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.

R. Paul Shaw has travelled widely in the Arab world, obtaining data and gathering impressions first-hand from national and local planners. In this book, he identifies population and manpower problems that are likely to become more serious and more difficult to solve if they are neglected at this early stage of Arab development. He focuses on five broad areas which are directly or indirectly related to mobilizing human resources, and his book will be of special interest to all those who are concerned with such issues as population, migration, employment, inequality, the emancipation of women, construction and agriculture. Dr Shaw proposes policy directives which are sensitive to the problems as they are seen by the Arab governments themselves, and sets out practical guidelines which can be used by Arab planners and policy-makers. An important feature of the book with respect to current literature on Arab development is that it moves away from a preoccupation with growth-related investments to a concentration on development-related population, manpower and employment issues. By bringing together such comprehensive empirical and bibliographic information, it will also be invaluable as a reference source for some twenty Arab countries. First published in 1983.

This title was first published in 2002. In 2000, a major international conference was organized by the Arab Planning Institute to identify, analyze and compare development challenges facing Arab countries at the dawn of the new millennium. An interdisciplinary team of scholars were brought together from the fields of regional science, development studies, economics, business and government policy and together they addressed global, regional and domestic challenges and their impact on the Arab region. This volume brings together the best papers presented at this conference. In doing so, it offers up-to-date insights into, and a clearer understanding of this region. It highlights issues including: economic and social implications of globalization; strategic alliances; the implications for Arab countries of emerging technological patterns; the impact of the European Monetary Union and the euro; Arab regional integration; education; and the development of individual Arab country's economies.

Education, which has been at the heart of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s history and civilizations for centuries, has a large untapped potential to contribute to human capital, well-being, and wealth. The region has invested heavily in education for decades, but it has not been able to reap the benefits of its investments. Despite a series of reforms, MENA has remained stuck in a low-learning, low-skills level. Expectations and Aspirations: A New Framework for Education in the Middle East and North Africa identifies four key sets of tensions that are holding back education in the region: credentials and skills, discipline and inquiry, control and autonomy, and tradition and modernity. These tensions are shaped by society and are reflected in classrooms. If they are not addressed, MENA will continue to operate at a level below its potential. This report outlines a new framework with a three-pronged approach that can help address these tensions and unleash the potential of education in MENA: • A concerted push for learning that starts early for all children regardless of background, with qualified and motivated educators, and that leverages technology, uses modern approaches, and monitors learning outcomes • A stronger pull for skills by all stakeholders in the labor market and society that involves coordinated multisystem reforms within and beyond the education system • A new pact for education at the national level with a unified vision, shared responsibilities, and accountabilities. Education is not just the responsibility of the education system—it is everyone’s business. The push, pull, and pact framework offers an opportunity for MENA to move forward to reclaim its heritage of a learned region and to meet the expectations and aspirations of its people. The current situation in MENA requires a renewed focus on education, not just as a national priority for economic growth and social development, but as a national emergency for stability, peace, and prosperity.