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mcooka

In Yemen, Breaking Barriers to Girls' Education - 0 views

  • The gender gap among teachers in Yemen is wide, and serves as a deterrent to girls’ school attendance when traditionally-minded male family members will not allow daughters, sisters or nieces to be taught by men.
  • n 2010-2011, only 28% of teachers in government basic and secondary schools were female. The Ministry of Education estimates 4,500 female teachers are needed to remedy the acute shortage of female teachers in rural areas.
  • e corresponding rate for boys has remained at least 20% highe
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  • Though girls’ enrollment and primary education completion rates in Yemen have increased substantially over the last decade, the gender disparity remains severe
  • To address the disparity, in 2007 the Yemeni government, with funding from the World Bank’s Fund for the Poorest Countries (IDA), launched a rural female teacher contracting scheme and has since trained 550 teachers, 525 of which have become certified.  Under an additional project, funded by the Global Partnership for Education, 490 teachers have completed the training program.
  • A conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, designed to help girls in grades 4-9 in disadvantaged communities in selected governorates, has been effective in encouraging parents to allow girls to attend school.
  • he cash stipends are conditional on maintaining no less than 80% attendance and a passing grade, with an allowance to repeat the grade only once
  • Under Yemen’s second basic education development project, approved under a $66 million IDA grant in February, the government  will recruit, train and deploy an additional 700 female teachers in rural areas and continue its conditional cash transfer program for girls’ education, to extend service to an additional 25,000 students.
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    This article discusses the large gap amongst girls and boys in Yemen. There are fewer women in the population, not as many teachers, the literacy rate is 15% lower for girls as compared to boys. This project will deploy 700 teachers to rural areas of Yemen, hoping to attract 25,000 more students, and it will increase cash stiphens to encourage families to let their daughters go to school
mcooka

Education in the Second Largest Refugee Camp in the World | Global Partnership for Educ... - 0 views

  • n principle, all girls and boys in Za’atari camp have access to school. The Jordanian Ministry of Education and UNICEF provide formal education in two temporary schools with a capacity of 5,000 students each, covering all grades except the final year of secondary school.
  • 6% of girls and 80% of boys between the age of 6 and 18 years do not attend school. 66% of all children in Za’atari camp lost about three months of schooling already before arriving in Jordan
  • amilies expect to return home after just a short time in the camp
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  • ajority of primary and secondary school-aged children say they want to go to school.
  • iolence
  • harassment
  • verbal abuse
  • corporal punishment in the classroom by Jordanian teachers and Syrian assistant teachers
  • nsecurity about leaving their family even for a few hour
  • work to earn money
  • distance to scho
  • ack of appropriate toilets
  • hungry
  • Large class sizes
  • yrian children are una
  • internet,
  • research required by the Jordanian curriculum
  • ordanian teachers
  • Some report that they do not feel safe working in Za’atari camp
  • transportation to the camp is costly
  • nexperienced
  • For every two Jordanian teachers, there is approximately one Syrian assistant teacher
  • yrian teachers are frustrated that they are only allowed to work as assistants in Za’atari camp given they are fully qualified teachers.
  • t has been recognized internationally that education is a right that must be upheld in emergency situations
  • Education can provide stability, normalcy and hope in a child’s day to day life during a crisis situation which can last for months and years.
  • he conflict in Syria is in its third year.
  • Global Partnership for Education requests partner countries to design their education sector plan sensitive to their context (PDF).
  • Za’atari camp reflect what children in other refugee camps may face worldwide.
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    This article highlights how the UNICEF is attempting to care for Refugee children. This article specifically focuses on Za'atari which is located in Jordan. It looks at the factors which negatively affect the children, the role of the teachers, and the steps to resolve the issues.
mcooka

Algeria: Labor Protests Forcibly Dispersed | Human Rights Watch - 0 views

  • Police in Algiers beat teachers demonstrating for greater job security on March 21 and 22, 2016, injuring at least two
  • sit-in to demand integration of teachers into the civil service to provide greater job security.
  • .G., who asked not to be named, has been a contract teacher for three years in a high school in Algier
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  • Aïssat said that the police took them to the Mohammadia police station and held them until 5 p.m. He said that the police did not tell them the reasons for their arrest, and released them without charge.
  • Algeria’s constitution guarantees the right to freedom of assembly. Amendments, entered into force on March 7, 2016, include a provision that, “The right to peaceful assembly is guaranteed within the framework of the law, which sets forth how it is to be exercised” (article 49).
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    This article looks at the teacher protest in Algeria. There was a group of teachers on March 22 that did a sit in to advocate for better job security. They were forced out and beaten by the police
micklethwait

