Principles for developing an Islamic Baccalaureate
1. Breadth – promoting excellence in the quest for oneness, truth, beauty and goodness in all dimensions of living and learning
2. Balance – promoting harmony between the practices of spiritual leadership, scholarship, craftsmanship and citizenship
3. Coherence – emphasising the integration and interdependence of spiritual, mental, cultural and moral development in harmony with the ethos, pedagogy, curriculum and learner outcomes of each school
4. Sustainability – embracing a regenerative Islamic spirituality at the heart of spiritually sustainable schools with the capacity to develop the competences to engage with the UN Sustainable Development Goals
5. Progression – clear learning pathways from one level to another with defined learner outcomes and keeping young people's options open for further study and future careers
6. Co-curricular – promoting strategic co-curricular partnerships to optimise the best kinds of formal and informal education compatible with global, national and local curricula, qualification frameworks and award systems
7. Appreciative - discovering the best in people, communities & cultures, dreaming what might be and envisioning what the world is calling for, designing and co-constructing what should be; and delivering & sustaining strength-based change
8. Internationalism – preparing young people for a glocal, bioregional, interdependent and globalised world
Inspiration for iBacc
iBacc was conceived by its director Dr Tim Saunders in 2016 in association with Cambridge Muslim College where he was engaged as a Research Fellow. The mission of Cambridge Muslim College is 'to develop Muslim thought leadership through world-class education, training and research.' iBacc is the fruit of Tim's experience of being a Headteacher in community schools with 80-90% Muslim pupils coupled with his research into integrative school development and an inner curriculum informed by Islamic spiritual values.
Tim is an experienced educational leader and leadership coach currently serving as Pathway Lead for the MA in Educational Leadership at Edge Hill University. He has lived and worked across the Greater Manchester and Liverpool city regions committed to the regeneration of the people and places of the river Mersey watershed as one bioregion.
He has a wealth of experience that includes Primary teacher (7 years), Headteacher (14 years), University lecturer (8 years), Thinking Skills trainer in Philosophy for Children (10 years) and Positive Organisational Development consultant (6 years). He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and as well as holding a Doctorate in school leadership and a Masters in educational management he has three postgraduate teaching qualifications in primary teaching, online and distance learning and teaching in Higher Education.
Tim’s areas of academic expertise include Integrative Educational Leadership, Mindful Educational Leadership, Religion and Worldviews Education, and Education for Sustainable Development. He is currently creating a Mindful Leadership network applying peer-to-peer methods of Co-counselling, Co-coaching and Action learning to school leader development and support.
Dr Tim's Affiliations
Research Fellow
Cambridge Muslim College
MA Pathway Lead in Educational Leadership
Edge Hill University
P4C Registered Trainer (Philosophy for Children, Colleges and Communities)
SAPERE
Dr Tim's Areas of Expertise
ELD: Educational Leadership and Management
Generative
Contemplative
Informative
Transformative
Sustainable Leadership for Planetary Flourishing
ESD: Education for Sustainable Development
Personal
Pedagogical
Professional
Planetary
Sustainability Education for Regenerative Futures
RWE: Religion and Wordviews Education
Indigenous
Traditional
Modern
Postmodern
Sustainable Spirituality for Wicked Problems
P4C: Philosophy for Children, Colleges & Communities
Caring
Critical
Creative
Collaborative
Communities of Inquiry for Sustainable Thinking
