Dylan Chown
Amanah Institute, Kuraby Mosque
Dylan Chown’s dynamic leadership and contributions to the Muslim and Indigenous communities of Brisbane have led to his nomination for the Queensland College of Teachers Outstanding Contribution to Teaching Award.
The teacher, author, mentor and community educational leader is a strong believer in the transformational potential of education. He has long been an advocate for equity and access, including respectful navigating of cultural sensitivities and religious parameters in providing opportunities for learning for Muslim children.
With experience as a regional panellist for the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority, Dylan designed and implemented a ground-breaking health and physical education (HPE) program at the Islamic College of Brisbane (ICB) that had whole-school impact, including the normalising of girls’ involvement in sporting activities.
The program incorporated Islamic perspectives on the national health curriculum, and worked to inspire students by tackling isolation and belonging issues, helping them form a positive Australian Muslim identity.
A legacy of his contribution at the Islamic College of Brisbane is the increased opportunities female students have to participate in school sports and compete in regional and state-wide sporting competitions.
Dylan initiated a consultative process leading to the introduction of appropriate and functional elite playing uniforms. This included custom-designed sport hijabs he imported from The Netherlands, striking the balance between fashion, functionality and modesty.
The playing uniforms Dylan oversaw the design of captured powerful messages regarding belonging, identity, inclusiveness as well as the agency of sport that he had worked hard to champion. He included in the uniform design both the Southern Cross and Ummah Waheeda in Arabic script - meaning one community in humanity. The uniforms proudly worn by students in major competitions aimed to harmonise purpose and context as a platform for engagement and contribution as well as student’s multiple identities.
Dylan was the first to introduce the Acting Against Bullying Project in an Islamic school, an empirically tested program drawing on the safe space of drama to explore underlying issues leading to bullying. Dylan led the program in conjunction with Professor Bruce Burton from Griffith University, who later showcased the success of the program in his book.
Carinity Education Rockhampton Principal and former ICB Head of School Benedict Sullivan describes Dylan as a dedicated, innovative and inspirational educator.
“Before our professional involvement at ICB, Dylan had already distinguished himself as an outstanding teacher and transformative influence in the lives of regional youth and disenfranchised urban Indigenous young people,” Benedict says.
Dylan combined his teaching roles early in his career with his role as a State Manager for BlackBase – Youth Development and Mentoring Organisation, specialising in the design and delivery of educational packages and programs relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander games.
He worked with a talented team on curriculum and program packages for communities as well as Queensland Health, Sport and Recreation Queensland and the Australian Sports Commission.
As an occasional presenter at The University of Queensland, Dylan has shared his wealth of experience with preservice teachers on issues of diversity and inclusivity.
He is the author of several publications on contemporary schooling issues, such as movement-related practice in Muslim cultures and the Islamic tradition, and has three chapters in a new HPE textbook published by Cambridge University Press. Dylan also co-consulted in the Alternative HPE Series for the same textbook, where his role was facilitating an explicit space for inclusion of beliefs, values, traditions and worldviews for school communities with religious affiliation.
Dylan has completed a Master in Educational Leadership program at Griffith University, and is presently a doctoral candidate. He was the former Principal at the Amanah Institute at the Kuraby Mosque and is now the Program Director for Islamic Education at the Centre for Islamic Thought and Education.
He is responsible for the soon-to-be-released Master of Teaching specialisation in Islamic Pedagogy. This program will be the first of its kind in Australia and will prepare pre-service teachers nationally as well as internationally for best practice, aligning National standards with the needs of Muslim students.
For his PhD, Dylan is championing an innovative study on the theme of renewal and Islamic schooling. Part of his study is focused on ‘Dignified Way’ – a character education and behaviour management model for Islamic schools.
Congratulations Dylan on your nomination.
The teacher, author, mentor and community educational leader is a strong believer in the transformational potential of education. He has long been an advocate for equity and access, including respectful navigating of cultural sensitivities and religious parameters in providing opportunities for learning for Muslim children.
With experience as a regional panellist for the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority, Dylan designed and implemented a ground-breaking health and physical education (HPE) program at the Islamic College of Brisbane (ICB) that had whole-school impact, including the normalising of girls’ involvement in sporting activities.
The program incorporated Islamic perspectives on the national health curriculum, and worked to inspire students by tackling isolation and belonging issues, helping them form a positive Australian Muslim identity.
A legacy of his contribution at the Islamic College of Brisbane is the increased opportunities female students have to participate in school sports and compete in regional and state-wide sporting competitions.
Dylan initiated a consultative process leading to the introduction of appropriate and functional elite playing uniforms. This included custom-designed sport hijabs he imported from The Netherlands, striking the balance between fashion, functionality and modesty.
The playing uniforms Dylan oversaw the design of captured powerful messages regarding belonging, identity, inclusiveness as well as the agency of sport that he had worked hard to champion. He included in the uniform design both the Southern Cross and Ummah Waheeda in Arabic script - meaning one community in humanity. The uniforms proudly worn by students in major competitions aimed to harmonise purpose and context as a platform for engagement and contribution as well as student’s multiple identities.
Dylan was the first to introduce the Acting Against Bullying Project in an Islamic school, an empirically tested program drawing on the safe space of drama to explore underlying issues leading to bullying. Dylan led the program in conjunction with Professor Bruce Burton from Griffith University, who later showcased the success of the program in his book.
Carinity Education Rockhampton Principal and former ICB Head of School Benedict Sullivan describes Dylan as a dedicated, innovative and inspirational educator.
“Before our professional involvement at ICB, Dylan had already distinguished himself as an outstanding teacher and transformative influence in the lives of regional youth and disenfranchised urban Indigenous young people,” Benedict says.
Dylan combined his teaching roles early in his career with his role as a State Manager for BlackBase – Youth Development and Mentoring Organisation, specialising in the design and delivery of educational packages and programs relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander games.
He worked with a talented team on curriculum and program packages for communities as well as Queensland Health, Sport and Recreation Queensland and the Australian Sports Commission.
As an occasional presenter at The University of Queensland, Dylan has shared his wealth of experience with preservice teachers on issues of diversity and inclusivity.
He is the author of several publications on contemporary schooling issues, such as movement-related practice in Muslim cultures and the Islamic tradition, and has three chapters in a new HPE textbook published by Cambridge University Press. Dylan also co-consulted in the Alternative HPE Series for the same textbook, where his role was facilitating an explicit space for inclusion of beliefs, values, traditions and worldviews for school communities with religious affiliation.
Dylan has completed a Master in Educational Leadership program at Griffith University, and is presently a doctoral candidate. He was the former Principal at the Amanah Institute at the Kuraby Mosque and is now the Program Director for Islamic Education at the Centre for Islamic Thought and Education.
He is responsible for the soon-to-be-released Master of Teaching specialisation in Islamic Pedagogy. This program will be the first of its kind in Australia and will prepare pre-service teachers nationally as well as internationally for best practice, aligning National standards with the needs of Muslim students.
For his PhD, Dylan is championing an innovative study on the theme of renewal and Islamic schooling. Part of his study is focused on ‘Dignified Way’ – a character education and behaviour management model for Islamic schools.
Congratulations Dylan on your nomination.
- Story by Jessica Schwilk