A Faith Dimension on the Landscape of Teachers: Professional Muslim Teachers on Recruitment, Retention and Career Advancement

A significant area of teacher education is the increasing focus in many countries on how faith and schooling should best be understood. Yet, understanding faith perspectives in the lives and careers of teachers appears to be an under-researched area. To this end, the experiences of professional Muslim teachers in state primary schools in England were explored using semi-structured in-depth life history interviews. This paper focuses on their views regarding the recruitment, retention and career advancement of Muslim teachers in particular, as part of Black and minority ethnic teachers in Britain. Findings reveal a positive picture and their representation at various levels of the hierarchy in the profession has increased. The study, therefore, draws attention for further research on successful teachers from various faith communities.