Dr. Farouk Mitha is the Academic Course Director for the Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP). Prior to joining the IIS he was a lecturer in the Faculty of Education at University of Victoria,Canada. He has a B.A. in History from the University of Toronto, a M.A in Islamic Studies from McGill, a M.A in International Education from the University of London, and a Ph.D. in English Literature and Education from the University of Victoria. His current research is on the teaching of Shakespeare in secondary schools; and debates on the concept of culture in educational research.

From 1990-1996 he was a Research Associate at the IIS, and from 1997-2001 he served as Project Manager for the International Core Curriculum Project.. He has worked for ITREB Canada as a Religious Education Coordinator and was a member of the National Board from 1996-2002. He has published in the area of medieval Islamic thought and on the state of liberal education in contemporary Muslim societies, as well as on Canadian literature and Iranian cinema.

His book, Al-Ghazali and the Ismailis: A Debate on Reason and Authority in Medieval Islam was published by I.B Tauris in 2001.