Comparative Analysis Of Robert Maynard Hutchins, Dars-E-Nizami (Madrasa Curriculum), Their Educational Philosophies And Contemporary Relevance

Abstract

This study explores two influential educational paradigms: Robert Maynard Hutchins's perennialist framework and the Dars-e-Nizami (Madrasa) curriculum. It critically examines their views on the purpose of education, the role of the teacher, moral and scholarly formation. Although these paradigms differ in religious and philosophical orientation, both emphasize intellectual cultivation and ethical development. Therefore, this research paper addresses a gap in cross-cultural educational philosophy by offering a comparative analysis with implications for contemporary education. The paper has a qualitative research approach in nature with secondary data, in accordance with a combination of historical comparative research and qualitative meta-summary to analyze the data and to list the philosophical key ideas of the mentioned perennialist; a comprehensive checklist of their key ideas will be developed to review Islamic Madrasa education. In this regard, the related steps that will be followed by the qualitative research study are selecting a research topic, determining research questions, designing the study, collecting data, analyzing data, generating findings, validating findings, and writing a research report. Under the qualitative research domain, the focusing lens intended is historical comparative research, followed by a systematic procedure for explaining historical events to create an explanation for a particular time and place for theory building, direct comparison to other historical events, or reference to the present day. Usually, researchers collect historical data with the following four major steps: archival data, secondary sources, and running [1]records. This study critically compares their perspectives on the purpose of education, the role of the teacher, the nature of knowledge, and moral and scholarly formation. Despite differences in religious and philosophical orientation, these two underscore the necessity of intellectual cultivation and ethical development in education. While prior studies have examined these traditions in isolation, this paper offers a novel comparative analysis, addressing a critical gap in cross-cultural educational philosophy. Using the historical-comparative method and qualitative meta-summary, we analyze the ontological, epistemological, and axiological foundations, highlighting implications for modern education. Findings reveal shared commitments to intellectual and moral formation, despite divergent theological and secular orientations, proposing a synthesized model for holistic education.