(PDF) Overall Review of Education System in Qatar

This study critically analyses the recent education reform efforts in Qatar, and the changes taking place in various levels of education, as well as their preliminary effects on the human capital development for Qatar. Data were collected through content analyses of the reports on the standardized international test results including TIMSS and PISA, findings of research studies, as well as the outputs of local assessments and the national reports on education. The analyses revealed that since the launch of the new education reform in 2002, Qatar focused on education as the key to its future progress, and realized that success depends on the ability to compete in a global knowledge economy, rather than relying on gas and oil reserves. To date, significant changes have occurred in the educational landscape from many aspects. However, despite of the substantial investments made, no high quality indicator was gathered in education and there existed many concerns about the challenges and disadvantages of the new reform, having direct or indirect effect on many stakeholders in education including students, parents, teachers, administrators, and the community as a whole. After one and half decade of reform, the results indicate that Qatar is still far from meeting its national curriculum standards and has a long way to go for providing quality education, especially in mathematics and science education. The findings provide an overall review of the quality of education system in Qatar and devise progressive policy recommendations for upcoming years.

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REPORTS ON THE STANDARDIZED INTERNATIONAL TESTS ......... 12 3.1.1. TIMSS Results .......................................................................... 13 3.1.2. PISA Results ............................................................................. 15 3.2. REPORTS ON RESEARCH OUTCOMES............................................. 18 3.2.1. Research Funding .................................................................... 18 3.2.2. Results of Research Studies .................................................... 23 3.3. REPORTS ON THE LOCAL EXAMINATIONS..................................... 31 3.4. NATIONAL REPORTS ON EDUCATION ............................................ 34 4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................... 39 REFERENCES..................................................................................................... 46 ii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. International universities at Education City Campus ................ 9 Table 2. QNRF fund amounts per program (2007-2013) ..................... 20 Table 3. NPRP fund amounts and awarded projects (2007-2015) ........ 22 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Structure of Education System after EFNE (2002-2015)….…..….5 Figure 2. New organizational structure of the MoE-HE……………….……6 Figure 3. Student enrolment trends at QU (1998-2014)………………….…7 Figure 4. TIMSS 2007-2011Mathematics and Science scores ……………14 Figure 5. PISA 2006, 2009, 2012 results ………………………………….18 Figure 6. Awarded NPRP projects per field (2007-2013) …………..….....21 Figure 7.Enrolment trends in science disciplines at QU (1998-2011)…......26 Figure 8. QU graduates compared to Finland, Korea, Norway, and UK…..27 Figure 9. Results of the QCEA test in 2006……………………..…………32 Figure 10. Results of QCEA test in 2011………………………...………..33 Figure 11. Human Development Index of Qatar (2000-2013)………….....37 iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ABP: Academic Bridge Program ACRPS: Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies DI: Doha Institute for Graduate Studies EC: Education City EFNE: Education for a New Era GDP: Gross Domestic Product GNI: Gross National Income GSDP: General Secretariat for Development Planning GSRA: Graduate Student Research Award HBKU: Hamad bin Khalifa University HDR: Human Development Reports HEI: Higher Education Institute JSREP: Junior Scientists Research Experience Program MDPS: Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics MENA: Middle East and North Africa MoE: Ministry of Education MoE-HE: Ministry of Education and Higher Education MSSCP: Middle School Science Challenge Program NPRP: National Priorities Research Program OECD: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development PDRA: Postdoctoral Research Award PISA: Programme for International Student Assessment v QCC: Qatar Community College QCEA: Qatar Comprehensive Educational Assessment QF R&D: Qatar Foundation Research and Development QF: Qatar Foundation QFIS: Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies QNPSTSL: Qatar National Professional Standards for School Teachers and Leaders QNRF: Qatar National Research Fund QNRS: Qatar National Research Strategy QNV: Qatar National Vision QU: Qatar University SEC: Supreme Education Council SSREP: Secondary School Research Experience Program STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics TFQ: Teach for Qatar TIMSS: Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study UREP: Undergraduate Research Experience Program vi ABSTRACT This study critically analyses the recent education reform efforts in Qatar, and the changes taking place in various levels of education, as well as their preliminary effects on the human capital development for Qatar. Data were collected through content analyses of the reports on the standardized international test results including TIMSS and PISA, findings of research studies, as well as the outputs of local assessments and the national reports on education. The analyses revealed that since the launch of the new education reform in 2002, Qatar focused on education as the key to its future progress, and realized that success depends on the ability to compete in a global knowledge economy, rather than relying on gas and oil reserves. To date, significant changes have occurred in the educational landscape from many aspects. However, despite of the substantial investments made, no high quality indicator was gathered in education and there existed many concerns about the challenges and disadvantages of the new reform, having direct or indirect effect on many stakeholders in education including students, parents, teachers, administrators, and the community as a whole. After one and half decade of reform, the results indicate that Qatar is still far from meeting its national curriculum standards and has a long way to go for providing quality education, especially in mathematics and science education. The findings provide an overall review of the quality of education system in Qatar and devise progressive policy recommendations for upcoming years. vii CHAPTERS 1. RECENT HISTORY OF EDUCATION SYSTEM IN QATAR Human and social capital, through a high quality and purposeful education system, are the most fundamental pillars of sustainable development and subsequent economic, social and political progress for the future of every society. Many of the recent international and national vision documents underline the importance of moving towards a knowledge-based economy, and identify high quality education as its main driver for fostering “a capable and motivated workforce” (General Secretariat for Development Planning [GSDP], 2011, p.104), and “productive, engaged, and capable citizens, contributing fully to their families and societies” (UNICEF, 2013, p.1). As is the case with Qatar, substantial investments have been made in the human capital to raise the competency of people and to improve the quality of life. However, despite the progressive development trends achieved in economy, no high quality indicators were gathered in education “in terms of academic achievement, college attendance, and success in the labor market” (Rand-Qatar Policy Institute, 2007, p.1). In 2001, a detailed examination of the K-12 education showed that the education system was rigid and unchallenging, heavily depending on “rote memorization, leaving many students bored and providing little opportunity for student-teacher interaction” (Rand-Qatar Policy Institute, 2007, p.1). 