NCTE Position Paper on the Role of English Teachers in Educating English Language Learn... - 0 views

  • over five million English language learners (ELLs) in schools in the United States (NCELA, 2004).
  • integration into mainstream classes, sometimes referred to as submersion
  • In turn, colleges and universities providing teacher education should offer all preservice teachers, as well as teachers pursuing advanced degree work, preparation in teaching linguistically diverse learners in their future classrooms.
mcooka

Education Has Never Been Deadlier for Syria's Children - Save the Children - 0 views

  • Education is now one of the deadliest pursuits for children and teachers inside Syria, as the country's schools are increasingly being damaged and destroyed in the conflict.
  • chools are being increasingly forced to close because of the conflict
  • Syria has now descended to the second worst rate of school attendance in the world with 2.8 million children out of schoo
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  • t is absolutely shameful that the obligation to protect schools is not being respected in this conflict
  • Syrian refugee children in neighbouring countries are facing disturbing rates of abuse, bullying, corporal punishment and marginalization
  • p to half of children surveyed by the agency in Syria reported they were 'rarely' or 'never' able to concentrate in class
  • Syrian children are dropping out of school by the day, and the international community has to step up its response to ensure that we do not lose an entire generation of children."
  • Four years into the Syria crisis, overall enrolment in Syrian schools has halved from near 100% pre-crisis levels, while enrolment in the hardest hit areas such as Aleppo has plummeted to just 6%
  • And those children who have managed to escape the conflict in Syria are also missing out on education with devastating consequences. One in 10 Syrian refugee children across the region are estimated to be working, and the figure is likely to be much higher. In Jordan, 47% of refugee families reported relying partly or entirely on their children's income in a recent assessment.
  • We have heard from children being cursed and ridiculed by teachers in host countries, being told that they have ruined their country or to go back to Syria," Hearn said. "Others face corporal punishment at school. In Egypt alone, 30% of children we interviewed told us they were being hit by teachers and 70% are being verbally abused
  • Refugee children are also faced with learning an unfamiliar curriculum or even a teacher speaking a language they cannot understand.
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    This article is focused on the failing education in Syria. Syrian children have stopped attending school out of fear for their lives. An almost perfect 100% attendance rate plummeted to 6%. Syrian refugee children are forced to use different school curriculum's which can be difficult and confusing.  
mcooka

News & Broadcast - Education: Improving access and quality of education in Yemen - 0 views

  • For almost three decades, the International Development Association (IDA) has actively helped increase access to, and the quality of, educational services in Yemen. The main achievements are the expansion of the education system at all levels, which helped halve the illiteracy rate to 45 percent from 90 percent
  • This is particularly challenging given the country’s significant population growth and deep poverty
  • Fewer girls than boys enrol in school (particularly in rural areas), many tend to be over-age and most drop out before completing basic education.
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  • lack of female teachers is one of the factors resulting in low enrolment and retention of girls in schools, particularly in higher grades when parents tend to object to male teachers
  • The sector also suffers from a lack of efficiency and effectiveness in using limited financial resources and weak management capacity.
  • DA has provided assistance for development of all education system sub-sector
  • both building on the success of the Basic Education Expansion Project of 2001-2007
  • The Secondary Education Development and Girls Access Project provides a platform to address broader sector governance and management issues by bringing together the Ministries of Planning, Finance, Civil Service and Insurance and Local Officials to jointly sign a Protocol of Participation in this Project.
  • men is also part of the Education For All Fast Track Initiative (EFA-FTI). FTI focuses on increasing access of children to primary education in line with the MDG target of achieving universal primary education, and its interventions target the most remote areas in the country where no other IDA project, government intervention or donor project has gone before
  • Increase in enrolment in primary education to 87 percent in 2008-09 from 68 percent in 1998-99.Gains in girls’ enrolment were even higher with an increase to 78% in 2008-09 from 49% in 1998-99, reducing by half the gap with male enrolment
  • The Education sector in Yemen is one of oldest and largest sectors of IDA investment in Yemen.
  • otal Bank financing for the five projects amounts to US$133 million, comprising Basic Education Development Project (US$68.66 million), Secondary Education Development and Girls Access project (US$20 million), Fast Track Initiative – Phase III (US$20 million), Second Vocational Training Project (US$ 15 million), and Second Higher Education Project (US$13 million).
  • he basic education sector in Yemen is characterized by a high degree of donor harmonization. Education receives a large share of the comparatively small amount of Official Development Assistance per capita recipient (just US$13 in 2006).
  • The Yemen Country Status Report set the stage for the development of a national vision for education. The national vision is to be developed in coordination with line ministries and aims to develop the foundations for a national education system that is linked to the labor market
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    This article is about the improvement of education in Yemen. Yemen is a very poor country with a large population growth. These programs have created platforms and finances to attract teachers, advocates for girls groups, advocates for education, and have pushed the literacy rate up towards 90%
allieggg

