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Descriptors:
Religion; Arabs; Foreign Countries; Educational Policy; Islam; Privatization; Development; Social Change; Higher Education

Abstract:
This paper considers the ways in which Arab education systems have responded to the challenges of modernity alongside framing structures of religion. Focusing mainly on the tertiary education sector, it offers a critical overview of the way in which Arab education authorities have sought, collectively and individually, to address both secular and religious fundamentalist demands. It analyses policy and culture in response to econopolitical change, and to shifting perceptions of the functions of education. Engaging with ideas about the relationship between secularism and modernity, it argues that regional patterns of infrastructural engagement with religion have more to do with politics and power than with ideological foundations of culture and society, and challenges, as others have done, the essentialist association of modernity and secularism. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Educational History; Foreign Countries; Mathematics Instruction; Mathematics Curriculum; Mathematics Teachers; Textbooks; Teaching Methods; Case Studies; Islamic Culture; Teacher Characteristics

Abstract:
George Makdisi's The Rise of Colleges: Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1981: 10) says: "with the advent of the madrasa, the institution inclusive of the foreign sciences began to fade away, becoming extinct by the XIIth century." In fact, the status of teaching rational sciences in the Arab/Islamic Middle Ages was not as clear-cut as in this quote and requires more elaborate and specific studies. When considering the history of teaching mathematics in Arab/Islamic countries, many issues must be closely examined, some of which will be discussed by highlighting similarities, developments and contrasts, and by attempting to provide answers to a number of questions: Did mathematics have the same status in the organization of knowledge before the twelfth century and after? In which type of institutions was mathematics taught? Who were the teachers of mathematics, what status did they have in academe? Which mathematics subjects figured in the curricula? What textbooks, tools and methods were used to teach mathematics? Our undertaking will be illustrated by a case study involving a student and a teacher of mathematics from the eighteenth century: Mahmud Maqdish (Tunisia). Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Foreign Countries; Disadvantaged Youth; Child Care; Developing Nations; Early Childhood Education; Foundations of Education; Annual Reports; International Programs; Comparative Education; Policy Analysis; Educational Assessment; Equal Education; Formative Evaluation; Educational Development; Goal Orientation; Educational Research; Educational Policy; Educational Finance

Abstract:
Early childhood is a time of remarkable transformation and extreme vulnerability. Programmes that support young children during the years before they go to primary school provide strong foundations for subsequent learning and development. Such programmes also compensate for disadvantage and exclusion, offering a way out of poverty. This Report focuses on the first Education for All goal, which calls upon countries to expand and improve early childhood care and education--a holistic package encompassing care, health and nutrition in addition to education. Disadvantaged children stand to benefit the most, yet too few developing countries, and too few donor agencies, have made early childhood a priority. In other areas there is considerable progress toward Education for All, especially the key goal of universal primary education. More girls are attending school and international aid for education is increasing. As the Report demonstrates, however, much still needs to be done to meet the target date of 2015. Only if bold action is taken now can exclusion be overcome and comprehensive learning opportunities assured for everyone, in early childhood and throughout life. The following are appended: (1) The Education for All Development Index; (2) National learning assessments by region and country; (3) Statistical tables; (4) Aid tables; (5) Glossary; (6) References; (7) Abbreviations; and (8) Index. (Contains 64 figures, 48 tables, and 37 text boxes.) [This report was prepared by the EFA Monitoring Report Team, UNESCO.] Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Strategic Planning; Vocational Education; Educational Quality; Global Approach

