The lived experiences of undergraduate British-Muslim students in relation to their faith obligations and studies in Higher Education

Abstract

The focus of this research is on Muslim students’ lived experience in relation to their mandatory faith obligations, their values and practice and the relationship with their studies in secular higher education (HE); to better understand the issues in this field. This area of students’ faith identity is often overlooked and paid little attention. My contribution to knowledge is the awareness and understanding of Muslim students lived experience, through the lens of their faith obligations and how they manage and cope with their everyday university life, via the religious and the secular routes simultaneously. Consequently, this study relies on students’ voice by means of their views and perceptions. The theoretical framework is underpinned by students lived experience and their involvement in HE as portrayed by Astin’s (1984) involvement theory. This study used thematic analysis and four major themes, and several subthemes were extracted: Faith, Studies, Challenges, and Managing challenges. The findings reveal that faith is very important to Muslim students, yet the varied responses highlight divergent views and approaches to their faith obligations and to their studies. Astin and Astin (2004) suggest that the ways in which students navigate their faith identity in university is determined by their attitude (degree of commitment) to their faith. For several students, their faith obligations are the priority over their studies. For a few other students, their studies are the priority over their faith obligations. This study is significant because of the implications it carries for Muslim students, for education and HE. It is therefore recommended that HE consider Muslim students faith obligations as a major factor in Muslim students’ university lived experience in their identity as students and in enhancing the student experience. HEI’s promote themselves as champions of equality, diversity, and inclusion. They abide by the Equality ACT 2010 and the protected characteristics within them. Consequently, HE ought to consider reviewing students’ cultural and religious literacy portfolio and raise staff awareness of the sensitivities of students’ faith, faith obligations through staff training programmes. The onus is on HE to improve their faith provision, not only for Muslim students but for all students in HE.