I watched Libya seize its freedom. Now I have to flee its new chaos | World news | The ... - 0 views

  • the first democratically elected parliament, the General National Congress, rather than disband the militias, funded them, each faction seeing its own forces as insurance against those of everyone else.
  • An Islamist-led coalition came to dominate parliament, but as the squabbling grew worse it realised it would lose an election, so delayed having one.
  • Then, in May, a former Gaddafi-era general turned rebel leader, Khalifa Hiftar, launched an offensive against Islamist brigades in the east while his allies stormed congress in Tripoli. An election was duly called in June, and the Islamists duly lost, or expect to lose when parliament assembles this week. The result has seen some of their militias grab what Tripoli real estate they can, triggering civil war.
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  • "Within Libya it is region against region, within regions, tribe against tribe, within tribes, family against family."
  • The Islamists call themselves revolutionaries, implying that anyone opposed to them is against the revolution. Their opponents also call themselves revolutionaries, labelling the Islamists "terrorists", while the Islamists accuse their opponents of following Gaddafi. Neither label is true: both sides have plenty to give that is positive. But the time for giving in Libya seems past.
  • "We are like a class of kids where the bad teacher is suddenly dead," he said. "Now we all fight each other."
  • "My problem is, it's hard to be a radical moderate."
  • Flying away, I leave the country as I found it, back at war. It is a country so rich in possibility and so undone by a chaos you can unpick for ever without getting to the nub.
  • My photographer friend had the answer. "Confused?" he told me. "Then you understand Libya."
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    This article illuminates the aftermath of Gaddafi's reign from a first person perspective of a citizen fleeing the country due to its devastating chaos. He offers a short version of the conflict and the rise in militant groups. The root of the issue is the fact that when the GNC took power, the factions funded the militant groups for their own insurance rather than working towards their disbandment. The Islamist coalition dominated parliament, and as chaos deepened when they realized they would loose the election so they just delayed having one. This is where General Khalifa Haftar chimed in, launching his offense against islamic insurgency by storming the capitol in Tripoli leading the country to slip into civil war. The Author says "We are like a class of kids where the bad teacher is suddenly dead," he said. "Now we all fight each other." When the light finally comes to a country that was for so long in the dark, its blinding. 
mcooka

Lebanon - Educational System-overview - Schools, Private, Students, and Lebanese - Stat... - 0 views

