Investigating the Possibility of Improving the Effectiveness of Islamic Education Courses in Universities with a Practical Theology Approach

Islamic education courses in universities are taught with the objective of transforming students into religious people by imparting a coherent and efficient system of knowledge that enhances their individual and social behaviors. To accomplish such a goal, classroom content must be matched with the needs of students. On the other hand, practical theology attempts to explain the role of religion in everyday life and to show how it can be used to overcome individual and social problems. A research is therefore needed to answer the key question: Can the topics of Islamic education courses be revised with a practical theology approach in order to improve their effectiveness? To improve the effectiveness of Islamic education courses, it is necessary to first examine the needs and priorities of students. As a matter of fact, by aligning these needs with the practical theology approach, we can both motivate and improve the effectiveness of these courses. To this end, a study was conducted at Sharif University of Technology to determine the priorities of undergraduate students on various topics that could be discussed in Islamic education classes. According to the results, students gave priority to the social issues (women's rights, the need for hijab in Islamic societies, boy-girl relationships, freedom, and the issue of peace and violence in Islam) from the five topics discussed in the questionnaire (doctrinal, moral, interpretive, social, and family issues). There was no significant difference between the other four topics. Therefore, revising the topics of Islamic education courses with a practical theology approach can improve the effectiveness of these courses and convince the students better.