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Expectations and Aspirations : a New Framework for Education EXPECTATIONS Public Disclosure Authorized AND ASPIRATIONS A New Framework for Education in the Middle East and North Africa OVERVIEW Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Overview Expectations and Aspirations A New Framework for Education in the Middle East and North Africa This booklet contains the updated overview (originally published in November 2018) from Expectations and Aspirations: A New Framework for Education in the Middle East and North Africa, doi: 10.1596/978-1-4648-1234-7. A PDF of the final, full-length book, once published, will be available at https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/ and print copies can be ordered at http://Amazon.com. Please use the final version of the book for citation, reproduction, and adaptation purposes. © 2019 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000; Internet: www.worldbank.org Some rights reserved This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Nothing herein shall constitute or be considered to be a limitation upon or waiver of the privileges and immunities of The World Bank, all of which are specifically reserved. Rights and Permissions This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo. Under the Creative Commons Attribution license, you are free to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt this work, including for commercial purposes, under the following conditions: Attribution—Please cite the work as follows: World Bank. 2019. “Expectations and Aspirations: A New Framework for Education in the Middle East and North Africa.” Overview booklet. World Bank, Washington, DC. License: Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0 IGO Translations—If you create a translation of this work, please add the following disclaimer along with the attribution: This translation was not created by The World Bank and should not be considered an official World Bank translation. The World Bank shall not be liable for any content or error in this translation. Adaptations—If you create an adaptation of this work, please add the following disclaimer along with the attribution: This is an adaptation of an original work by The World Bank. Views and opinions expressed in the adaptation are the sole responsibility of the author or authors of the adaptation and are not endorsed by The World Bank. Third-party content—The World Bank does not necessarily own each component of the content contained within the work. The World Bank therefore does not warrant that the use of any third- party-owned individual component or part contained in the work will not infringe on the rights of those third parties. The risk of claims resulting from such infringement rests solely with you. If you wish to re-use a component of the work, it is your responsibility to determine whether permission is needed for that re-use and to obtain permission from the copyright owner. Examples of components can include, but are not limited to, tables, figures, or images. All queries on rights and licenses should be addressed to World Bank Publications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; e-mail: [email protected]. Cover design: Aya Krisht. The Arabic calligraphy on the cover is composed of the words “knowledge, education, learning.” Background image by Kjpargeter/Freepik.com. Used with permission; further permission required for reuse. Interior image credits: The following images are by individual artists from thenounproject.com: Figure ES.1 / Figure O.1: “Rope” by Pedro Baños Cancer. Figure ES.2 / Figure O.7: “Handshake” by Gregor Cresnar; “Climbing” by IYIKON; “Man Pushing Big Ball” by Gan Khoon Lay; “Pull” by Pavel, N. Figure O.2 / Figure O.17: “Diploma” by Ben Davis; “Brain” by Max Hancock. Figure O.21: “Handshake” by Gregor Cresnar; “People” by Anastasia Latysheva; “Idea” by Ben Markoch. Contents Foreword ......................................................................v Acknowledgments ..............................................................vii Executive Summary ............................................................ ix Abbreviations ................................................................xvii Overview .....................................................................1 Education has large untapped potential for the Middle East and North Africa ............1 Much has changed in MENA—and the world—but education in MENA remains stuck ....2 Four tensions are holding back education in MENA .................................4 A new framework is needed to realize education’s potential in MENA .................12 Push for learning ...........................................................13 Pull for skills ..............................................................37 Recognize that context matters for learning and skills ..............................42 A new education pact ........................................................46 Unleashing the potential of education is attainable .................................52 Notes ....................................................................53 References ................................................................54 Boxes O.1 Conflict has taken a large toll on education in MENA ..........................4 O.2 World Development Report 2018: Learning to Realize Education’s Promise. 13 O.3 Prioritizing early childhood education in the United Arab Emirates ...............18 O.4 Attracting the best students to teaching depends on the right policies and programs ......................................................20 O.5 School principals also must act as instructional leaders .........................22 O.6 Teaching at the right level benefits students ..................................25 O.7 Improving foreign language instruction is important ..........................27 O.8 Conflict in MENA is depriving many children of education .....................30 iii iv CONTENTS O.9 MENA’s gender paradox presents a dual challenge for human capital .............33 O.10 EdTech offers opportunities to leapfrog learning ..............................36 O.11 Signaling in education is communicating about skills ..........................38 O.12 Reforming vocational education ..........................................42 O.13 Finland and the Republic of Korea rely on different successful education models ....43 O.14 In Rwanda, education has played a role in building peace .......................46 O.15 Peru has found success in aligning interests. .48 O.16 Egypt’s education sector uses technology to ensure accountability ................50 Figures ES.1 Four tensions are holding back education in MENA. .x ES.2 “Push, pull, and pact” offers a new framework for education in MENA ...........xii O.1 Four tensions are holding back education in MENA. .5 O.2 MENA is stuck in a credentialist equilibrium .................................6 O.3 MENA students are more likely to be asked to memorize ........................7 O.4 Obedience plays a central role in children’s education in MENA ..................8 O.5 Teachers in MENA have less autonomy than teachers in OECD countries ..........10 O.6 Substantial time is devoted to religious education in MENA .....................11 O.7 “Push, pull, and pact” offers a new framework for education in MENA ...........12 O.8 What matters for growth is skills ..........................................13 O.9 When adjusted for learning, the number of years of effective schooling in MENA drops substantially .............................................14 O.10 Preprimary enrollments are lower in MENA than in many other regions ...........17 O.11 Large differences in preprimary enrollment ratios are found across MENA .........17 O.12 The required working hours for teachers in MENA are well below those in top-performing countries ..............................................23 O.13 Teacher absenteeism is prevalent throughout MENA ..........................24 O.14 MENA has the biggest gaps in student achievement between top and bottom performers .....................................................31 O.15 MENA has the largest gender gaps in test scores ..............................32 O.16 Computers are available in MENA’s schools, although coverage varies considerably ....35 O.17 MENA needs a skills equilibrium ..........................................37 O.18 A personal connection (wasta) is critical to securing work in MENA ..............39 O.19 School principals in MENA have less authority than those in OECD countries ......40 O.20 Tolerance is associated with education, but intolerance is high even among the educated in MENA ..................................................45 O.21 Learning is a collective responsibility, and everyone is accountable ................49 BO.16.1 Technology can shape accountability relationships ............................50
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