1 Particularly, the system was controlled by a top-down management, having deficiencies in communication and a shared educational vision (National Opinion Research Center). Regarding the investment, teachers were receiving very low payments and getting insufficient professional development. Also, schools were in poor condition and classrooms were overcrowded (Brewer, Augustine, Zellman, Ryan, Goldman, Stasz, and Constant, 2007). In 2002, after recognizing the shortages inthe education system, Qatar enacted a new reform movement, Education for a New Era (EFNE), giving primary emphasis on “students centered practice and pedagogy” (Zellman, Salem, Ryan, Gonzalez, Karam, Orr, Charles, Al-Thani, and Al-Obaidli, 2009, p.75), with the principle of “no matter what else was to occur, the basic educational elements of a standards-based system had to be put in place” (Rand-Qatar Policy Institute, 2007, p.2). To do this, new curriculum standards were set from grade one to twelve, especially in Mathematics, Science, English, and Arabic. The new act put demand on both students and teachers to take on different roles than what they were used to do before. Essentially, students were expected to be active in the learning process and given responsibility for their own learning (Brewer et al., 2007). In this sense, teachers were expected to be a guide and a facilitator, rather than being the knowledge transmitter. They were given the flexibility to develop their own instructional designs and use appropriate instructional tools for proving learning environments where students have the chance to “engage in purposeful and intellectually challenging learning experiences” that 2 promote inquiry, discovery and critical thinking (Supreme Education Council, 2007, p.25). Two things critical to the reform are the establishment of the new school model and the foundation of the new organizational structure. Mainly, the new school model is based on the idea of decentralizing education and transforming public schools into government funded but independently operating schools, called ‘independent schools’ (Ellili-Cherif and Romanowski, 2013). The independent schools are governed around four main principles (Rand-Qatar Policy Institute, 2007, p.2): 1) Autonomy: “operate autonomously, subject to the conditions specified in a time-limited contract”, (2) Accountability: “accountable to the government through regular audits and reporting mechanisms, as well as student assessments, parental feedback, and other measures”, (3) Variety: “free to specify its educational philosophy and operational plan” (4) Choice: allow parents “to select the school that best fits their child’s needs”. The first group of independent schools (cohort 1) was opened in 2004, consisting of 12 schools segregated by gender and having an owner or operator directed by a Qatari principal. From 2004 until 2011, new cohorts were launched on an annual basis. The number of independent schools reached 102 in 2010 (SEC, 2010), and exceeded180 by the end of 2011 (Said and Friesen, 2013). Since then, all government funded schools get an independent status, and the medium of instruction has shifted from English 3 to bilingual (English and Arabic) for mathematics and science disciplines (Romanowski, Ellili Cherif, Al Ammari, and Al Attiyah, 2013). Regarding the organizational structure, radical changes took place in the management of the national education (see Figure 1). In Qatar, formal schooling officially began in 1956 and traditionally the Ministry of Education (MoE) was responsible for all aspects of education. In 2002, after the launch of EFNE, the Supreme Education Council (SEC) was established, and took the responsibility of setting Qatari education policy and directing the implementation of the new reform movement (International Bureau of Education, 2011). SEC set up three new institutes; Education Institute, Evaluation Institute, and Higher Education Institute. Particularly, Education Institute was given the role of controlling and supporting independent schools, developing national curriculum standards, and providing professional development programs to teachers and administrators (Rand-Qatar Policy Institute, 2007). Next, Evaluation Institute was given the responsibility of monitoring the performance of schools, developing national assessments, preparing annual reports, and operating the national education data system (Zellman et al., 2009). Lastly, Higher Education Institute (HEI) was in charge with the development of higher, technical, and vocational education, guiding students on their career choices, and offering academic scholarship programs in fields that directly benefit the society and the economy (International Bureau of Education, 2011). Within this new structural model, the MoE went under the umbrella of the SEC, being mainly responsible for the ministry schools. 4 Figure 1. Structure of Education System after EFNE (2002-2015) The education system in Qatar consists of five levels as pre-school, primary (grades 1-6), preparatory (grades 7-9), secondary (grades 10-12), and higher education. The K-12 education covers the first four levels, and only six years of primary schooling followed by three years at the preparatory stage are compulsory (GSDP, 2009). Until 2016, independent schools were controlled by SEC, and private schools by MoE (see Figure 1). In the beginning of 2016, the government has done major structural changes in the ministries. According to Emiri decision No. 9 of 2016, SEC was abolished, and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoE-HE) became responsible for all aspects of education in Qatar (Doha News, 2016). Figure 2 illustrates the new organizational structure of the MoE-HE, with offices being replaced by departments (Doha News, 2016). Following the new organizational restructuring, it is expected that “the term ‘Independent school’ will be cancelled and facilities may remain as boys and girls schools” (The Peninsula, 2016). 5 Figure 2. New organizational structure of the MoE-HE 6 2. HIGHER EDUCATION IN QATAR Qatar’s first university, Qatar University (QU), was founded in 1973. As the only government university and one of the leading universities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, it started education in 1977 with four colleges; 1) Colleges of Education, 2) Humanities & Social Sciences, 3) Sciences, and 4) Sharia, Law & Islamic Studies (Qatar University, 2016).Then, the College of Engineering (in 1980), College of Business and Economics (in 1985), College of Pharmacy (in 2008), and the College of Medicine (in 2014) were established, today offering specializations at over 70 undergraduate and 45 graduate programs, in Arabic or English (Qatar University, 2015). Figure 3. Student enrolment trends at QU (1998-2014) Source: Baker (2016) 7 Figure 3 summarizes the undergraduate student enrolment trends between 1998-2014 academic years, showing an evident rise in student body starting from 2011. As of 2015, QU has an alumni body of over 30,000 graduates, and a student body of over 14,000 undergraduates, mostly enrolled in Arts & Sciences (33%), Business & Economics (22%), and Engineering (20%) programs (Baker, 2016). In 1995, Qatar, with the goal of becoming a “leading center for research and development excellence and innovation” (QNRS, 2012, p.1), established Qatar Foundation (QF) with a fund of 2 billion US$, to support education, science and community development (GSDP, 2009). Mainly, the strategic goal of QF is to support Qatar on its journey from a carbon economy to a knowledge based economy, and become “a major force in scientific discovery and technology discovery and in the translation of knowledge into innovative applications” (Zacharia, 2014, p.12). To do this, QF has been establishing partnerships and networks with international research centers and institutions, launching branch campuses of international universities at Qatar so that young Qataris can develop the necessary skills required for building their own workforce. Table 1 summarizes the international universities established by QF in the chronicle order with the details of the programs offered. 