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Gulf Comparative Education Society Conference Proceedings Papers from the Second Annual Symposium of the Gulf Comparative Education Society March 16-17, 2011 Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates Conference Proceedings Intersections of the Public and Private in Education in the GCC Papers from the Second Annual Symposium of the Gulf Comparative Education Society In partnership with the Dubai School of Government and with support from the Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research March 16-17, 2011 Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates This document is produced by the Dubai School of Government in association with the Gulf Comparative Education Society (GCES). Copyright The Authors 2011 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the individual authors. Published in 2011 by the Dubai School of Government Convention Tower, Floor 13, P.O. Box 72229, Dubai, United Arab Emirates www.dsg.ae Conference Proceedings 4 Contents Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Cross Roads, Intersections, Departure Points: Locating Public and Private Projects in New Education Governance Partnerships ................................................................. 9 Susan L. Robertson Linking Higher Education Reform to Labour Market Demand in the Gulf States: A Slippery Slope? ................................................................................................................. 21 John C. Weidman Public or Private? Deciphering the Role of International Branch Campuses in the Arabian Gulf ............................................................................................................................... 25 Jason E. Lane K-12 Education Reform in Qatar .................................................................................................... 33 Gail L. Zellman, Louay Constant, Charles A. Goldman The “Knowledge Society” in the Middle East: Education and the Development of Knowledge Economies ............................................................................................................... 40 Daniel Kirk Technology Education is More than Just Computers .................................................................. 46 Ken Volk How Important is English in Elementary School? ........................................................................ 54 Christopher Morrow Two-Tier Science Testing: Is it Right for the Gulf States?.............................................................. 62 John Wilkinson What Makes a Successful Public-Private Partnership? The Role of a Private Partner and its Contribution to a Modern Education System .................................................... 66 Jan Wilson Education 2.0: Using Social Networking Tools to Promote Teacher Professional Development in Ras al Khaimah ................................................................................................... 75 Anna Batchelder About the Dubai School of Government ....................................................................................... 81 About the Gulf Comparative Education Society ............................................................................. 81 About the Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research ................................. 81 Intersections of the Public and Private in Education in the GCC 5 Conference Proceedings 6 Introduction With the generous support of the Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research, and in collaboration with the Dubai School of Government, the Gulf Comparative Education Society (GCES) organized its second annual symposium on March 16 and 17, 2011. Entitled “Intersections of the Public and Private in Education in the GCC,” the symposium was held at the Al Hamra Convention Center in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It consisted of nine panels and 32 presentations, with both invited speakers as well as those who had submitted abstracts for presentation. The speakers came from a wide variety of countries, including the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Switzerland, England and the United States, and represented different voices in the education sector, ranging from policy makers, academics and researchers, to school providers and leaders, consultants and teachers. The purpose of the GCES symposium was to examine the increasing influence of the private sector on public education policies and practices in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), particularly in the context of access, equity, quality and accountability. Delivering the keynote address on new education governance partnerships was Prof. Susan Robertson, Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Bristol, while the remaining panels addressed the following topics: • Blurred Boundaries: Public and Private Schooling in the GCC • The Role of the Market in Higher Education in the GCC • Building Teacher Quality • Addressing STEM • Leading Policy Change • Building a Knowledge Economy • Privatization of the Education System • Global Influences, Local Choices • Innovation in Education In addition, the symposium brought together over 100 participants working in a range of organizations across the Emirates, the Gulf states and beyond, all of whom shared an interest in comparative education in the GCC. Following the symposium, presenters were asked if they would like to submit a 1000 – 3000 word paper on their presentation. This volume is the compilation of those who submitted papers. While it does not cover all of the presentations that were made at the symposium, presentation slides for all the presentations are available on the GCES Web site at http://gulfcomped.ning.com. Dr. Natasha Ridge - President Dr. Ali Ibrahim - Vice President Samar Farah - Secretary Intersections of the Public and Private in Education in the GCC 7 Conference Proceedings 8 Cross Roads, Intersections, Departure Points: Locating Public and Private Projects in New Education Governance Partnerships Susan L. Robertson Professor, Sociology of Education Centre for Globalisation, Education and Societies, University of Bristol, UK Introduction For more than three decades, important changes have been under way in the governance of education systems, as institutions, governments and international agencies promote more hybrid arrangements that involve new combinations of the state, the private sector, civil society and households in education. A wide range of terms have emerged to capture these developments, from Public-Private Partnerships to Multi-stakeholder Partnerships. These developments, however, have created a new set of challenges and posed new questions. How might we best understand the purposes, logics and outcomes of new governance models, when research in the field is polarized, highly contested, and piecemeal? What should be the conditions for private sector involvement in public education? And, how might we ensure that when these intersections occur, the public good nature of education is protected? In this address, I will argue three points of departure are necessary in order to move the field along. First, we need to develop a meta-language in order to frame, map and assess these hybrid forms of governance, particularly those involving the private for-profit sector. Second, we need to outline a normative basis for judging the outcomes of the intersections between the public and the private. Third, we need to determine the affects of these new arrangements on different groups in society, particularly those with the fewest resources to realize choices. Before I address these “departure points,” it is important that we remind ourselves of how we arrived at where we are today, why it is these debates are controversial in the education sector, and therefore why this conference is timely. Education – A Complex Social, Cultural and Political Good You will need little reminding that education is a unique and complex kind of activity, though this is often conveniently forgotten in accounts which see the sector as a services sector open to trade. In all societies, formal primary schooling is now legislated as a minimum entitlement, with a growing number of countries educating up to 50 percent of its population to tertiary level. Education is also a fundamental human right; as signatories to the UN Convention on Human Rights (1947), nation states are obligated to ensure its citizens have access to (free) primary education. Intersections of the Public and Private in Education in the GCC 9 Education also plays a central role in the reproduction and transformation of societies. It shapes individuals’ understandings of the world, as well as their trajectories and locations in the social hierarchy. Education is therefore a means of emancipation, as well as regulation (Santos 2004). It is for this reason that its place in the social contract between the state and its citizens is, and should be, contested. There is a great deal at stake for individuals and societies. Understanding the consequences of changes in the governance of education systems are therefore crucially important for the reasons I have outlined above. If changes in the governance of education alter the opportunity structures in a society in positive or negative ways, then we need to ask strong questions about the nature of those governance arrangements, and expect
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