Arab Gulf Countries Education System PDF

# The Arab Gulf Countries Education System ## The Most Important Problems Facing Management of the Education System: 1. Centralization of educational administrative systems 2. Long administrative bureaucracy 3. Lack of qualified administrative leadership 4. Weak administrative technology 5. Weak i...

# The Arab Gulf Countries Education System ## The Most Important Problems Facing Management of the Education System: 1. Centralization of educational administrative systems 2. Long administrative bureaucracy 3. Lack of qualified administrative leadership 4. Weak administrative technology 5. Weak interest in scientific research to develop administrative aspects ## Financing the Education System in the Arab Gulf Countries * The education policy document in the Arab Gulf countries states that the state is responsible for financing education, and that education is free for all citizens and expatriates with the exception of private education institutions. * The annual increase in education allocations reflects the interest and status it receives in the comprehensive development process witnessed by the Arab Gulf countries in all fields. ## The Educational Ladder of the Education System in the Arab Gulf Countries * The structure of formal education in the Arab Gulf countries was formed on the model of the educational ladder prevailing in most Arab and foreign countries, which is based on three main educational stages: primary education (basic education), secondary education (post-basic education), and higher education. * These three stages are preceded by the pre-primary stage (pre-basic education), which lasts from the first to the sixth year of the child's life, and it is not considered a part of a basic stage of education. * The organizational structure of the education system in the Arab Gulf includes other patterns: * Technical education * Private education * Adult education * In the coming chapters will be devoted to discussing the patterns and stages of education in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. ## Characteristics of Educational Stages in the Gulf Countries 1. There is a slight difference in the educational ladder of the Gulf countries, and all share the number of years, which is 12 academic years that the student spends in school. 2. Pre-school education (kindergarten - preparatory) is not included in the educational ladder, and it is not mandatory. 3. Religious education is present in the preparatory stage and some countries in the secondary stage and some start from the tenth basic (10-12) and others in both stages. 4. The application varies between basic education, public education and independent schools. 5. There is a similarity in the methods of evaluation and preparation of tests. 6. There is a similarity in terms of technical and administrative supervision between the GCC countries. ## Characteristics of Educational Policy * The educational policy has a set of features and characteristics that represent the principles, values and orientations that the state is committed to achieving. The most prominent of these characteristics are the following: 1. **Objectivity:** The educational policy is based on the philosophy of education emanating from the philosophy of society, expressing its cultural heritage and future aspirations. 2. **Developmental (Evolution):** Since change and development are laws of the universe that cannot be ignored, the educational policy is subject to a degree of development that makes it keep pace with the set of societal variables. 3. **Specification and clarity:** The educational policy is concerned with determining the basic educational choices that society agrees upon, determining the goals that must be achieved, and formulating them with complete clarity so that they are easy to implement. 4. **Comprehensiveness:** The educational policy is concerned with the overall theory of educational issues, and means the general framework and interconnected relationships between the education system and the societal reality. 5. **Normativity:** The educational policy is concerned with addressing contemporary educational issues such as equal educational opportunities, practicing Shura, developing democratic behavior, and supporting religious and moral behaviour. ## Sources of Educational Policy * Some educators believe that the sources that can be used by educational policy are almost limited to the following: 1. **National characteristic:** It represents the basic opinions, ideas and choices that express the nation's position on problems, issues and basic concepts, and usually forms the nation's identity, interests, ambitions and heritage. 2. **Reality movement:** This movement expresses practice, and is considered a laboratory in which ideas, trends and performance are tested to reveal their positive and negative manners, and how they work to correct, rectify and rationalize them. 3. **Historical experience:** There is a clear connection between the stages of development of each nation from the name, as the present emerges from the past, as man is the living being capable of benefiting from his historical experiences. 4. **Foreign experience:** There are many countries that have achieved an advanced position on the ladder of progress and the present, whether in the West or the East, and these nations have achieved their progress based on educational policies that enabled them to build their human resources. 5. **Educational thought:** Educational thought expresses the efforts of minds distinguished by creativity and innovation, whether they are the minds of researchers and thinkers from the sons of the nation or researchers and thinkers from other nations and peoples. ## Stages for Formation of Educational Policy * The formation of educational policy in any society goes through three main stages: 1. **The policy formulation stage:** This stage is the first stage of the educational policy process as a stage of educational legislation. Work in this stage is based on research, study, information gathering, and discussions about the issues under consideration. Sometimes it requires the formation of committees and holding several meetings in which brainstorming takes place to weigh one of the alternatives. 2. **The stage of adopting the educational policy:** This is the stage of accepting the general objectives of the educational policy and transforming it into a work strategy, programs, and projects that achieve the general objectives of the educational policy and place burdens on those in charge of the educational authority, whether at the central or regional level. 3. **The stage of implementing educational policies:** This is the stage of technical procedural work closely linked to the educational institution at the local level, i.e. school principals and teachers, considering the educational institution the field of action that embodies the objectives of the educational policy. ## The Groups that Influence Educational Policy * In general, three groups can be distinguished that influence education policy, although their influence varies according to the political systems in different societies. These groups are: 1. **The group responsible for providing education:** This is the official group that represents the education system, including the Minister of Education and educational leaders at different organizational levels. This is the group responsible for providing education opportunities and planning education programs and content. 2. **The group consuming education (consumers):** This represents parents and owners of service and production institutions (employing organizations) that employ the outputs (graduates) of the education system. 3. **Pressure groups:** This is represented by various interest groups, political and intellectual forces, and public opinion, including religious advocacy agencies, political parties or groups, media and cultural agencies, parent-teacher councils, and professional unions ## Pillars of Educational Policy in the Arab Gulf Countries * The pillars on which the educational policy in the Arab Gulf countries is based can be classified into a set of principles that control the movement of the educational system and direct its interactions in the Gulf society. These pillars refer within the framework of the following principles: 1. Building the correct/right faith 2. Building good morals 3. Instilling social responsibility 4. Strengthening the Arab Islamic identity 5. Education for development 6. Equal educational opportunities