8 Table 1. International universities at Education City Campus Universities Virginia Commonwealth University Weill Cornell Medical College Texas A&M University Carnegie Mellon University Georgetown University Northwestern University HEC Paris University College London Est. Programs Offered Date 1998 art and design 2002 pre-medical and medical programs 2003 chemical, electrical, petroleum, mechanical engineering, and science 2004 computer science, business, and information systems programs 2005 international affairs programs, school of foreign service 2008 journalism and communications programs 2011 business programs 2011 museum studies, conservation, and archaeology programs Other than these international universities, QF launched an emerging graduate level research university, called Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU), in 2013, as the second public university in the country. HBKU offers postgraduate studies in the fields of science, engineering, technology, humanities, social sciences, public health, and business, both at M.Sc. and Ph.D. levels with few undergraduate programs. In addition, after the establishment of HBKU, the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS), opened in 2007, went under the umbrella of HBKU, with its contemporary fiqh, public policy in Islam, and Islamic finance programs. Afterward, in 2015, a third government university, the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (DI) was established, as a graduate level research university, by the Arab 9 Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS). Unlike HBKU, the DI focuses on postgraduate studies specifically in the fields of social sciences, humanities, public administration and development economics. In addition, there are three international universities having branch campuses not located at Education City. These are Stenden University, College of the North Atlantic, and University of Calgary. Primarily, Stenden University was established in 2000, offering bachelor and master programs at hospitality and tourism education, specifically in international business and management, tourism management, and international hotel management. Next, College of the North Atlantic is a technical university opened in 2002, offering a Canadian curriculum in the fields of business, engineering technology, health, information technology, language, banking and financial studies. Lastly, University of Calgary, established in 2007, offers bachelor and master programs primarily in nursing education. Lastly, Qatar Community College (QCC), established in 2010, provides a range of academic and technical programs in Arts, Science, and Applied Sciences. It works in partnership with the community in order to meet the evolving needs of the Qatari nation, and prepare them for joining the labor market or to further continue their university studies. 10 3. ANALYZING THE EDUCATION SYSTEM IN QATAR Realizing that a nation’s greatest natural resource is its people, Qatar now regards education as the national priority, and the Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030 rests on the fundamental goal of building a knowledge-based economy (GSDP, 2011), where education is the key for developing a sustainable society and unlocking human potential (Qatar National Research Strategy, 2012). Until now, a substantial amount of time, energy, and resources has been put on education, to build “a modern world-class educational system that provides students with a first-rate education, comparable to that offered anywhere in the world” (GSDP, 2008, p.13).Although the implementation of the education reform has significantly changed the educational landscape from many aspects, the change was highly slow (Romanowski and Nasser, 2012). There existed many concerns about the challenges and disadvantages of the new reform (Ellili-Cherif and Romanowski, 2013), having direct or indirect effect on many stakeholders in education including students, parents, teachers, administrators, and the community as a whole. In this study, the quality of the education system in Qatar is examined in comparison to national and international outcomes, in view of the reports on the standardized international tests including TIMSS and PISA, the findings of the previous research studies, as well as the information gathered from the local examinations and the national reports on education. 11 3.1. Reports on the Standardized International Tests Nowadays students’ performance outcomes in standardized international tests are used as important predictors for measuring the quality of education systems and the impact of educational reforms. In general, these tests measure students’ strengths and weaknesses at specific fields, and provide comparative information to participating countries regarding the need for change in the “quality, equity and efficiency” in their school systems (OECD, 2014, p.3). In particular, the test results are used as a baseline from which countries can track their progress by comparing their students’ performance over time, and assess the impact of their policy decisions. In addition, they can learn from strategies and practices applied in other countries, especially the best performing ones, to get idea about how to lift up their students’ performance in the coming years. In this aspect, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) are two widely used international assessments in the field of K-12 education. Since 1995, TIMSS has been administered every four years. Mainly, it assesses fourth and eighth grade students’ cognitive skills in mathematics (number, geometry, algebra, and data handling) and science domains (life science, physical science and earth science) at knowing, applying and reasoning levels (Provasnik, Kastberg, Ferraro, Lemanski, Roey, and Jenkins, 2012). Next, since 2000, PISA has been conducted every three years, measuring 15-year-old students’ reading, mathematics, and science literacy skills. Each time, it assesses one of the three subject areas in depth, and provides participating countries “an ongoing source of achievement 12 data” for the corresponding disciplines (Baldi, Jin, Skemer, Green, and Herget, 2007, p.1). The essence of top scale PISA test items rest upon assessing higher order skills such as self-inquiry, critical reading, reviewing, thinking and reasoning, analysis and synthesis rather than basic information and/or knowledge acquisition. Specifically, the items require students to interpret complex and unfamiliar situations, and impose explanations to real world problems (OECD, 2010).Until now, Qatar participated at TIMSS in 2007, 2011, 2015, and PISA in 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2015. This section summarizes these test results, except for TIMSS 2015 and PISA 2015 as their outcomes will be announced in December 2016. 3.1.1. TIMSS Results Qatar participated at TIMSS the first time in 2007 when 36 countries participated in the 4th grade test, and 48 participated in the 8th grade test. In both grades, Qatar ranked at the low levels both in mathematics and science (see Figure 4). Particularly, in mathematics, Qatar got an average score of 296 (the second last) in 4th grade test, and an average score of 307 (the last) in 8th grade test, where the TIMSS scale average was 500. Similarly, in science, Qatar had an average score of 294 (the second last) in 4th grade test, and an average score of 319 (the second last) in 8th grade test (Gonzales, Williams, Jocelyn, Roey, Kastberg, and Brenwald, 2008).On the other hand, East Asian countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, and Japan were among the best performing countries both in mathematics and science tests. 13 d/D^^ ϮϬϬϳĂŶĚ ϮϬϭϭͲ DĂƚŚ ^ĐŽƌĞƐ ĨŽƌϰƚŚ ĂŶĚ ϴƚŚ 'ƌĂĚĞƐ ϲϱϬ ϰƚŚ 'ƌͲ ϮϬϬϳ ϰƚŚ 'ƌͲ ϮϬϭϭ ϴƚŚ 'ƌͲ ϮϬϬϳ ϴƚŚ 'ƌͲ ϮϬϭϭ ϲϬϬ ϱϱϬ ǀĞƌĂŐĞ ϱϬϬ ϰϱϬ ϰϬϬ ϯϱϬ ϯϬϬ ϮϱϬ ϮϬϬ ϭϱϬ d/D^^ ϮϬϬϳĂŶĚ ϮϬϭϭͲ ^ĐŝĞŶĐĞ^ĐŽƌĞƐ ĨŽƌϰƚŚ ĂŶĚ ϴƚŚ 'ƌĂĚĞƐ ϰƚŚ 'ƌͲ ϮϬϬϳ ϰƚŚ 'ƌͲ ϮϬϭϭ ϴƚŚ 'ƌͲ ϮϬϬϳ ϴƚŚ 'ƌͲ ϮϬϭϭ ϲϱϬ ϲϬϬ ϱϱϬ ǀĞƌĂŐĞ ϱϬϬ ϰϱϬ ϰϬϬ ϯϱϬ ϯϬϬ ϮϱϬ ϮϬϬ ϭϱϬ Figure 4. TIMSS 2007-2011Mathematics and Science scores 14 In 2011, 52 countries participated in the 4th grade test, and 45 participated in the 8thgrade test. Compared to 2007 results, Qatar could slightly improve its average scores in TIMSS 2011 (see Figure 4). However, it still ranked significantly below the center point in mathematics and science for both grade levels (Mullis, Martin, Foy and Arora, 2012). Specifically, in mathematics, Qatar reached an average score of 413 (the last seven) in the 4th grade test, and 410 (the last ten) in the 8th grade test. Likewise, in science, Qatar had an average score of 394 (the last six) in the 4th grade test, and 419 (the last six) in the 8th grade test. Similar to TIMSS 2007, East Asian countries such as Korea, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, and Japan were in the top ranks for both mathematics and science tests. 