  • The Lebanese educational system is divided in two sectors: private schools and universities, for which there is a charge for admission, and public (government) schools and universities that are practically free of charge.
  • Education was once almost exclusively the responsibility of religious communities or foreign groups, but because the number of students in public schools has risen to more than two-fifths of the total school enrollment, the government was pressured to open more public schools to meet the demands of the general public.
  • While public schools have not paid much attention to the preschool phase and have required students to be five-years-old to be accepted in kindergarten until the 1990s, private schools have always had a preschool phase and have accepted students as young as three-years-old
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  • The total duration in school remains intact, 12 years. The primary cycle of general education has been increased by one year, and is divided into two modules of three years each, while the intermediary cycle was reduced to three years instead of four. The first year of general education's secondary cycle must be considered common for all four different series of instruction, and the second year is common to only two out of four series. Lebanese students are not allowed to enter formal technical education before age 12, which is the age limit of obligatory education. The scholastic year was changed to 36 weeks, and 4 supplementary hours per week were added at the intermediary and secondary cycles.
  • The new school curricula was launched in September 1998, and the Educational Center for Research and Development had trained 16,000 teachers in public schools and 6,000 teachers in private schools on the new uses and principles of the new program. The new system took into account economic, social, and national perspectives. The principle characteristics of this new system consist of the following:
  • The Lebanese educational system has usually relied heavily on private schooling to accommodate the evergrowing demand for learning in the country
  • As to special education concerning handicapped students, there were about 10,000 handicapped people in 1975 (prior to the Lebanese civil war). During the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, this number reached 13,000; it is more than 15,000 in 2001. About 2,500 handicapped people were being educated and made ready to enter the work market.
  • There are 1508 public and private intermediary and secondary schools for the general instruction program in Lebanon, while there are only 262 schools for the technical and professional instruction program divided between the public sector (29 schools) and the private sector (233 schools).
  • Education is compulsory until the end of the intermediate cycle, is available to all Lebanese students, and is attended by nearly 95 percent of school-age children
  • The school year starts in early October and ends in late June. The school day consists of six hours starting at 8:00 a.m. with two hour lunch break and ends at 4:00 p.m. The length of class periods ranges from 50 to 55 minutes. Both public and private schools are supposed to observe official holidays, which are decided by the government; however, Christian-administered, religious private schools take Saturday and Sunday off every week, while Moslem-run religious private schools take Friday and Sunday, and Jewish-run private schools take off all of Saturday and Sunday afternoon only.
  • In short, the new formal educational system of Lebanon, like in many other countries, divides the years of instruction as follows: 6-3-3 (six years for the primary cycle, three years for the intermediate cycle, and three years for the secondary cycle), followed by the higher education cycle. Primary school education is followed either by a six-year intermediary and secondary program, leading to the official Lebanese baccalaureate certificate, which was originally based on the equivalent French school diploma, or by a three- to six-year technical or vocational training program.
  • In addition, females appeared to have a slightly higher percentage than males with regard to attending schools and universities. After age 25 male attendance becomes almost double that of female attendance.
  • the literacy rate was 88.4 percent in 1997
  • ue to the Lebanese people's negative attitude toward manual work, especially in industry and agriculture, students of lower socioeconomic status enroll mostly in vocational and technical schools. Therefore, there is a big difference between the two major types of instruction, as well as the relative numbers of schools and students enrolled in each of these types
  • The brevet certificate is only required by public schools, vocational schools, and teacher training institutes. The baccalaureate part I exam has two main tracks: literary and scientific. The baccalaureate part II has four main tracks: literature and humanities, which includes language, literature, history, philosophy, education, arts, and religion; sociology and economy, which includes economic sciences, politics, business and management, law, and sociology; general sciences, which includes mathematics, physics, chemistry, and their applications at the level of engineering; and life sciences, which includes biology and life sciences, chemistry and their applications in the area of medicine, health, agriculture, and other related subjects.
  • Most institutions of higher education require entrance examinations besides the baccalaureate part II, which is required by law.
  • The grading system is generally based on scales of 0 to 20 or 0 to 100, with 10 or 60, respectively, as passing grades
  • he curriculum in Lebanese schools is somewhat rigid, for all students must pursue the same programs in all three cycles
  • rivate schools can choose textbooks that meet their syllabi, except in the civics area where the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport requires them to use the center's textbooks.
  • rabic and either French or English are the languages of instruction in the Lebanese schools.
  • The United Nations Reliefs and Works Agency (UNRWA) provides funds supporting a private nonsectarian school system for Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East. This type of private schooling has been very effective in offering education and social services for children of Palestinian Refugees residing in Lebanon
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    This article gave a great general overview to the education in Lebanon. One of the major components of Lebanon's education system is when they changed it 1999 to reflect the style of French education systems. Additionally, Lebanon has a high rate of 95% attendance for its students and it also has a high rate of literacy at 89%
kkerby223

