Dr Farah Ahmed

Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow at Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge

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Farah's research interests lie in the intersections between: dialogic education, philosophies of Islamic education, 'Southern' theory, i.e. critical and indigenous research methodologies and identity/personhood/character education. She is particularly interested in ontological, epistemological and theoretical frameworks and how these influence classroom practice. Farah's research is driven by a commitment to community-led educational initiatives generating innovative educational practice. As such, her research tends to be interwoven with sustainable teacher professional development (TPD).

Farah's theoretical research uses Muslim thinkers’ extensive writing on human nature; psyche; personality; including cognitive, affective, social, emotional and spiritual dimensions; and dialogic personhood, which is yet to be applied in most contemporary educational contexts. Her empirical research involves trialling dialogic halaqah (a traditional Islamic circle of learning) in a range of contemporary educational contexts.

Farah am a member of the CEDiR Research Group, a member of the T-SEDA team and the Camtree development advisory group where she is engaged in developing materials to support teacher-led professional inquiry and teacher research exchange. She has developed several open access online teacher professional development courses e.g. Fundamentals of Educational Dialogue.Farah has also set up an online platform supporting teacher inquiry and professional development for educators in Islamic contexts.

Farah has over twenty-five years of experience teaching in and leading Islamic schools in the UK. She has expertise in curriculum development, and has developed and taught teacher professional development courses on Islamic education: philosophies, pedagogies and practices.