3.1.2. PISA Results Qatar participated at PISA the first time in 2006, with around 7500students from 135 schools, including Private Arabic, Independent, community and International schools (SEC, 2010a). PISA 2006 focused on science literacy as the subject area assessed in depth. Among 57 participating countries, Qatar ranked as the last second country (see Figure 5) in combined science literacy scale with a mean score of 349, specifically in identifying scientific issues (352), explaining phenomena scientifically (356), and using scientific evidence (324), where the OECD average was 500 (Baldi et al., 2007). According to the scale descriptions, these mean scores were falling at the lowest level of proficiency (Level 1), indicating that “students have such a limited scientific knowledge that it can only be 15 applied to a few familiar situations” (p.7). In PISA 2006, the top performing countries were Finland (with a mean score of 563), Hong Kong-China (542), Canada (534), and Chinese Taipei (532). In 2009, PISA measured students’ reading literacy skills, focusing on how they access and retrieve, integrate and interpret, reflect and evaluate, along with comprehending continuous and non-continuous texts. Among 68 countries, Qatar participated with around 9,000 students from 153 schools (SEC, 2011b), and ranked as the last fifth (see Figure 5), having a mean reading score of 372 (OECD, 2010). The scale descriptions indicated that students in Qatar “do not display even the very limited range of reading skills needed for Level 1a tasks” such as “recognizing a main idea in a text about a familiar topic, and recognizing the connection between information in such a text and their everyday experience” (OECD, 2010, p.52). Also, students at Qatar scored at the bottom levels regarding mathematics (mean=368) and science (mean=379) scales. On the other hand, similar to PISA 2006, Shanghai-China (with a mean score of 556), Korea (539), Finland (536), and Hong Kong-China (533) were among the top performing countries on the reading skills as well as mathematics and science fields. In 2012, PISA focused on mathematical reasoning, problem solving, as well as reading and science skills. Among 65 countries, Qatar ranked as the last third country at mathematics, reading, and science (see Figure 5), receiving a relatively low mean mathematics score of 376 (OECD average=494), reading score of 388 (OECD average=496) and science score of 384 (OECD average=501). The results revealed that 70% of students at Qatar underperformed in mathematics, ranking near the bottom level of 16 mathematics success (OECD, 2014). Then again, the top performing countries were Shanghai-China (with a mean score of 613), Singapore (574), Hong Kong-China (561), Chinese Taipei (560), and Korea (554). In brief, both the TIMSS and PISA results indicate the need for improving most aspects of K-12 education in Qatar, especially regarding mathematics and science learning. In its Education and Training Sector Strategy, SEC (2011c) also points out that “Qatar still faces challenges affecting both supply and demand for education and training”, and one of these critical challenges include tackling “the under-achievement of Qatari students” at all levels (p.8), especially in mathematics and science. Specifically, research results underline “inefficiency in acquiring the language, inefficiency in time devoted to homework, the meager intended curriculum” (Bouhlila, 2011, p. 328), the lack of expert thinking and entrepreneurial skills, as well as family background, the percentage of students skipping class, and students’ attitudes towards mathematics and science, to be the plausible causes of the low performance of students at Qatar in the standardized international tests (Huang and Sebastian, 2015). Here, in addition to issues in content, curriculum and delivery of the courses, there may be compounding effects of low English level of students as math and science were delivered in English before 2011, probably by non-native English speaking teachers. In a recent report, OECD (2014) suggests that Qatar should improve educational performance by taking universal policies such as “changing curricula or instructional systems and/or improving the quality of the teaching staff, e.g. by requiring more qualifications to earn a teaching license, providing incentives for high17 achieving students to enter the profession, increasing salaries to make the profession more attractive” (p.17). Figure 5. PISA 2006, 2009, 2012 results 3.2. Reports on Research Outcomes 3.2.1. Research Funding The Qatar National Vision 2030 rests on the fundamental goal of building a knowledge-based economy (GSDP, 2011), and Qatar regards research as a means to enhance education and the training of its workforce, to provide a strong foundation for a broader economic base and sustainable growth (Stasz, Eide, Martorell, and Rand-Qatar Policy Institute, 2007). In 18 this sense, Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), a member of Qatar Foundation Research and Development (QF R&D) was established in 2006. During the few years, QNRF has set a growing scientific research community in Qatar, and launched several funding programs, some of which include the National Priorities Research Program (NPRP), the Postdoctoral Research Award (PDRA), the Graduate Student Research Award (GSRA), the Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP), and the Junior Scientists Research Experience Program (JSREP). In order to foster a research culture in Qatar, researchers and scientists at all levels have been supported starting from middle/preparatory school up to the national priorities level. Recently, QNRF is working closely with the MoE-HE for K-12 programs for the Secondary School Research Experience Program (SSREP) and Middle School Science Challenge Program (MSSCP). These programs target school students in Qatar to conduct research in their own school settings by focusing on enquiry-based and project-based learning as well as learning by doing approaches. Table 2 summarizes the amount of fund assigned to each QNRF program between 2007-2013 years (Al-Taie, 2013, p.12), where more than $648million budget was invested on the NPRP, UREP, JSREP and SSREP research programs. It is evident that most of the fund was used for the NPRP projects. Particularly, the first six cycles of NPRP received over $600 million fund (92% of the total fund) for more than 700 research projects (48% of the total awarded projects). In general, the funded research projects fall in one of the four pillars of the Qatar National Research Strategy, as 1) Energy and Environment, 19 2) Computer Sciences and Information and Communications Technology (ICT), 3) Health and Life Sciences, and 4) Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities. Table 2. QNRF fund amounts per program (2007-2013) Programs #Cycles Submitted Proposals Awarded Projects UREP NPRP NPRP-EP JSREP SSREP Total 13 6 2 4 2 1528 3325 14 63 358 5274 645 704 4 21 85 1459 Amount of Funding (US$M) 21 607 15.26 5.1 0.25 648.61 Figure 6 illustrates the total number of proposals submitted and awarded for the first six cycle of NPRP regarding the research fields. The figure shows that each year an average of 21% of projects was awarded in the NPRP. From a total of 708 projects, most of the awards were assigned to engineering (42%, N=292), medical sciences (22%, N=158) or natural sciences (21%, N=149), where the awarded projects in social sciences and humanities was around 13% (N=94). 20 Figure 6. Awarded NPRP projects per field (2007-2013) Source: Al-Taie (2013) In 2014, QNRF awarded a total of 120 projects for the eight cycle of the NPRP, from which 38% fall under energy and environment, 27% health and life sciences, 20% social sciences, arts and humanities, and 15% computer science and ICT (Qatar Foundation, 2015). Similarly, in 2015, a total of 89 projects were awarded for the ninth cycle of the NPRP, most of which covered the areas of engineering, water security, cyber security, road safety, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and infectious diseases (Qatar Foundation, 2016). Within this framework, research on education goes under the ‘Social Sciences’ pillar, with the specialty of ‘Educational Sciences’. Table 3 summarizes the number of projects awarded at the NPRP per cycle, as well 21 as the number of projects in the Educational Sciences and their status. It is prepared according to the statistics gathered from the QNRF’s award search system. According to the statistics, the percentage of projects awarded in educational sciences range between 4.4 (first cycle) to 1.1 (ninth cycle) per year, with an average percentage of 2.7. Here, it is critical to highlight the fact that QNRF assigns most of its research budget to the NPRP projects. However, from a total number of 1060 projects, only 29 projects (2.7%) fall under the educational sciences field. Among these projects, 14 were completed, 1 was terminated, 1 was withdrawn, 1 is pending, and the rest are still active. Table 3. NPRP fund amounts and awarded projects (2007-2015) Year NPRP Cycle # Projects Awarded 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 45 93 125 145 151 #Educational Science Projects Awarded 2 (4.4%) 2 (2.1%) 3 (2.4%) 5 (3.4%) 3 (1.9%) 2012 2013 2014 2015 Total 6th 7th 8th 9th 135 157 120 89 1060 3 (2.2%) 5 (3.1%) 5 (4.1%) 1 (1.1%) 29 (2.7%) 22 Status of the Educational Science Projects all completed all completed all completed all completed 2 completed/ 1 withdrawn 2 active/1 terminated all active 4 active/ 1 pending active 3.2.2. Results of Research Studies In this section, a detailed review of the QNRF funded research studies and their results are summarized, to provide an overall understanding of the scholarly analyzes regarding the characteristics of the education system in Qatar, how the new reform has been implemented at