Spirituality and the nature of learning beliefs among women in non-formal learning environments

Generally, studies done on learning beliefs in formal classes had shown to have none or little connections to the elements of spirituality. Learning beliefs has often been defined as socially shared intuitions about the nature of knowledge and the nature of learning, Learning beliefs thus look at th...

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Main Authors: Abdul Wahab, Rohaya, Hamzah, Azimi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2013
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/47987/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/47987/1/47987.pdf
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author Abdul Wahab, Rohaya
Hamzah, Azimi
author_facet Abdul Wahab, Rohaya
Hamzah, Azimi
author_sort Abdul Wahab, Rohaya
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Generally, studies done on learning beliefs in formal classes had shown to have none or little connections to the elements of spirituality. Learning beliefs has often been defined as socially shared intuitions about the nature of knowledge and the nature of learning, Learning beliefs thus look at the various beliefs a learner has on what learning actually means to him or her. Spirituality on the other hand is generally seen as an individual's perceived sacred experiences and is often connected to religion. However, spirituality as seen from the epistemic Islamic perspective is interpreted as a state of purifying one's soul and reforming the self towards achieving God's blessedness Thus, this research tries to explore and focus on identifying and describing the qualitatively different ways in which Muslim women understand and give meanings to learning in non-formal learning contexts, and their close relationship with spirituality. To uncover the learners’ learning beliefs, the phenomenological method of inquiry was adopted. Data were gathered solely from individual in-depth interviews held with five female adult learners undertaking at least two forms of non-formal religious learning programs. Data analysis revealed five hierarchically arranged themes on learning beliefs ranging from a simple level to a more complex one. Initially starting from the ‘acquiring knowledge and applying’ level, learning is seen to relate further into changes and transformation affecting the heart and worldview, shaping their entire being and existence in this world, their views on life and their relationship with others. These are the dimensions of learning beliefs connected to the elements of spirituality.
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spelling upm-479872016-08-04T08:24:48Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/47987/ Spirituality and the nature of learning beliefs among women in non-formal learning environments Abdul Wahab, Rohaya Hamzah, Azimi Generally, studies done on learning beliefs in formal classes had shown to have none or little connections to the elements of spirituality. Learning beliefs has often been defined as socially shared intuitions about the nature of knowledge and the nature of learning, Learning beliefs thus look at the various beliefs a learner has on what learning actually means to him or her. Spirituality on the other hand is generally seen as an individual's perceived sacred experiences and is often connected to religion. However, spirituality as seen from the epistemic Islamic perspective is interpreted as a state of purifying one's soul and reforming the self towards achieving God's blessedness Thus, this research tries to explore and focus on identifying and describing the qualitatively different ways in which Muslim women understand and give meanings to learning in non-formal learning contexts, and their close relationship with spirituality. To uncover the learners’ learning beliefs, the phenomenological method of inquiry was adopted. Data were gathered solely from individual in-depth interviews held with five female adult learners undertaking at least two forms of non-formal religious learning programs. Data analysis revealed five hierarchically arranged themes on learning beliefs ranging from a simple level to a more complex one. Initially starting from the ‘acquiring knowledge and applying’ level, learning is seen to relate further into changes and transformation affecting the heart and worldview, shaping their entire being and existence in this world, their views on life and their relationship with others. These are the dimensions of learning beliefs connected to the elements of spirituality. Elsevier 2013 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/47987/1/47987.pdf Abdul Wahab, Rohaya and Hamzah, Azimi (2013) Spirituality and the nature of learning beliefs among women in non-formal learning environments. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 90. pp. 641-650. ISSN 1877-0428 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042813020247 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.07.136
spellingShingle Abdul Wahab, Rohaya
Hamzah, Azimi
Spirituality and the nature of learning beliefs among women in non-formal learning environments
title Spirituality and the nature of learning beliefs among women in non-formal learning environments
title_full Spirituality and the nature of learning beliefs among women in non-formal learning environments
title_fullStr Spirituality and the nature of learning beliefs among women in non-formal learning environments
title_full_unstemmed Spirituality and the nature of learning beliefs among women in non-formal learning environments
title_short Spirituality and the nature of learning beliefs among women in non-formal learning environments
title_sort spirituality and the nature of learning beliefs among women in non-formal learning environments
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/47987/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/47987/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/47987/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/47987/1/47987.pdf