New York Times Women's Rights Article - 0 views

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    This is hands down the most helpful article I have read when it comes to trying to get a grasp on the issues Saudi women face. It covers many bases including that of a woman who does not want women's rights to be changed and even goes so far as to wish great punishment on activists. The article includes some information on activists of varying degrees including a teacher, a blogger, a YouTube video maker, and more.
mcooka

2015 Education Year: Challenges ahead | Yemen Times - 1 views

  • n Nov. 24, the prime minister declared 2015 “Education Year,” highlighting the need to improve the country’s educational system and its importance for Yemen’s future prosperity
  • An ominous reminder came just 20 days after the prime minister’s announcement, when an explosive-laden car detonated at a checkpoint in Rada’a, killing 16 girls who were passing on their way home from school. The tragedy provides some indication of the immense challenges facing government and Yemeni society if 2015 is really to be a year for education.
  • Speaking at a ceremony honoring the nation’s highest-achieving students for the 2013/14 school year,
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  • eeting these lofty goals will require a range of initiatives—repairing infrastructure and building new facilities, providing sufficient learning materials, narrowing teacher-student ratios, and addressing gender disparities—especially in rural areas, where underfunding and conflict have compounded the problems facing schools ther
  • Mohammad bin Mohammad, a school teacher in Erman Primary School in the Ans area of Dhamar governorate, which accommodates 110 children from first to sixth grade, says many of his students are forced to take their lessons sitting on the ground. “Students don’t study in proper classrooms. Let alone having enough labs, chairs or tables,” he said.
  • Addressing security concerns and providing necessary infrastructure are fundamental prerequisites, but staffing and improving access to education for girls remain high on the agenda.
  • Government expenditure on bonuses amounts to YR60 million ($279,000) for the current fiscal year, and is expected to reach 271,696 employees nationwide working in the education sector, according to the Ministry of Education.
  • In areas where female enrolment and retention in school is significantly lower than the national average, the government also offers conditional cash transfers to families to encourage them to allow their girls to attend school.
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    This article highlights some of the challenges with improving girls education. Yemen has very little resources so taking resources from one place and giving to another-is basically like taking from students sitting on the dirt and giving to students sitting on rocks. There is also high security concerns. Many religious sects don't believe women should receive education.  So girls and schools are being terrorized on the way to school. Some families don't believe the cash transfer is worth loosing children. 
mcooka

Addressing the education emergency in Lebanon | Voices and Views: Middle East and North... - 0 views

  • The education system in Syria is a victim of the country’s conflict; Syrian teachers and students have been displaced, along with their families, and many Syrian refugee children have now been out of school for multiple years.
  • Lebanon has gone to great lengths to accommodate this tsunami of children.
  • Despite these efforts, currently available data indicate that about half of the Syrian children living in Lebanon today are working or otherwise not engaged in learning
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  • With fewer than 1 in 10 Syrian refugees ages 15, 16, or 17 enrolled in secondary school or technical/vocational education, the risk of losing a generation of skilled professionals is very real
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    This piece is talking about the efforts of Lebanon to support the education of Syrian children. The refugee students have been out of school for years which hinders their future quality of life. Only about half of the refugee children are attending some sort of school program. 
micklethwait