K-12 level, and its effects on the performance of students, parents, teachers, and principles as well as on the tertiary education. In a recent study, Ikhlef and Knight (2013) examined how students and teachers in Qatar perceived the implementation of the student centered practices at elementary mathematics and science classrooms. Researchers collected data from 17 independent schools through systematic classroom observations, and teacher/student surveys. The results revealed that in interviews although students and teachers indicated positive views about the implementation of student centered approaches, the actual class observations showed that standards were not successfully implemented especially concerning the key elements of student centered instruction such as real world applications, active student participation, student autonomy, and differentiation in strategies and curriculum. Researchers pointed to a number issue that may impacted the actualization of student centered approaches, including linguistic difficulties, problems faced in classroom management, and the lack of qualified teachers. In addition, in a roundtable discussion, Ikhlef and Al-Sai, proposed the need for doing further case studies in mathematics and science classrooms, making detailed observations about the accomplishment of the standards, and providing teachers professional training that include “intensive practice and coaching with feedback” (p.2). 23 In another recent study, Alfadala (2014) examined how school principals and teachers perceived and practiced the new educational reform in Qatar. She collected qualitative data from four independent schools and reported four main challenges; 1) due to the cultural gender-based norms and traditional Islamic thought; females had more workload than their male counterparts, as they pursue further responsibilities at home in addition to school, 2) some female principals and teachers feel highly stressed while carrying out their roles in public and professional life, 3) problems are faced in collegial relationships and collaboration among and between school staff, and 4) there is a lack of clarity in understanding processes and procedures of implementing the new educational policies. In this sense, Alfadala (2014) suggests reducing the workload of the principals and teachers, and encouraging collaboration between and within different departments. In a similar study, Ellili-Cherif and Romanowski (2013) examined the effects of the new education reform on principals, teachers, and parents, how they perceived the advantages and disadvantages of the reform, and the challenges faced in the implementation. The researchers collected data from independent schools through open-ended questionnaires. In general, the results pointed to the positive effects of the education reform on improving instruction, principals’ leadership style, and learners’ attitude to education. Particularly, principals claimed that at this time they are able to adapt “their leadership style to various situations that arise”; teachers reported that they can use “innovative teaching strategies and integrating technology in their teaching”; and parents stated that “their children are more serious about education and their English skills are improving” (p.14). However, the three 24 groups also indicated difficulties regarding the amount of extra work and effort, the continuous and sudden reform changes, and the threats to the local culture and language. Specially, the parents stated their concerns about the threats they perceived toward the Arabic language, culture, and religion, feeling scared that their family is losing their Arabic identity. In another study, Romanowski et al. (2013) added the results gathered from focus group and individual interviews conducted with the same group of principals, teachers, and parents. They reported the lack of parental involvement, student motivation, and teacher qualifications, as well as the difficultly of the curricula as negative aspects of the reform in addition to the ones stated above. The researchers suggested that Qatar needs to take into account “the political, economic, social, and cultural factors” and develop a local reform model moving “away from relying on expertise and models designed by and for Western countries” (p.131). It is now more than one and half decade that Qatar started implementing the new education reform, and has made heavy investments for improving the education system. However, the results of research studies, especially regarding mathematics and science education, highlight the fact that there is a significant decline in students’ interest and engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines over these past fifteen years (Summers, 2012). Recently, Said and Friesen (2013) examined Qatari students’ attitudes and interest in science and mathematics at elementary, preparatory, and secondary schools. They analyzed national documents and reports, and collected data from teachers and students through surveys and interviews. The results showed 25 that at Qatar University annually less than 12% of students were enrolled in the science disciplines, where most of the others prefer humanities, business and administration fields (Said and Friesen, 2013). Figure 7 clearly demonstrates the sharp decline in students’ interest to science programs, including biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics, from 1998 to 2011 at the QU. The researchers attribute this decline to a combination of interrelated factors, including the nature and length of the curriculum, the lack of qualified teachers, application of traditional teaching and assessment methods, low level of practical work, lack of critical thinking and inquiry based activities, as well as the insufficiency in students’ language levels. Figure 7.Enrolment trends in science disciplines at QU (1998-2011) Source: Said and Friesen (2013) 26 In addition, Figure 8 illustrates the percentages of QU graduates with non-knowledge based economy specializations in comparison to the graduates of the world’s top performing countries such as Finland, Korea, Norway, and United Kingdom. It is evident that at Qatar University, the percentages of graduates at Social Sciences and non-knowledge economy fields are more than the ones at the top performing countries, whereas it is the opposite for the Sciences, Engineering, and Health fields. Figure 8. QU graduates compared to Finland, Korea, Norway, and UK Source: Economic and Social Council (2014) In another study, Al-Qahtani, Aqeel, Barnieh, Gouba, Hjeij, Salem, Zourob, Ahmed, Salama, and Kerr (2014) investigated specific skills required for high school students to succeed in an engineering education. Initial to the study, the researchers realized that when Qatari students choose 27 to enroll in STEM disciplines, they have difficult time in following the basic requirements of the fundamental courses, especially the ones with scientific background. With this initial idea, the researchers decided to examine the key skills students need to possess for succeeding in engineering activities. In particular, they examined how students at Qatari high schools were prepared for the STEM disciplines. They collected data from both students and teachers, through a number of surveys and classroom observations. Briefly, the findings revealed that students were not well prepared for university level engineering courses; they lacked the skills of team work, design, and technology usage, which are among the main engineering principles. The researchers suggested policy makers to incorporate active learning experiences in high school curriculum, such as programming courses, hands-on experiments, and learning experiences, so that students can build problems solving and analytical thinking skills. In a related study, Loutfy, et al (2015) examined the impact of active learning engineering experiences incorporated into Qatari secondary school curricula. For thepurpose of fostering analytical thinking and problem solving skills, the researchers prepared a set of design based learning activities for Qatari secondary school students. The design projects were developed “around the real-life scenario of problems faced by residents at a remote island devastated by a recent tsunami” (p.3). Students were asked to solve the problems in teams and create their own solutions. At the end of the study, both students and teachers were asked to provide their feedbacks about the activities. The results indicated that both students and teachers displayed a positive attitude towards the design-based activities. In 28 particular, “85% of the students favored design-based learning over regular lecturing”, and 77% of the students stated “they were considering a career in