Education Technology Policies in the Middle East (eBook)

Michael Lightfoot is an education consultant with extensive international experience on development projects the Middle East and Afghanistan and in several former Soviet states. He has over thirty years of experience, both in the commercial IT sector and in academia, which have provided him with an unique insight into the ideologies and motivations underpinning education reforms involving technology.

Preface 6
Note 8
Acknowledgements 10
Contents 12
Abbreviations 16
List of Figures 18
List of Tables 20
Chapter 1: Introduction: Background and Rationale to the Study 21
References 24
Chapter 2: Cultural and Educational Traditions in the MENA Region 27
2.1 Introduction 27
2.1.1 Essentialism and the Middle East 28
2.2 An Historical and Cultural Description of the Region and Its People 29
2.2.1 The Birth of Islam 30
2.2.2 The Influence of the USA 32
2.2.3 Historical Background to Education in the Region 33
2.2.4 The Knowledge Economy in the Middle East 37
2.3 Education in the Gulf States 39
2.3.1 The Context of Bahrain: A Typical Rentier State in the Arabian Gulf 40
2.3.2 Education Reform for the Knowledge Economy in the Middle East 41
2.4 Conclusion 43
References 46
Chapter 3: Education in the Globalised Knowledge Economy 49
3.1 Introduction 49
3.2 Globalisation 51
3.2.1 Globalisation, ICT, and the World Bank 54
3.2.2 Globalisation in the Networked Society 56
3.3 The Knowledge Economy 59
3.3.1 The Learning Economy 64
3.3.2 The Creative Economy 65
3.3.3 The Open Knowledge Economy 67
3.4 Conclusion 71
References 72
Chapter 4: Educational Challenges in the Arab World 79
4.1 Introduction 79
4.2 Globalisation in the Arab World 80
4.2.1 Bahrain and the GCC Countries 82
4.3 The Knowledge Economy in the Arab World 83
4.3.1 The Shock of the New 83
4.3.2 Ambivalence Towards Technologies of Learning 84
4.3.3 The Education Deficit 86
4.3.4 Local Problems and Concerns Over Schooling 90
4.3.5 Global Responses to Local Concerns 91
4.3.6 Teaching and Learning 93
4.3.7 Gender Segregation in Schools, Teacher Preparation, and Teacher Status 95
4.4 Conclusion 96
References 97
Chapter 5: Structure and Agency in the MENA Region: Theoretical Perspectives 102
5.1 Introduction 102
5.2 The Relationship Between the Frameworks 106
5.3 Critical Theory and Grounded Theory 108
5.4 Structure and Agency in Late Developing Countries 113
5.4.1 Structuration and the Neoliberal Imaginary: Islamic States Confronting Modernism 113
5.5 Homo Economicus and New Institutional Economics 114
5.6 Conclusion 118
Notes 118
References 119
Chapter 6: Modernism Confronts Tradition 122
6.1 Introduction1 122
6.1.1 The Local Bahraini Context 127
6.2 Data Gathering and Analysis 127
6.2.1 Organisational Culture 128
6.2.1.1 False Memories and “Fuzzy Traces” 129
6.2.1.2 Accountability, Policy Making, and Idealistic Rhetoric 130
6.2.1.3 Atomisation 131
6.2.1.4 Overload and Innovation Fatigue 131
6.2.1.5 Performativity 133
6.2.2 Technology 136
6.2.2.1 Pedagogic Ownership and Curriculum Integration 140
6.2.2.2 Personal Initiatives 142
6.2.3 Tradition 144
6.2.3.1 Expectations of Traditional Pedagogy 146
6.2.3.2 The Creative Curriculum 149
6.3 Conclusion 151
Notes 152
References 153
Chapter 7: Reflections on the End of History 156
7.1 Introduction 156
7.2 Policy Intent and the Local Drivers—Visions of a Post-rentier State 156
7.2.1 The Paradox of the Gulf States 157
7.2.2 Text as a Material-Semiotic Actor 160
7.3 External Policy Drivers: Technology-­Enriched Futures and Public Policy Making 162
7.3.1 The Neoliberal Imaginary 162
7.3.2 The Influence of SNO and Global Corporations 164
7.4 Policy Constraints—Culture, Identity, and Limited Local Capacity 165
7.4.1 The Dynamics of Technology Integration 166
7.5 Making Sense of the Data 169
7.5.1 Recurrent instances of the Techno-Mythologies of Information Systems 171
7.5.2 Towards an Overarching Conclusion 172
7.6 Conclusion: Reflection on The End of History 175
7.6.1 Multiple Paths to Modernity 176
References 177
Chapter 8: Bridging the Long Divergence 183
8.1 Introduction 183
8.2 Islam and Modernism 184
8.2.1 Enlightenment and the Arab World 185
8.2.2 Imperialism and the Formation of UNESCO 186
8.3 The Great Divergence 187
8.3.1 Socio-economic Divergence 188
8.3.2 Epistemological and Politico-Cultural Divergence 189
8.4 A Shared Humanity—Post-Colonial Possibilities 190
8.5 Conclusions 191
8.5.1 Structure and Agency in Technology Integration 191
References 193
Endpiece 195
References 199
Index 200