CCCC Statement on Second Language Writing and Writers - 0 views

  • dapting to or adopting North American discursive strategies
  • to understand their characteristics
  • sensitive to their linguistic and cultural needs.
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  • In classes made up exclusively of second language writers, enrollments should be limited to a maximum of 15 students per class.
  • instructors should avoid topics that require substantial background knowledge that is related to a specific culture or history that is not being covered by the course.
  • Writing instructors should look for evidence of a text's rhetorically effective features, rather than focus only on one or two of these features that stand out as problematic.
  • Further, "patchwriting," defined by Rebecca Moore Howard, as the copying of sections of texts, such as phrasings and sentence patterns, is a natural part of the process of learning to write in a second language.
  • We advocate that instructors take extra care when suspecting a second language writer of plagiarism, and take into consideration the student's cultural background, level of experience with North American educational systems, and confidence level for writing in English.
  • Any writing course, including basic writing, first-year composition, advanced writing, and professional writing, as well as any writing-intensive course that enrolls any second language writers should be taught by an instructor who is able to identify and is prepared to address the linguistic and cultural needs of second language writers. 
  • should be based on students’ writing proficiency
  • mainstreaming
  • the literacy support of second language writers needs to extend beyond the composition requirement as well.
  • approaches for designing writing assignments that are culturally inclusive, and approaches for assessing writing that are ethical in relation to second language writing.
  • Therefore, it is imperative that writing centers model and discuss effective approaches for working with second language writers in tutor training, make available reference materials specific to language learners such as dictionaries on idiomatic English, and hire tutors with specialized knowledge in second language writing.
  • Second language writers often come from contexts in which writing is shaped by linguistic and cultural features different from their NES peers. Beliefs related to individuality versus collectivity, ownership of text and ideas, student versus teacher roles, revision, structure, the meaning of different rhetorical moves, writer and reader responsibility, and the roles of research and inquiry all impact how student writers shape their texts.
  • scaffolding, creating benchmarks within larger projects, and incorporating additional resources such as the writing center.
  • to identify strengths second language writers bring to the classroom.
  • With the help of an instructor, second language writers can learn to bridge the strategies they use to communicate socially through digital media to the expectations of the academy. Therefore, instructors need to learn how to proficiently work with the writing tools and within the writing contexts that will help second language writers create these bridges. As in this case, instructors need to be trained to work with various writing media (e.g., computer programs) so that they can take advantage of these pedagogical opportunities.
  • instructors will be better prepared to work with second language students if issues of second language writing and writers are a consistent feature that is re-enforced throughout their training in writing instruction, especially in-service training encouraged of all writing instructors.
  • We recommend that writing programs familiarize themselves with the multilingual populations surrounding their institutions. Doing so not only provides valuable insight into the language experiences of some students in your writing programs, but it also could identify large multilingual populations wishing to matriculate into the college/university. Information on local populations can be collected from the US Census Bureau’s American FactFinder website. Also, websites such as the National Center for Education Statistics provides data on the number of English Language Learners (ELL) receiving special services in area high schools, some of whom might aspire to enter the university one day. Such information can be collected and disseminated on a centrally managed university website for the benefit of both instructors within the composition program and other university faculty.
sheldonmer

Egyptians visit Washington to defend their 'revolution' - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the ... - 0 views

  • during an anti-Morsi and anti-Muslim Brotherhood protest in Tahrir Square in Cairo, June 28, 2013. (photo by REUTERSAsmaa Waguih)
  • group of influential Egyptians sought to convince a dozen Americans that the removal of elected president Mohammed Morsi in 2013 and his replacement by Field Marshal Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was a plus for Egypt’s political evolution and US interests.
  • Morsi had violated the constitution by claiming dictatorial powers in November 2012 and acquiesced in the brutal beating of demonstrators in front of the presidential palace. Crime rose during Morsi’s tenure and Egyptians were afraid to walk the streets or send their kids to school, she told Al-Monitor.
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  • The Americans, in turn, criticized Egypt for criminalizing the Muslim Brotherhood, killing more than a thousand people and detaining thousands more, including journalists and secular liberals, in the aftermath of Morsi’s ouster.
  • Coptic and other Christian leaders and a representative of the Ministry of Endowments. T
  • told Al-Monitor that the Egyptians conveyed their support for Sisi, who, after ruling as head of a military council that replaced Morsi, was elected president in May with a large percentage of votes, although a smaller turnout than in the previous presidential election.
  • Zaki said the delegation also expressed their view that while “we know we are moving toward a strong state, a strong state needs civil society and political opposition.” The third message, he said, was that Egypt wants US support in the fight against terrorism.
  • Washington has praised Cairo for mediating last summer’s Gaza war between Israel and Hamas and expressed sympathy for those fighting Islamic extremists, such as the Egyptian soldiers killed in the Sinai Peninsula on Oct. 24.
  • l some restrictions on US aid to Egypt and many analysts in Washington assert that Egypt cannot return to stability while repressing major components of its society. They also criticize an impending edict for civil society groups to register with the government, which has led many respected foreign-funded nonprofit organizations
  • encouraged the Egyptians to embrace political and religious pluralism. “The Egyptians should understand that no government can deliver peace, prosperity and law and order that does not involve all sections of society,” he said.
  • “Don’t deal with us like a teacher with a pupil,” said Nashwa el-Houfi, a columnist for the daily newspaper Al Watan. “No one has the whole truth. You have part and I have part.”
  • Another plea was for Americans to stop acting as though they knew better what was in the interests of a country with a recorded history going back 7,000 years.
    • sheldonmer
       