engineering after participating in this activity” (p.6). In addition, most of the teachers showed interest toward application of such activities, and 85% stated their willingness to incorporate in their science lessons so that students can gain a better understanding of engineering. As a final point, it is important to highlight that most of the prior research (Ikhlef and Knight, 2013; Romanowski et al., 2013; Said and Friesen, 2013) confirm the lack of teacher qualification as a critical factor influencing the proper implementation of the reforms in Qatar. Research shows that “the majority of teachers in independent schools are expatriates, mostly from other Arab countries” (Ellili-Cherif and Romanowski, 2013, p.4), such as Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Jordan, Sudan, and Palestine, and only 25% are Qatari citizens. A current report by the SEC (2011b) also points out that more than 30% of the teachers in Qatar do not have a formal qualification in teaching. In 2007, the SEC announced a list of professional standards, the Qatar National Professional Standards for School Teachers and Leaders (QNPSTSL), to provide common reference points for educators and administrators to develop the skills and experiences necessary to act in accordance with the requirements of the education reform. The list contains 12 standards for teachers (SEC, 2007, p.10-11): 1) Structure innovative and flexible learning experiences, 2) Use teaching strategies and resources to engage students in effective learning, 29 3) Foster language, literacy and numeracy development, 4) Create safe, supportive and challenging learning environments, 5) Construct learning experiences that connect with the world beyond school, 6) Apply ICT in managing student learning, 7) Assess and report on student learning, 8) Apply knowledge of students and how they learn to support student learning and development, 9) Apply teaching/subject area knowledge to support student learning, 10) Work as a member of professional teams, 11) Build partnerships with families and the community, and 12) Reflect on, evaluate and improve professional practice. Since then, teachers are expected to utilize the standards in their classroom and shape their lessons accordingly. At present, these standards are also used as the foundation for obtaining a teaching license in independent schools in Qatar. Particularly, teachers are expected to prepare a portfolio with evidence of educational practices linked to the achievement of each professional standard, explaining how and why the evidences meet the standards. Then, they submit the electronic portfolio to their schools’ Attestation Committee, and obtain a teaching license if they could successfully attain the skills to the level required by the QNPST (British Council, 2013). Recently, Romanowski and Amatullah (2014) examined how teachers in independent schools perceived the effectiveness and use of professional standards. The results of open ended questionnaires gathered from around 30 330 teachers revealed that there are serious concerns about the effectiveness of the professional standards in providing the quality intended. This is mostly because teachers perceived the standards as “too complicated” and “hard to understand” (p.111). Most of the teachers stated that the standards create pressure on teachers, and documentation takes them away from centering on students. Specially, more than 80% of teachers argued that developing portfolio, for getting the teaching licensure, does not reflect their teaching ability or the actual classroom application of standards. Yet, it takes a long time and effort, and hampers their creativity. The researchers propose that such drawbacks occur because “the beliefs, values, ideas and knowledge embedded in the professional standards” were taken from the Western approaches, without regarding the appropriateness to the local educational context. Hence, the policy makers need to critically examine the standards and adapt them to “make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose to the Qatari context” (p.112). 3.3. Reports on the Local Examinations Since 2005, the Evaluation Institute under the SEC has been designing and implementing the Qatar Comprehensive Educational Assessment (QCEA) to students in grades 4 to 11. Mainly, the QCEA consists of “a combination of multiple-choice and short-answer questions that range from easy to challenging” (Jaafar, 2011, p.600). It measures students’ proficiency in English, Arabic, mathematics, and science disciplines. In particular, students’ scores in each content area are converted into five performance levels attached to 3 categories as “below the 31 standards” (levels 1 to 3), “approaches the standards” (level 4), and “meet the standards” (level 5). The results are used a means to monitor student, classroom, school, and the state performance relative to the curriculum standards set by the SEC. 'ƌĂĚĞϰ ƌĂďŝĐ ŶŐůŝƐŚ ^ĐŝĞŶĐĞ DĂƚŚĞŵĂƚŝĐƐ 'ƌĂĚĞϱ 'ƌĂĚĞϲ 'ƌĂĚĞϳ 'ƌĂĚĞϴ 'ƌĂĚĞϵ 'ƌĂĚĞϭϬ 'ƌĂĚĞϭϭ Figure 9. Results of the QCEA test in 2006 Source: SEC (2006) In 2006, QCEA was administered to approximately 70,000 students from grade 4 to 11. Figure 9 illustrates students’ overall performance results in the four content areas at the QCEA test for 2006. In general, the results show that a large portion of students in Qatar were below curriculum standards for all content areas and for each grade level. In mathematics, approximately 1% of students could meet the standards (less than 1% at grades 4 to 9, and 11, and just over 1 % at grade 10), whereas the rest were below standards (70% at grades 6, 10, 11, and 91 % at grade 4) or approaching to standards (9% at grade 4, and 30% at grade 6 and 11). Specially, in science no student was able to meet the curriculum standards at any grade level, where most were below standards (74% at grade 11, and 32 85% at grade 4) or approaching to standards (15% at grade 4, and 26% at grade 11). Figure 10 shows the last disseminated results of QCEA for 2010-2011 academic years. Compared to 2006, there was an evident increase in students’ performance for all content areas. Specially, in science, approximately 13% of the students scored at Level 5 meeting the curriculum standards, whereas in the past years the achievement level was just around 1%. Yet, regardless of the encouraging set of improvements, still more than 85% of the students were not able to meet the curriculum standards either in Arabic, English, mathematics and science for most of the grade levels (GSDP, 2012), highlighting the existence of serious concerns regarding the weaknesses of the new school reform and need for improvement. Figure 10. Results of QCEA test in 2011 Source: GSDP (2012) 33 3.4. National Reports on Education Up till now, four Human Development Reports (HDR) were published in Qatar; the first three by the General Secretariat for Development Planning (GSDP) and the last one by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS). Mainly, the First HDR(GSDP, 2006) focused on general aspects of human development in Qatar and “attributed the shortage in science graduates mainly to the nature of curriculum and instructional teaching methods of science subjects at schools” (Said and Friesen, 2013, p.626). The report emphasized that most of the mathematics and science teachers consider textbooks as the source of nearly 90% of all learning, with a few support from technology based resources. Yet, it was noted that most of the textbooks assess merely basic knowledge, and do not contribute to developing higher level skills such as critical thinking, discussion and dialogue (GSDP, 2006). Next, the Second HDR (GSDP, 2009) stressed on the role of human development and training for advancing sustainable development in Qatar. The report emphasized that Qatar has achieved impressive improvements in many aspects of economy and wellbeing. However, regardless of the one and half decade of reform, the progress in educational outcomes was less spectacular. Specially, the outcomes of the international tests suggested that the quality of the education system was “not up to international standards, with Qatari students, especially boys, markedly lagging in mathematics and science subjects” (p.15). The results also showed that students at Qatar spent 50% fewer hours per week doing homework than the international average, 34 and had a high degree of absenteeism reaching to 15% compared to 3 to 4% of school days in other countries. Then, in the Third HDR (GSDP, 2012), the importance of youth education was discussed in detail as the main factor for shaping all aspects of national development. The report underlined the fact that nearly half of the Qatari population is under age 20, so any investment in youth education would have larger