Towards a hybrid approach to the governance of Islamic schools in NSW

This chapter proposes an approach that draws on a hybrid model of governance. The text outlines an empirical study of the governance and management practices in Islamic schools in New South Wales, Australia. The Islamic worldview was used to guide this research, and governance theories form the theoretical framework. Findings suggest that the issues of compliance, accountability and transparency with schools' registration and stakeholder needs are influenced by confusion between a stewardship model of governance and directors' sense of ownership of the institutions. The study proposes a hybrid approach to the governance of these schools, by adopting a combination of stewardship theoretical attributes and the Islamic worldview.