Interesting Stats 300 million people live in MENA countries (~5-6% of global population) (The World Bank, 2013) 40.2% of the Middle Eastern population has internet; an increase of 2640% since 2000. 15.6% of the African population has internet; an increase of 3600% since 2000. (Internet world stats, 2012) UAE has the largest percentage of social media use in the classroom which is 78% with 19% of computers provided by the school (Bhatia, 2013) Distance education technology used in classrooms: 80% laptops, 71% mobile phones (eLearning Africa, 2013)
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Interesting Stats
300 million people live in MENA countries (~5-6% of global population) (The World Bank, 2013)
40.2% of the Middle Eastern population has internet; an increase of 2640% since 2000. 15.6% of the African population has internet; an increase of 3600% since 2000. (Internet world stats, 2012)
UAE has the largest percentage of social media use in the classroom which is 78% with 19% of computers provided by the school (Bhatia, 2013)
Distance education technology used in classrooms: 80% laptops, 71% mobile phones (eLearning Africa, 2013)
Critical Issues in Distance Education:
Middle East and North Africa
(MENA)
Shaz Akhtar, Corrie Macdonald, Kyle Slinn, Sandee Vincent, Tracey Woodburn
MDDE 614: International Issues in Distance Education
North Africa
AlgeriaEgyptLibya
MoroccoSudanTunisia
Western Sahara (in dispute)
Middle East
Afghanistan Bahrain QatarIran Saudi ArabiaIraq Syria Israel TurkeyJordan OmanKuwait Yemen Lebanon PalestineUnited Arab Emirates
Countries in MENA
Millenium Development Goals -Related to Education
UNESCO (2015)
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
“Ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling”
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
“Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015.”
MDG 2015
S.T.E.P. Model
The STEP model is used here to categorize distance education (DE) issues in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
STEP is an acronym for:
SocialTechnicalEconomicPolitical
Social Issues I
● Unrest and ethnic conflict● Language and culture● Individualist Style (Western Style) versus
Collective Style (non-Western) ● Traditional values for women
Social Issues II
● Access to money = Access to education● Jobs and education ● Teachers & change
● Infrastructure● Software/Hardware ● Technology
Technical Issues
Economic Issues
● Poor vs. wealthy● Costs ● International funding
Political Issues
● Demographic tsunami● Traditional beliefs● Accreditation ● Policy & government
Summary
Many hurdles to overcome in order to improve education in MENA countries:
● Regional and religious conflicts● Socio Economic divide in populations● Lack of technical infrastructure
Questions to Ponder
1) How can Open Educational Resources address some of the barriers to education discussed in this presentation?
2) Part of the Arab Spring revolution has been attributed to the fact that this region has the highest youth unemployment rate in the world (nearly 25%) how can distance education contribute increased youth employment?
References IAkkari, A. 2004. Education in the Middle East and North Africa: The Current Situation and Future Challenges. International Education Journal, 5(2): 144–153.
Bouhlila, D. S. (2011). The quality of secondary education in the middle east and north africa: What can we learn from TIMSS’ results? Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 41(3), 327–352. doi:10.1080/03057925.2010.539887
Calik, M. (2005). A cross-age study of the understanding of chemical solutions and their components. International Education Journal, 30-41.
Caner, A. O. (2013). Higher education in Turkey: Subsidizing the rich or the poor? Economics of Education Review, 75-92.
Chapman, D. W., & Miric, S. L. (2009). Education Quality in the Middle East. International Review of Education, 55(4), 311–344. doi:10.1007/s11159-009-9132-5
References IIHamdan, A. (2005). Women and education in Saudi Arabia: Challenges and achievements. International Educational Journal, 42-64.
Ibrahim, A. A. (2013). Teacher resistance to educational change in the United Arab Emirates. International Journal of Research Studies in Education, 25-36. Internet world stats. (2012, June). Retrieved from http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
Lephalala, M.K & Makoe, M. (2012). The Impact of Socio-Cultural Issues for African Students in the South African Distance Education Context. Journal of Distance Education, 26(1)
OECD (2012), Education at a Glance 2012: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2012-en
Shumacher, J. (2013). New Directions for Community Colleges. Spring 2013 (161),113-227. doi: 10.1002/cc.20052
References IIIWilkins, K. (2011). Higher education reform in the Arab World. Washington: Brookings. Retrieved from http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2011/8/education%20reform%20wilkins/08_education_reform_wilkins.pdf
Education Organizations in MENA
Education Research and Reform EffortsEducation Reform for the Knowledge Economy Program (ErfKE), Jordan, ½ billion dollars, supervised by the World Bank http://www.worldbank.org/projects/P075829/education-reform-knowledge-economy-program?lang=enQatar Foundation, Qatar, promoting education and research partnerships in the region, http://www.qf.org.qa/educationDistance Education OrganizationsArab Open University, campuses in Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Oman, associated with the Open University in the UK http://www.arabou.org.sa/
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