      This article talks about how some Americans feel like Egypt did itself a disservice by getting rid of Morsi's rule. This article describes the conversation had by some members of the Egyptian delegation that were invited to Washington by Hands Along the Nile Development Services. This articles goes on to talk about different issues regarding U.S., Egyptian relations and basically was the U.S. condones and what it doesn't, as if it mattered.
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    The article mentions the views of Americans and the views of Egyptians regarding the state of Egypt with concerns surrounding the Muslim Brotherhood. Egyptians were able to carry a message to Americans. Egyptians voiced their want for U.S assistance with terrorism. 
mcooka

Education in Jordan - general overview | Jordan Times - 0 views

  • large majority of students attends public schools, often taught by poorly qualified teachers
  • Curricula, teaching and evaluation methods do not permit free dialogue or exploratory learning, and consequently do not open the doors to creative thinking and analysis.
  • “Imparting” knowledge is the dominant feature, which weakens the capacity to hold opposing or various viewpoints.
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  • n Jordan, there is an excessive use of lecturing and memorisation, with little emphasis on analysis of what is being memorised. It is well known that students in public schools are required to memorise endless facts and formulas from a dreary academic curriculum.
  • hile all new theories of language acquisition are based on meaningful communication through which students can acquire English as a second language without translation or focusing on grammatical principles and rules, “grammar translation method” is still the only popular method used in public schools and even at universities in Jordan.
  • Over the years, there has been much talk about reforming the education system in Jordan, but less action. Reform i
  • We need an education through which students are able to connect the facts they learn about to the real world, which helps them innovate, understand social responsibilities, ethics and values.
mcooka

A New System for K-12 Education in Qatar | RAND - 0 views

  • The leadership of the Arabian Gulf nation of Qatar, like that of many other countries, views education as the key to future economic, political, and social progress.
  • In summer 2001, the State of Qatar’s leadership asked the RAND Corporation to examine the K–12 (kindergarten through grade 12) school system in Qatar
  • Qatari K–12 edu-cation system served about 100,000 students, two-thirds of whom attended schools that were financed and operated by the government. The highly centralized Ministry of Education oversaw all aspects of public education and many aspects of private education.
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  • Finally, although Qatar has a high per capita income, the national investment in education was small. Teachers received low pay and little professional development, many school buildings were in poor condition, and classrooms were overcrowded.
  • he most fundamental need was for clear curriculum standards oriented toward the desired outcomes of schooling. The new system’s curriculum, assessments, and professional development would all need to be aligned with these clear standards
  • AND presented three governance options to the Qatari leadership for discussion: (1) a Modified Centralized Model, which upgraded the existing, centrally controlled system by allowing for some school-level flexibility with or without parental choice of schools; (2) a Charter School Model, which encouraged variety through a set of schools independent of the Ministry and which allowed parents to choose whether to send their children to these schools; and (3) a Voucher Model, which offered parents school vouchers so that they could send their children to private schools and which sought to expand high-quality private schooling in Qatar.
  • Qatar now possesses curriculum standards in Arabic, mathematics, science, and English for all 12 grades — and these standards are comparable to the highest in the world.
  • These tests and surveys were then upgraded and repeated in 2005 and 2006 as part of the ongoing accountability system. The tests are the first standardized measures of student learning available in the Arabic language.
  • otential school operators responded enthusiastically to the call to open the new schools.
  • from a pool of 160 initial applicants; all 12 opened under three-year renewable contracts. In 2005, 21 additional Independent schools opened, and in 2006, 13 more opened.
  • Increased expertise is needed in Qatar’s teaching workforce and among the Institutes’ staff. Non-Qatari specialists are likely to be required in the future, but it is important that they find the means to transfer knowledge to Qataris to build local human resources.
  • The four principles of the reform — autonomy, accountability, variety, and choice
  • The emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates recently adopted a strategy of public financing for private providers of education that is similar to that of Qatar. Also, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council praised Qatar’s initiative, especially its curriculum standards. Since these standards are the foundation for teaching, learning, and accountability, the Secretary General’s praise, motivated by concern throughout the region about preparing students for later life, represents a major endorsement of the approach taken in Qatar.
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    This piece is about the education reform K-12 in Qatar. The program has started to use local education supplies to create a better community attitude toward education. Their have been efforts to create a universal curriculum and higher evaluation and testing. 
mcooka

