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.

In this groundbreaking work, the author provides a close examination of the relationship between gender and education in the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) and reveals that women’s participation and achievement in education is rapidly outpacing that of men’s. Ridge refers to this situation as a “reverse gender divide” and examines the roots and causes of this imbalance, as well as implications for the future. Based on timely material that is largely unavailable to other scholars, the book further describes how GCC countries, in their desire to be perceived as modern nation states, have enacted and embraced education policies that leave no space for local policymakers to acknowledge boys’ deficits and challenges. In addition to the important implications for educational policy and practice, the author also explores wider social and political issues, such as the impact on the workforce and future sustainable development in the region. "This book offers a refreshing perspective on education in the Gulf States. Reframing the conversation about gender equity in education, Natasha Ridge studies how teachers and schools contribute to the growing educational marginalization of young boys in the Middle East. This book should be required reading for anyone interested in the region and in deeply understanding the centrality of gender equity as a goal of modern education." —Fernando M. Reimers, Ford Foundation Professor of International Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education "Focusing on the resource-rich monarchy states of the Arabian Gulf, Natasha Ridge makes a compelling and nuanced case that the international discourse on gender and education has overlooked the growing academic marginalization of boys. Analyzing relevant political, economic, and social factors, she provides a critically important study that dispels myths, examines the impacts of gender-related educational disparity, and offers thought-provoking suggestions relevant in the Gulf countries and beyond." —Ann Austin, professor, Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education, Michigan State University "This volume provides a well-researched and insightful examination of gender differences in school achievement and retention in the Gulf States. It makes a timely and important contribution as it debunks widely held misconceptions and adds nuance to our understanding of the dynamics of education and employment in the region. This volume in a ‘must-read’ both for those concerned with gender issues in education and those interested in the social and economic development of the Middle East." —David W. Chapman, professor, University of Minnesota Natasha Ridge is the executive director of the Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research based in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), UAE. She has also been an educational consultant for the World Bank, UNICEF, and USAID in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

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.

In our knowledge-based world, the societies that prosper are the ones that generate knowledge - through research, through the interwoven relationship between the academe and funded research bodies and with industry. They are the new ‘centre’. It is strange indeed to think of the countries of the Arab Gulf States as the ‘periphery’. But, as the authors of this book argue very persuasively, by importing a ‘baroque arsenal’ of increasingly sophisticated and costly educational programmes, the Arab Gulf States consume other countries’ knowledge and products, all of which are of declining utility and sustainability. Whilst universities contribute to the culture and political life of modern society, the authors ask - where in the Arab Gulf States is there capacity building, knowledge generation and the culture of imaginative ideas that lie at the root of any civilisation? By following a ‘magistracy’ on a global journey through regions, nations and into institutions, their answers are intended to inform and to urge the Arab Gulf region into promoting education for its own self determination and even its survival.

Investigates the often controversial relationship between gender, equality and education from international and comparative perspectives. This volume also investigates whether gender equality in education is really being achieved in schools around the world or not.