returns on the productivity of the later investments. Particularly, it was noted that during 2009-2010 academic years, Qatar’s “expenditure on education accounted for around 4.1% of GDP” (Gross Domestic Product), which was similar to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average (p.31). The total expenditure per student in public and private schools was around “QR 24,500 (USD 6,700) for primary education, QR 30,500 (USD 8,360) for preparatory and QR 39,000 (USD 10,690) for secondary” levels (p.32). However, regardless of the heavy investments, education was not progressing at a commensurate pace at all levels. There is no doubt that financially Qatar ranks the highest country regarding the Gross National income (GNI) per capita index (GSDP, 2012). Despite the substantial resources of the country, many young Qataris especially males, “drop out of school after completing their basic education” (p.2), mostly because they are “provided material wealth without having to work for it” (p.38). Also, there is a cultural tendency to join the labor market at an earlier age “for the relatively higher paid jobs in the police and military” (MDPS, 2015, p.60). However, in its post-secondary education report, Stasz et al. (2007) propose that in order to meet its national goals, 35 “Qataris should prepare for professional and technical occupations, most of which require post-secondary education or training” (p.46). Yet, statistics show that there is a very low enrolment of male students in higher education, especially in subjects “central to Qatar’s economic development including science, mathematics and technology” (GSDP, 2012, p.2). Particularly, research reveals that from 2000 to 2010, the percentage of grade 12 students in the science stream fell from 28to just 8, where most of the interest cultivated towards social sciences. As an alternative, within the context of Qatari culture and tendencies of joining military and police at early ages for boys, Qatari government can develop technical and vocational training programs as part of their military service to prepare them flexible for future job opportunities or needs. Another issue here is that once Qatari students are accepted for an undergraduate program, often they are required to participate in foundation courses, as in the case of Academic Bridge Program (ABP) at Education City (GSDP, 2012) because they need to catch up on topics not fully covered before. This is mostly because their K-12 level education was not adequate to prepare them for a tertiary level education. More importantly, after graduation, many of them are found not competitive enough to work in high-skilled occupations (Stasz et. al., 2007), because “their qualifications are in low demand” (GSDP, 2012, p.2). 36 Figure 11. Human Development Index of Qatar (2000-2013) Source: Ministry of Development Planning and Statistic (2015) Figure 11 displays Qatar’s Human Development Index (HDI) in correspondence to the GCC countries (Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Kuwait) and the world’s top countries. Primarily, the HDI is a composite index, determined “in terms of three dimensions (i) to have the capacity to live a long and healthy life; (ii) to be educated and knowledgeable and (iii) to have access to assets, decent employment and income” (Economic and Social Council, 2014, p.6). According to the statistics, Qatar ranks highly close to the world’s top countries regarding the Life Expectancy Index and HDI values. Yet, it is still “markedly behind the world’s top five countries, and is much the same as other GCC countries” (MDPS, 2015, p.28), concerning its Education Index. Here, the Fourth HDR (MDPS, 2015) emphasizes that “Qatar tops the list of countries with the highest share of foreign population” (p.37), where 37 Qatari people account only for 12%. Evidently, when the foreign population increases, student population also increases, and this changes the teacher/student ratios and class/student ratios. Thus, the report suggests that regardless of the heavy investments, the quality of education is still not up to the expected level mostly because the increase in student population increases demands on education and this adversely influences the nature of the educational environment. It is also important to note that among the GCC countries, Qatar is “the only country where girls’ net primary school enrolment rates are higher than those of boys” (MDPS, 2015, p.32). In addition, the number of Qatari females studying in STEM disciplines is significantly higher than males, such that “in 2010 the ratio of women to men studying mathematics and sciences at Qatar University was six to one” (GSDP, 2012, p.39). Yet, while more Qatari women have better tertiary qualifications at the present, they “often face a glass ceiling when it comes to finding jobs that match their capabilities whether it be in the government or private sector” (p.30). At this point, the Fourth HDR emphasizes the fact that Qatari female’s work force is highly important for “the country’s economic and social advancement”, and more actions should be taken to improve their working conditions (p.60).Particularly, in the Qatar National Development Strategy 2011-2016 (GSDP, 2011), it is suggested to promote the role of Qatari females by supporting their participation in the labor force and increasing the “number of women in political, organizational and business-related decision-making positions”(p.176). 38 4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Sustainable development encompasses a broad spectrum of economic, political, and social aspects. Yet, the critical determinant of long term sustainability lies at the heart of developing human capital, where education acts as the primary lever for enhancing people’s capabilities as productive, engaged, and capable citizens contributing fully to their families and societies (UNICEF, 2013). Today, like many other countries, Qatar views education as the key to its future progress, and realizes that success depends on the ability to compete in a global knowledge economy, rather than relying on gas and oil reserves (MDPS, 2015). As a small rich developing country, holding a leading role in the Arab world (Jaafar, 2011), Qatar has made significant efforts to improve the quality of education system so that it can align with the national priorities and the international developments (RAND-Qatar Policy Institute, 2007). Since the launch of the new education reform, Education for a New Era (EFNE), the government has taken many bold steps to change the educational landscape from many aspects, and made heavy investments both at K-12 and tertiary education. Specifically, the QNV 2030 emphasizes the importance of human capital development, and calls for “educational curricula and training programs responding to the current and future needs of the labor market; high quality educational and training opportunities 39 appropriate to each individual's aspirations and abilities; and accessible educational programs for life-long learning” (GSDP, 2008, p.16). While the reform still moves forward, the change comes about highly slow and various concerns exist having direct and indirect effect on the stakeholders and the community as a whole. First of all, regardless of one and half decade of reform, the education system continues facing problems in challenging fixed mindsets and changing the traditional attitudes. Particularly, the new education reform stresses on the development of creativity, critical thinking, and inquiry (GSDP, 2011). For example, according to Romanowski and Nasser (2012), this requires a freedom of thought, and it is contradictory to the philosophy of the Qatari Regime of Truth where children learn not to question their teachers and parents, and parents learn not to question their leaders. Therefore, the movement toward critical thinking forces “the Qatari Regime of Truth to face cultural, political and religious challenges” (p.132). There is a great need to take into the political, economic, social, and cultural factors to develop a local educational reform moving away from relying on models designed, and in many cases implemented, by and for Western countries. At this point, conducting a vertical study from K-12 to higher education and asking the stakeholders to identify the most challenging aspects in their learning and teaching will be of great value for designing innovative solutions to the educational issues in Qatar. While doing that, it is vital to determine how the traditions, values and beliefs can coexist with the shifting winds of educational change, because otherwise the 40 reform might lose direction, “resulting in undesirable economic, educational and cultural consequences” (Romanowski and Nasser, 2012, p.132). Another