Schooling in a crisis: the case of Syrian refugees in Turkey - ODI HPN - 0 views

  • The Syrian civil war has created one of the largest and most intense episodes of human suffering of the early twenty-first century.
  • 387,883, with 200,039 living in government camps and 164,143 living in rented apartments
  • Turkey’s efforts to meet the needs of refugees have been spearheaded by the Afet ve Acil Durum Yonetimi Baskanligi
  • ...36 more annotations...
  • majority of refugees are women and, especially, children; of the 200,000 refugees in Turkish camps, about 60% are children.
  • t was left to him to find tents, wooden flooring, carpets and paving bricks, desks, chairs, drawing boards, teaching aids and, of course, textbooks
  • urkish Red Crescent
  • acquired through AFAD channels a
  • egging
  • he result
  • ten large tents with floors
  • drawing boards
  • electricity
  • computer projectors.
  • limate control consisted of large fans
  • he pre-school director in Islahiye Camp used empty office and storage space in the warehouse to house five rooms full of loud young children
  • preschools enjoyed the largest proportion of age-group participation.
  • camp schools are administered by Turks
  • curricula are not recognised or sanctioned by the Turkish education authorities, and so licenced Turkish teachers cannot be assigned to them.
  • amp education directors rely heavily on volunteers from among the refugees themselves
  • time and instruction with the children is often inconsistent
  • not be able to teach in Arabic
  • There is little incentive for parents to commit their children to learning a new language
  • Closely related to the issue of language is the curriculum
  • eenage students in the camps generally do not have access to the secondary schooling
  • Indeed, one source of tension between Syrian parents and the Turkish authorities has been the Syrian demand for special classes for advanced students whose preparations for university entrance exams were interrupted by the war.
  • Syrian schools have opened outside of the camps with funding from the local government,
  • using the Syrian curriculum and books salvaged from Syrian schools and reproduced
  • Gaziantep
  • namely Syrian demands for the separation of the sexes in classrooms
  • Syrian parents also tend to insist that their daughters wear headscarves (hijab) in public and in schools, while it is illegal for Turkish teenage girls to cover their hair at school.
  • Tensions over the separation of the sexes, curriculum and language of instruction are compounded by the politics of Syrians’ refugee status
  • y contrast, the Turkish government chose not to officially recognise the Syrians as refugees as defined by UNHCR, and did not ask UNHCR to register the newcomers as refugees.
  • officially designate Syrians as refugees would limit Turkey’s involvement in the Syrian civil war,
  • Turkey has allowed arms and non-lethal aid through its territory to supply the Free Syrian Army
  • here are also concerns that Syrians, desperate for income, take jobs at lower wages than Turks
  • Even guests can outstay their welcome, and with no end in sight to the civil war and no prospect of a return of Syrians to Syria, Turks are beginning to question how long they can sustain their assistance. I
  • une 2013 AFAD began accepting offers of financial and other aid from outside agencies, including UNHCR and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
  • The schools developed in Syrian refugee camps in Turkey provide valuable models for establishing schools for rapidly growing refugee populations.
  • The next critical challenge for Syrian education in Turkey is what to do with the growing number of Syrian teenagers who need to finish their high-school studies at accredited schools in order to compete for places at universities in Turkey or elsewhere.
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    This was probably the most interesting article I have read about education in the MIddle East. It is from the "Humanitarian practice Network". This article is about Turkey and the Syrian refugees, who are not documented as refugees, and the growing desire for improvements to education. Right now, the education which is in place for Syrians is adequate for a temporary stay of preserving knowledge. It is not designed to be used long term, to advance students, or to prep them for universities. This article looks at those issues and tensions which are happening currently in Turkey
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