Understanding the influence of the professional identity of directors on the governance of Islamic schools in New South Wales

Abstract

In Australia, governance in the independent schooling sector has increasingly been recognised in the social, economic and political domains as critical to ensuring school success. Yet, its effectiveness has gained little scrutiny from researchers. A key aspect of school governance is for directors to meet the mandatory governance standards to assure registration and school funding continuity. As 'responsible persons', directors utilise component elements of their professional identity and volunteer their time to achieve each of the four main elements of governance: compliance, accountability, transparency and leadership. However, recurring incidents of non-compliance, like those found in the Islamic schooling sector, raise questions about the role of directors' professional identity on school boards. Essentially, there is concern that directors only engage in standard reporting practices, thus providing only part of what is required for governance in Islamic schools. This study challenges the perspective that the universal mandatory governance standards of agency and control are sufficient elements of board effectiveness. It departs from the notion that boards govern exclusively through the four main elements (compliance, accountability, transparency and leadership). Instead, this study argues that governance is a more complex phenomenon that requires a behavioural approach. For Islamic school boards, a behavioural approach to governance must have a faith-based perspective because schools adopt a faith-based ethos and provide Islamic education, discipline, safety and care for Muslim children. Unlike the economic perspectives of agency and control, this study draws on sociology and seeks to explore the human side of governance through the utility of a professional identity framework. With this framework, informed by an Islamic worldview, the study adopts an unconventional approach to governance research, and is the first in Australia to undertake empirical research on the governance of Islamic school boards in this way. Using the study's unconventional approach, this research identified the complexities of governance beyond the traditional elements of agency and control. The findings underscore that board dynamics play an essential role in developing a school climate that reflects the essence of a genuinely Islamic ethos. Also, the findings underline the importance of adopting a behavioural and faith-based lens when developing governance frameworks. Essentially, directors need to consider, more broadly, elements beyond compliance, accountability, transparency and leadership. This requires the cooperation, consultation and interaction of multiple stakeholder groups that include the Muslim community.

Date of Award	2021
Original language	English