Islamic and Western Higher Education Systems: A Comparative Analysis

• Main Authors: NorAzali, Nur Irdina Hakimah, Mohd Nor, Nur Suriya
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Department of Usuluddin and Comparative Religion, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, IIUM 2021
• Subjects: BPL Islamic education; L Education (General); LA History of education; LB2300 Higher Education
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/92080/1/92080_Islamic%20and%20Western%20Higher%20Education%20Systems.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/92080/; https://journals.iium.edu.my/al-itqan/index.php/al-itqan/article/view/199

Higher Educational Institutions nowadays have been widespread all over the world and becoming among the most significant institutions in which nurturing the seeker of knowledge with the good moral and beneficial in the society. The aim of this study is to highlight a brief history of Higher Educational Institutions including the Islamic Higher Education (IHE) and Western Higher Education (WHE) focusing on three main phases of the development of higher education which include the classical period, middle age, and modern period. The researchers also identify the characteristics of both higher education systems which encompassed aspects such as the worldview, objectives of higher education, and syllabus and teaching methodology. Furthermore, this paper analyses the similarities and differences between the IHE and WHE in terms of the context of the worldview, objectives of education, as well as the syllabus and teaching methodology. This study is a library-based research which is qualitative in nature, and essentially relies on the content analysis. The major approaches, namely descriptive, comparative, evaluative, and critical analysis are implemented throughout the study for data collection and analysis.