point here is that, in relation to the results of both national and international assessments, the quality of K-12 education in Qatar is not good, and it poorly prepares students for post-secondary study (Stasz et al., 2007). Definitely, education reform is essential when students do not achieve the goals of education (Horn, 2002). Yet, there is no such thing as a successful reform or a successful education system in isolation. Its content has to match with its participants, and change happens best when it is implemented effectively by the stakeholders on a daily basis (Fullan and Miles, 1992). In this regard, teachers are the focal point in the success of any education reform. Because without “their acceptance of, involvement in, and degree of ownership of reform” (Ellili-Cherif and Romanowski, 2013, p.3), no change can truly take place and most of the initiatives will be remaining on paper. While teachers’ expertise and perspectives are essential in the development of educational innovations (Bailey, 2000), most education reform fails to take into account teachers as the agents of change (Fullan, 2011). This was also the case in Qatar where teachers were not included either in the development of the reform or assessment of the implementation (Brewer et al., 2007: Ellili-Cherif and Romanowski, 2013). In a recent study, Al-Banai and Nasser (2015) propose that Qatar needs “to engage in policy learning rather than policy borrowing” and the education system should support “a more participative and collegial professional approach so 41 that teachers are able to exercise creativity and fully understand the reforms and their role within them” (p.682). Moreover, there is a growing body of research in Qatar confirming the lack of teacher qualification as one of the important factors influencing the proper implementation of the reform movement. Despite of the government’s Qatarization efforts, statistics show that most of the Qataris do not view teaching as an appealing profession, and there are relatively few Qatari teachers especially at boys’ schools (Brewer et al., 2007). Indeed, the majority of teachers are expatriates mostly from other Arab countries, and more than 30% do not have a formal qualification in teaching (SEC, 2011b). This context calls for a research agenda to rigorously examine the pre- and in-service teacher population in Qatar, and determine their level of motivation, self-efficacy, and attitude towards teaching profession, in addition to assessing how they perceive the curriculum standards, performance level of students, and setting of the learning environment. The results of this analysis can give insight into how to enhance pre-service teachers’ preparedness for real classroom settings and improve the quality of in-service teachers by tackling the challenges they face during their daily activities. In this regard, it is suggested that QNRF should modify its funding strategy and give more awards to projects in the field of educational sciences, in preference to putting most of the fund on energy, water, security, health, and life sciences. It is worth mentioning about few initiatives to increase the number and quality of local teachers. These are Teach for Qatar (TFQ) which facilitates professionals from industry and government spending 2-3 years in locals schools to teach math and science, 42 and Al Bairaq program that hosts High School teachers and students at university labs to increase their knowledge, skills and awareness about science and technology. Knowing that “the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers” (McKinsey, 2007, p.7), it is essential that Qatari people receive a strong training in teacher education, and develop beliefs and dispositions that are consistent with the existing educational policies. Thus far, Qatar University is the only higher education institute that offers teacher preparation programs in Qatar. It prepares teacher candidates mainly in Educational Sciences and Psychological Sciences disciplines, concentrating on different programs at primary education and secondary education. While the university gives around a hundred teacher graduates each year, Dr. Hissa Sadiq, the Dean of College of Education, proposes the need for preparing more teachers as thousands are needed to fulfill the current vacancies at the Ministry of Education. From the above discussion, it is evident that in order to enhance the quality of the teaching workforce in Qatar, more local teacher candidates need to be trained and eventually replace the current expatriates. In this cause, the government may need to grant other higher education institutes, in addition to QU, to launch teacher preparation programs, and support training highly qualified local teachers that can uphold the education reform and deliver the curriculum standards as envisioned. In addition, Hamad Bin Khalifa University and Doha Institute of Graduate Studies, as government universities, can take initiatives to open postgraduate studies in teacher education to offer degrees at master and Ph.D. levels. 43 As a final point, in order for Qatar to be an advanced, self-sustaining country, it is vital that Qatari citizens have the knowledge and skills necessary for taking charge of the country’s rapid growth (Economic and Social Council, 2014). As Qatar diversifies its economy, now more emphasis needs to be placed on subjects that propel a knowledge economy (GSDP, 2011), such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Yet, in relation to the results of both national and international tests and reports on education, it is clear thatQatari students, especially boys, are markedly lagging in mathematics and science subjects, not even meeting the national curriculum standards at all levels of K-12education. As proficiency in STEM disciplines is a strong predictor of “positive outcomes for young adults, influencing their ability to participate in post-secondary education and their expected future earnings” (OECD (2010, p.6), in the long term, the underachievement of students in science and mathematics may cause Qatar to “fall short in supplying enough qualified graduates in the STEM disciplines” (Said and Friesen, 2013, p.633). Students’ decision about their future field of study is mostly based upon their attitudes toward a particular field, and educational polices play a vital role in developing, directing, and sustaining these interests. Various actions can be taken to integrate STEM activities into the curriculums at different stages of educations. Specially, encouraging positive contact with science, technology, engineering and mathematics at early ages can have a long lasting impact in increasing interest in these fields. Hence, the launch of the Secondary School Research Experience Program (SSREP) and Middle School Science Challenge Program (MSSCP) are expected to be 44 helpful in enhancing young Qataris’ interest in scientific fields, giving them an initial experience in how to conduct a modest research project. It is also important to note that Education City, an initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, was established with the intention of preparing Qatari citizens for leadership roles in all sectors of life and providing a strong foundation for fields of importance to enhance economic growth. Knowing that science, technology, engineering and mathematics are central to Qatar’s economic development; a systematic study needs to be conducted to measure the impact of Education City in unlocking students’ potential for developing mathematical, scientific, and technological literacy and competency in Qatar. For this purpose, both qualitative and quantitative research techniques need to be administered to assess the trend of involvement in these programs for over a decade, the success level of students attending to these programs, the extent to which the activities performed in the classrooms offer a culture of creativity, discovery, and innovation to solve an engineering challenge, and the difficulties faced by students and faculty members during the instructions. Over that, in order to get a holistic picture of the phenomenon, it is also important to examine how Education City partners with secondary schools to support STEM education, the role of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in supporting teachers and principals in the implementation of quality STEM practices, and the role of Qatar University in preparing teacher candidates’ for providing a successful STEM education at K-12 level. 45 REFERENCES Al-Banai, N. & Nasser, R. (2015, February). 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Overall Review of Education System in Qatar

Overall Review of Education System in Qatar

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