From a rationale of multiculturalism and a based on systemic approach grounded in the Arab-Islamic tradition, this book integrates history, education, science, and feminism to understand the implications of culture in social change, cultural identity, and cultural exchange.

Access of Arab women to higher education by Edith A.S. Hanania -- Arab women and education by Munir Bashshur.

This annotated guide of English-language material on education in the Arab world includes books, journal articles, national and international reports and documents and Ph.D. dissertations. The author opens with an introductory essay on the development of education in the Arab Gulf states and an analysis of current issues in educational research. Chapters cover the social context of education; educational systems and structures; country reports on educational developments between 1950 and 1980; religion and education; education at the pre-college level; and higher education with special attention to systems and institutions, curriculum and evaluation, management, students in national and foreign universities, research, sciences, and technology. The book also examines women's education; teachers and teacher education; educational planning; manpower and education; educational guidance and counseling; special education; literacy and adult education; and educational media and instructional technology. Author and subject indexes are provided.

Women’s education only became an element of modernization when the Gulf countries experienced the oil revolution. However, these rulers launched a revolution of their own by developing modern social infrastructure, mostly before independence. Rulers in the region accepted the notion of women’s education as a pre-requisite for development, and male elites wanted compatible educated partners. However, women’s integration in the labor market was another matter. The state had to contend with a common traditional culture, which was opposed to the mixing of the sexes or the diversion of women’s energies away from domestic and maternal duties. Higher education, which was normally offered on a co-educational basis and sometimes meant study abroad, provoked opposition. >With the exception of Saudi Arabia, there are no legal barriers to integrating women in the economy on a large scale. However, there are cultural issues that work against women’s employment, like the lack of incentive to work in a welfare system. The drive to end the dependence on foreign labor is often countered by the pro-birth policies of countries. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to advancing women’s participation in the labor market has been their absence from advisory councils and parliaments. Thus, the world of political decision-making still seems closed to women, who must rely on the commitment and reformist zeal of some enlightened rulers.

The operation of schools in the Arab world is a topic about which very little is known in the West. This volume, first published in 1991, provides information about the Arab school and thus contributes to an understanding of what is taught, by whom, and under what conditions. It seeks to define the interaction between traditional elements and innovative forces impinging on the Arab school, as well as reviewing policies that concern the education of Arab children. It is maintained that Arab schools are in a state of transition, reproducing society and its norms on one hand while on the other operating as agents seeking to transform society. This work examines this claim in detail, providing a unique discussion about education in the Arab world.