Language: English

Language: English

ISSN: 0571-1142

Language: Korean

ISSN: 1226-9417

Abstract/Notes: This dissertation accounts for debates around correct American Muslim mothering in the 21st century. It centers around the following underlying questions: What advice do Muslim modernists and Sunni ʿulamāʾ offer to mothers for raising Muslims in the limited, privatized spaces of their nurseries, homes, and mosque communities? How do Muslim mothers who desire to rear children communally, in harmony with their fiṭra (innate nature) and according to traditional notions of tarbiya (development, education) accomplish this as religious minorities in a hyper capitalist, secular modern context? What are the different ways that mothers negotiate the ideas of Muslim advice-givers, which sometimes clash both internally and with the diverse opinions of American pediatricians, psychologists, and neuroscientists? This study considers the nuanced impact secular modernity, feminism, and the expanding authority of the medical and psy disciplines have had on American Muslim child-rearing practices, reconfigurations of gender roles in Muslim families and the intergenerational transmission of American Islam. To gauge this impact, this dissertation narrowly focuses on two highly contested decisions mothers make in early childhood: how to feed infants after birth and whether to corporally punish young children. The data for this project was collected from in-depth fieldwork interviews with a diverse sample of Muslim mothers conducted in 2017 in the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. This data was analyzed by situating the types of religious and parenting education mothers had both received and sought out and by surveying the Islamic scriptural and jurisprudential texts, contemporary childrearing manuals, and social media sources that informed their child-rearing practices. This dissertation found that most mothers were much more likely to formula feed or breastfeed their infants themselves than allow other mothers to nurse their children. None of my interlocutors engaged wet nurses or used donated human milk for infant feeding. Additionally, most mothers disapproved of using corporal punishment for children’s discipline, either by themselves or others in loco parentis. Corporal punishment of children was increasingly viewed not as one method among many to cultivate children’s embodiment of ritual practices, but as child abuse. However, a minority of mothers demonstrated an openness to sharing milk and employing constrained forms of physical discipline in specific circumstances. In investigating the ever-shifting child-rearing advice from religious scholars (ʿulamāʾ), non-Muslim scientific experts, and a hybridized class of Muslim parent educators, this dissertation offers another avenue for understanding the fragmented nature of religious authority in American Muslim communities. It contributes to the growing body of scholarship that tracks the rising popularity of Sunnī rationalism and traditionalism by noting the way it attracts mothers who long for styles of parenting that are more shared and communal and less demanding and intensive. Finally, this dissertation affords insights into ongoing contestation over what constitutes correct, ethical tarbiya and how best to integrate and transmit American Islam

Language: English

Published: Chicago, Illinois, 2023

Abstract/Notes: Maria Montessori considers the origins of Montessori education, examines the key themes of this philosophy of education and explores the relevance of Montessori practices today. Montessori students aged 3-18 study in a stress-free environment with no timetables, no examinations and no homework and yet they are empowered, independent and self-disciplined learners. The curriculum follows the interests of individual children and Montessori educators focus on the development of the whole child, promoting happiness and wellbeing. Marion O'Donnell explores the key aspects of Montessori education: child development; the learning environment; the role of the teacher; the role of the learner and parental involvement. Within each key aspect, Marion considers the implications for Montessori education, the views of critics and supporters, the implications for education today and the implications for research. Each aspect is considered within an international context, drawing on research and practice in Europe, the USA, South America, Australia and Asia.

Language: English

Published: New York, New York: Bloomsbury, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-4411-7265-5

Language: English

ISSN: 0571-1142

Language: English

ISSN: 0519-0959

Language: English

Published: Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Association Montessori Internationale, n.d.

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: "SAN DIEGO, July 13- P. P. Claxton, United States commissioner of education, and Mme. Maria Montessori of Rome, addressed 1000 school teachers of Southern California at the Panama-California Exposition."

Language: English