to…

This article focuses on the pedagogical project of the Hizmet Movement, with a special focus on its gender politics as they were activated and performed at one of the movement's schools in a peripheral rural city in western Turkey. Through an ethnographic, conversation-based account of female teachers as active and committed adherents of the…

Valuable developments in the Sociology of Education over the last 40 years have involved the widening and deepening of analytical perspectives to include not only class-based research in education but also the complex interactions of class, race and gender in all educational, social, economic and political contexts. From a sociology of knowledge…

This study compares the educational attainment of Muslim and Christian White-British boys and girls at the following junctions: Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3, GCSE, getting into universities and achieving a place at a Russell Group university. The study utilises the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England waves 1-6 with linked data from the…

This article discusses the changes in basic education in Turkey, with a particular focus on religious education and its ramifications for the education system. The latest education reform, 4 + 4 + 4 (or 4+), the largest education reform in recent Turkish history, has brought radical changes to the school system regarding religious education. For…

This article draws on an analysis of the narratives of teachers, policy-makers and young Muslim working-class women to explore how schools worked towards producing the model neoliberal middle-class female student. In two urban case-study schools, teaching staff encouraged the girls to actively challenge their culture through discourses grounded in…

Islam underlines equality between women and men regarding their spiritual and intellectual potential. However, given interpretations of religious texts are often availed to suppress women in most Muslim societies, with serious implications for gender equality in the domestic and the professional spheres. This article draws on data from a study of…

In 2014, the city of Birmingham (UK) became embroiled in a high-profile scandal that would bring it and the wider education system under disrepute. The 'Trojan Horse' affair, as it become known, began with an anonymised letter that claimed hard-line 'Islamists' were plotting and planning to take over a number of schools in Birmingham. Amongst the…

This article examines the lives and multifaceted identities of a group of young Bangladeshis from east London. Qualitative research--involving predominantly group and in-depth one-to-one interviews--was undertaken with 16 young Bangladeshis aged 15-19. Two key findings emerge from this research. Firstly, the knotty and fluid concept of identity is…

This article focuses on the concerns expressed by three female Muslim educators who are support staff at an English comprehensive school. Consistent with the debates associated with multiculturalism, group rights and feminism, the article illuminates spaces of gender constraint and possibility within the discourses shaping these women's lives and…

Recent research has shown that racism towards Muslims has significantly increased both in the USA and in the United Kingdom. Following the 9/11 attacks in the USA, discrimination and racialised violence has shown a significant increase against those from Muslim groups. This article reviews four texts that examine aspects of Muslim identity in…

The student population across world is increasingly reflective of diverse cultures, religions and ethnicities. This rich diversity may become a challenge for educational leaders, teachers, and policy-makers in the absence of an understanding of diverse sources of knowledge people draw on for directing their beliefs and daily practices. This paper…