Abstract:
This document provides direction and focus for the third and last phase of the period covered by the Medium-Term Strategy for 2002-2007 (31 C/4 Approved). Hence it has been designed to cast UNESCO's action in response to the strategic objectives, cross-cutting themes and expected outcomes of document 31 C/4, building upon the achievements, results, evaluations and strategic reviews, especially with respect to Education for All, since 2002 as well as to tackle tasks that are unaddressed. The Programme and Budget of the Organisation is a consolidated document outlining those funds which are appropriated by the General Conference of UNESCO and which are financed by contributions assessed on Member States and by Miscellaneous Income (if available), as distinct from the budget financed from extrabudgetary resources, e.g. voluntary contributions. The General Conference of UNESCO approves a new Programme and Budget for the Organization every two years. It has a clear and direct relationship with the Organization's Medium-Term Strategy which lasts for a six-year period and integrates all the various programme- and budget-relevant action taken by the General Conference. The current Programme and Budget heralds a new phase in UNESCO's activities, if not its history: it represents, with an amount of US $610 million, a real-growth budget for the first time since the zero-nominal growth approaches of several past biennia; and it coincides with a giant step towards the restoration of universality in membership by welcoming Timor-Leste and the United States of America among the Organization's members. UNESCO's Programme and Budget is elaborated by the Bureau of Strategic Planning, in collaboration with the the Bureau of the Budget and the Organization's various Sectors and in consultation with all Member States of UNESCO. It is approved during the meeting of the Organization's highest Governing Body, the General Conference. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Muslims; Jews; Student Attitudes; Arabs; Information Technology; Attitude Change; Foreign Countries; Learning Experience; Internet; Moral Values; Religious Factors; Judaism; Role

Abstract:
This article explores the relationship between the religious based moral reasoning of Judaism and Islam and college student subjects' attitudes toward political entities involved in Middle East conflict, Israel and Arab states. Subjects learn about the moral positions by observing parts of an interactive, Internet dialog among Christian, Jewish, and Muslim scholars who discuss issues of terrorism, resistance, the United States's role in the Middle East, and the prospects for peace. After surveying an extensive literature on student attitude change, the author presents the study's methodology as well its quantitative and qualitative findings. These suggest that students' views of political entities are influenced by faith based moral reasoning in explanation of political actions. One group of subjects reported changed attitudes and more favorable viewpoints toward Israel after observing Jewish moral reasoning; and another group made similar positive attitude change toward Arab countries when presented with Muslim positions. Confronted with both Jewish and Muslim arguments, however, the subjects in a third group were more divided in the number of students who changed their attitudes and in the direction of change. The study also presents anecdotal evidence involving students' own evaluation of the use of information technology and the Internet in their learning experience. More research in this area would help assess the role this technology plays in opening students' minds to unfamiliar values and changing their attitudes toward political entities. (Contains 5 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Correlation; Reading Fluency; Semitic Languages; Phonological Awareness; Native Speakers; Reading Processes; Short Term Memory; Phonology; Predictor Variables; Foreign Countries; Language Variation; Jargon

Abstract:
Arabic native speaking children are born into a unique linguistic context called diglossia (Ferguson, "word", 14, 47?56, [1959]). In this context, children grow up speaking a Spoken Arabic Vernacular (SAV), which is an exclusively spoken language, but later learn to read another linguistically related form, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Forty-two first-grade Arabic native speaking children were given five measures of basic reading processes: two cognitive (rapid automatized naming and short-term working memory), two phonological (phoneme discrimination and phoneme isolation), and one orthographic (letter recoding speed). In addition, the study produced independent measures of phonological processing for MSA phonemes (phonemes that are not within the spoken vernacular of children) and SAV phonemes (phonemes that are familiar to children from their oral vernacular). The relevance of these skills to MSA pseudoword reading fluency (words correct per minute) in vowelized Arabic was tested. The results showed that all predictor measures, except phoneme discrimination, correlated with pseudoword reading fluency. Although phonological processing (phoneme isolation and discrimination) for MSA phonemes was more challenging than that for SAV phonemes, phonological skills were not found to affect reading fluency directly. Stepwise regression analysis showed that the strongest predictor of reading fluency in vowelized Arabic was letter recoding speed. Letter recoding speed was predicted by memory, rapid naming, and phoneme isolation. The results are discussed in light of Arabic diglossia and the shallow orthography of vowelized Arabic. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Sign Language; Semitic Languages; Deafness; Diachronic Linguistics; Foreign Countries; Oral Language; Language Planning; Alphabets; Arabs; Contrastive Linguistics

