Education Reform for the Knowledge Economy in the Middle East

Education Reform for the Knowledge Economy in the Middle East A study of education policy making and enactment in The Kingdom of Bahrain by Michael D Lightfoot 1 TITLE PAGE Education Reform for the Knowledge Economy in the Middle East A study of education policy making and enactment in The Kingdom of Bahrain by Michael D Lightfoot for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The Institute of Education, London. July 2014 2 ABSTRACT The knowledge economy is a construct of a neo-liberal imaginary that is linked closely to the promotion of educational technology use in schools. In the belief that educational technology can assist in the rapid development and modernisation of the education systems in the Middle East, over the last 20 years, donor agencies, international conglomerates and supra-national organisations have encouraged governments in the region to embed information and communication technology into the policies for the reform and development of their education systems. Taking Michael Peters’ assertion that there are three elements to the knowledge economy – learning, creativity and openness, the study points to the paradox of promoting these concepts within the context of the deeply conservative authoritarian regimes in the Arabian Gulf. By way of an ethnographic case study into the formulation and subsequent enactment of education policy reforms in the small kingdom of Bahrain in the Arabian Gulf, this account analyses the historical context together with political and social conditions giving rise to the education reforms in this region and the conflicting pressures experienced by those in schools that are tasked with enacting the reforms. Comparisons are made with the situation in Jordan from whence much of the regional impetus for technology-led education reforms arose. The analysis of the findings uses the lens of New Institutional Economics as a way of focusing upon the conflicting cultural, social and political factors that influence the policy enactment. In this way a more satisfactory narrative is achieved than one simply centred upon a neo-liberal analysis or upon conventional models of technology adoption. Ultimately, the study concludes that it is only through a rebalancing of the conflicting forces of structure and agency that successful social reform and policy enactment can take place in this part of the world where autonomy and self- actualisation are novel concepts for the great majority of the population. 3 Table of Contents page number Abstract 3 Acknowledgements 7 Summary 9 List of Acronyms 12 Preface 14 Introduction – background and rationale to study; summary of the literature review 15 Chapter 1 – The context of this study – historical, cultural, educational 1.1 Introduction 22 Essentialism in the Middle East 1.2 An historical and cultural description of the region and its people 24 The birth of Islam The influence of the USA Historical background to education in the region The knowledge economy in the Middle East 1.3 Education in Bahrain and the neighbouring Gulf states 33 Demographic context The government school system in Bahrain Education reform for the knowledge economy in Bahrain 1.4 Conclusion 44 Chapter 2 – Education in a Globalised Knowledge Economy 2.1 Introduction 47 2.2 Globalisation 48 Globalisation ICT and the World Bank Globalisation and the networked society Globalisation in the Arab world Bahrain and the GCC countries 2.3 The Knowledge Economy 57 The learning economy The creative economy The open knowledge economy 2.4 Education Challenges in the Region and the Impetus for Change 68 Definitions of knowledge The shock of the new Ambivalence towards the technologies of learning The education deficit and emerging concerns of the Global North Global responses to local concerns Teaching and learning Gender segregation in schools, teacher preparation and teacher status Current limitations of schooling in the Middle East 2.5 Conclusion 83 4 Chapter 3 The Theoretical Frameworks 3.1 Introduction 86 3.2 The relationship between the frameworks 89 3.3 Critical theory and grounded theory 92 3.4 Structure and Agency in LDCs 97 3.5 Homus Economicus and New Institutional Economics 98 3.6 Conclusion 103 Chapter 4 The Research methodology 4.1 Introduction 104 4.2 Conceptual Framework and Research Questions 108 4.3 Methods of Data Collection and sampling 111 sampling and research procedures documentary analysis individual interviews with elite policy actors individual interviews with school leaders focus group discussions with school leaders 4.4 Data analysis 119 4.5 Access and ethical considerations 122 4.6 Conclusion 123 Chapter 5 Thematic analysis of the data 5.1 Introduction 125 The local Bahraini context 5.2 Data gathering and analysis 130 5.2.1 Organisational Culture false memories and fuzzy traces accountability, policy making and idealistic rhetoric atomisation overload and innovation fatigue performativity 5.2.2 Technology 140 pedagogic ownership and curriculum integration personal initiatives 5.2.3 Tradition 149 expectations of traditional pedagogy the creative curriculum 5.3 