Instructional strategies and challenges in the implementation of the integrated curriculum (IC) :a study of IIUM faculty members

Abstract

The implementation of an integrated curriculum (IC) in Islamic settings is a nascent area of research, and researches in this field thus far are scarce. Therefore, this study is designed to take this area of research a step further and to fill the evident research gap. This study endeavours to provide a depiction of the key elements of the integrated curriculum implemented at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), with a special reference to the instructional strategies and the challenges in its implementation. The population under study consisted of IIUM faculty members of human and social sciences. The study employed a mixed methods research design. The instrument used for data gathering was a self-constructed survey composed of closed-ended and open-ended questions. The closed-ended questions were designed to explore the rate at which IIUM lecturers apply the basic instructional strategies that an integrated classroom entails and the rate at which lecturers encounter the challenges in the implementation of the IC. The open-ended questions, on the other hand, aimed at investigating the instructional strategies and the challenges in the implementation of IC which have not been explored through the closed-ended questions. The results indicated that IIUM lecturers highly practice the basic instructional strategies that an integrated curriculum entails and do not encounter the investigated challenges in the implementation of IC. The statistical analysis reveals that there was a statistically significant difference in lecturers’ instructional practices with regard to their prior Islamic education, but none with respect to their professional training in IC, kulliyyah, or years of association with IIUM. Additionally, the study found no significant differences in the encountered challenges with respect to lecturers’ prior Islamic education and years of lecturers’ association with IIUM. On the contrary, there were statistically significant differences in the encountered challenges with regard to lecturers’ professional training in IC and lecturers’ kulliyyah. Finally, it was discovered that the relationship between the encountered challenges and the employed instructional strategies is negative and statistically not significant.