Abstract:
Sign language in the Arab World has been recently recognized and documented. Many efforts have been made to establish the sign language used in individual countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Libya, and the Gulf States, by trying to standardize the language and spread it among members of the Deaf community and those concerned. Such efforts produced many sign languages, almost as many as Arabic-speaking countries, yet with the same sign alphabets. This article gives a tentative account of some sign languages in Arabic through reference to their possible evolution, which is believed to be affected by the diglossic situation in Arabic, and by comparing some aspects of certain sign languages (Jordanian, Palestinian, Egyptian, Kuwaiti, and Libyan) for which issues such as primes, configuration, and movement in addition to other linguistic features are discussed. A contrastive account that depicts the principal differences among Arabic sign languages in general and the spoken language is given. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Developed Nations; Developing Nations; Educational Legislation; Educational Quality; Educational Research; Educational Trends; Experiential Learning; Foreign Countries; Futures (of Society); Global Approach; Inplant Programs; Labor Force Development; Management Development; National Programs; National Standards; Performance; Resource Allocation; Student Certification; Trend Analysis; Vocational Education

Abstract:
Recent research has identified trends in the training systems of 13 countries in Africa (Egypt, Mauritius, South Africa); the Arab States (Bahrain, Jordan); Asia (Australia, Fiji, Malaysia); Eastern Europe (Albania, Slovenia); Western Europe (Ireland, Portugal); and the Mediterranean region (Malta). The trends identified are legislation; councils/boards and authorities; national qualifications frameworks; skill standards and certification; workplace learning; and governments overtly promoting training quality assurance. Research suggests that human resource management practices are changing in response to the forces creating the new business environment. The forces include changes in the structure of production; turbulent business environment; and greater customer awareness. Three key and mutually reinforcing requirements for connecting business challenges and management development are clarification of the twin purposes of developing managers to deliver the current business model and develop future business models; development of effective strategic management and business, organization, and management review processes to connect business strategies with organization and management requirements; and management of the learning. (Four examples illustrate the integration of the trends into "bundles" of other activities to facilitate maximum effect. They involve high performance working; linking economic and human resource development; knowledge management; and skills recognition.) (YLB) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Elementary Secondary Education; English (Second Language); Foreign Countries; Globalization; Higher Education; Second Language Instruction

Abstract:
This paper attempts to define globalization based on the literature highlighting its major facets. By discussing the spread of English and motives for this kind of spread, the paper outlines some of the impacts the language of globalization has had on different societies/cultures and the kind of reactions this language has generated among different cultures. It contends that the spread of English as the language of globalization cannot be fully understood without realization of the hegemonic and imperialistic nature of English. It also shows that English is unilateral in vision and forms a real threat to other languages and cultures. However, it claims that despite the hegemonic and imperialistic nature of English, it is still badly needed in the Arab world for the purposes of communicating with the world, education, acquiring technology, and development at large. To teach English as a language of globalization, it is necessary to change older, more traditional methods of language instruction. It is important to solidify teaching of the native language, empower learners to have more self-confidence through learning English, teach the language as a foreign, rather than second language, and make changes in the curriculum in response to the needs of the learner and society. Shifts of emphasis have to be made in the teaching of language skills, specifically those within reading and writing. (Contains 65 references.) (SM) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Adult Education; Distance Education; Educational Attitudes; Educational Development; Foreign Countries; Information Technology

Abstract:
Distance education is not highly popular in Arab countries although it can expand educational opportunities for disadvantaged groups. Traditional philosophies of education and political issues of licensure, accreditation, and language may hinder its development. The Arab League Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization is undertaking promotion of distance education in Arab nations. (Contains 24 references.) (SK) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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