Conclusion 156 Chapter 6 Interpretation of the research findings 6.1 Introduction 158 6.2 Policy intent and local drivers – visions of a post-rentier state 158 5 6.3 External policy drivers – technology-enriched futures and public policy making 164 the influence of supra-national organisations and global corporations 6.4 Policy constraints – culture, identity and limited local capacity 167 the paradox of the Gulf states text as a material-semiotic actor 6.5 Moving towards an hypothesis 171 recurrent instances of the techno-mythologies of information systems towards a general hypothesis 6.6 Conclusion 178 multiple paths to modernity Chapter 7 Bridging the long divergence 7.1 Introduction 181 7.2 Islam and modernism 182 enlightenment and the Arab world Imperialism and the formation of UNESCO 7.3 The great divergence 185 socio-economic divergence epistemological and politico-cultural divergence 7.4 A shared humanity – post colonial possibilities 188 7.5 Conclusion 189 structure and agency in technology integration Endpiece 191 Figures Figure 1) A geopolitical map of the Arabian Peninsula 22 Figure 2) The relationship between the theoretical frameworks – particularity 91 Figure 3) The dynamics of neoliberal policy enactment in LDCs 102 Figure 4) The Grounded Theory process 107 Figure 5) Flow diagram of the research process 108 Figure 6) The relationship between theoretical frameworks – generalisability 121 Figure 7) Mapping the dynamics of ICT infrastructure 170 Figure 8) Development trajectory of Bahrain and Jordan since 2011 176 Tables Table 1 The percentage contribution of different world regions in respect of KE indicators 74 Table 2 Methodological and theoretical considerations 94 Table 3 Data gathering matrix 113 6 Appendices Appendix 1 The education system in government schools in Bahrain 195 Appendix 2 A ministerial briefing document on the education reform and school improvement agenda from McKinsey and Co 204 Appendix 3 The original King Hamad School of the Future project proposal 212 Appendix 4 The King Hamad School of the Future launch document 214 Appendix 5 Questions used for interviews and focus groups 247 References 249 Acknowledgements I am grateful to the following people who have helped me so much during the long journey which this thesis has represented, over six years, across two continents and in five countries….. In the UK, at the London Knowledge Lab of the Institute of Education: Neil Selwyn, my first supervisor, who helped to launch me on this odyssey, but who has now, himself, departed for foreign shores; and to John Potter, Jane Perryman, Martin Oliver and Gwyneth Hughes, all of whom have helped to pilot this study safely into port. To Graham Browne, the former principal, and the staff and students at Estover Community College, Plymouth – now know as the Gate Academy; In Jordan, at the Jordan Education Initiative: Haif Bannayan, Osama Obeidat, Wes Snyder; In Dubai, at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority: Peter Carpenter, Jameela Al Muhairi, Suzanne Selim; In Bahrain, at the Quality Assurance Authority for Education and Training and the Bahrain Teachers College: Kevin Corrigan, Chris Green, Ian Haslam, Hanada Taha- Thomure, Dan Kirk, Suhaib Abdullah. 7 The total word count ( excluding bibliography and appendices) is: 70,293 A note about the cover picture….. This is a photograph which features prominently in the launch document for the King Hamad School of the Future project. On the face of it, the picture represents a powerful fusing of the traditional with the modern; the picture frames three girl students wearing traditional hijabs, to cover their hair, with one of them looking intently down a microscope, whilst the other two look on. Take a second look at the photograph and it will be apparent that the girl is looking through the microscope from behind, and she would, in fact, see nothing through the objective lens. The picture represents a perfect epitome of the education technology project that is the subject of this study. The presentation here is slick and glossy, there is an apparent reconciliation of traditional values with the Modernist project yet beyond the superficial representation, there is nothing of substance here. The shot is clearly posed, but the director of photography has not even troubled to make the artifice appear real. It is merely a symbolic representation of how lay people may imagine technology impacts upon learning and what scientists do, in this case, earnestly looking down a microscope to reveal nature’s truths. It is rather as the impresario Diaghilev said to Ravel on his first hearing of the music for La Valse “it is not a dance, it is a picture of a dance” . 8 Summary This thesis is based upon the case study of an education technology project in the small island state of Bahrain, situated in the Arabian Gulf. It takes this case as being somewhat representative of the manifestations and the limitations of the 'neoliberal imaginary' in policy enactment and in describing and analysing education reforms in this country and similar states in the Middle East.

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