PDF Implementation of the K-12 Education Reform in Qatar's Schools

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Implementation of the K-12 Education Reform

in Qatar's Schools

Gail L. Zellman ? Gery W. Ryan ? Rita Karam ? Louay Constant Hanine Salem ? Gabriella Gonzalez ? Nate Orr ? Charles A. Goldman

Hessa Al-Thani ? Kholode Al-Obaidli

Prepared for the Supreme Education Council

The research described in this report was prepared for the Supreme Education Council and conducted within RAND Education and the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute, programs of the RAND Corporation.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Zellman, Gail. Implementation of the K/12 education reform in Qatar's schools /

Gail L. Zellman...[et al.]. p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-8330-4736-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Educational change--Qatar. 2. Educational innovations--Qatar. 3. Education and state--Qatar. 4. Education--Standards--Qatar. I. Title.

LA1435.Z45 2009 370.95363--dc22

2009022975

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.

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? Copyright 2009 RAND Corporation

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Preface

The leadership of the Arabian Gulf nation of Qatar sees education as the key to Qatar's economic and social progress. Long concerned that the country's education system was not producing high-quality outcomes and was rigid, outdated, and resistant to reform, the Qatari leadership approached the RAND Corporation in 2001, asking RAND to examine kindergarten through grade 12 (K?12) education in Qatar and to recommend options for building a world-class system consistent with other Qatari initiatives for social and political change. RAND proposed several reform options; after selecting one that involved systemwide structural change, the leadership asked RAND to further develop the option and support its implementation. This work, which was carried out over a four-year period, provided RAND with the unique and exciting opportunity not only to observe a major reform effort from the ground level, but also to participate in its implementation. The first phase of the K?12 school reform effort is documented in a RAND monograph by Dominic Brewer et al.: Education for a New Era: Design and Implementation of K?12 Education Reform in Qatar, 2007.

This current monograph describes follow-on work that RAND conducted to assess the reform's implementation in Qatar's schools. Researchers and policymakers concerned about the design and implementation of education reform may find value in what is relayed here. An earlier version of this document, one that included an examination of the reform system, was provided to the sponsor as an aid in evaluating the reform and establishing its future course.

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iv Implementation of the K?12 Education Reform in Qatar's Schools

More detailed information about the reform can be found at Qatar's Supreme Education Council Web site: . gov.qa (Arabic version, with a link to the English version). Further information about the RAND project supporting the reform initiative can be found at .

This project was conducted under the auspices of RAND-Qatar Policy Institute (RQPI) and RAND's Education unit. RQPI is a partnership of the RAND Corporation and the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development. The aim of RQPI is to offer the RAND style of rigorous and objective analysis to clients in the greater Middle East. In serving clients in the Middle East, RQPI draws on the full professional resources of the RAND Corporation. RAND Education analyzes education policy and practice and supports implementation of improvements at all levels of the education system.

For further information on RQPI, contact the director, Richard Darilek. He can be reached by email at redar@; by telephone at +974-492-7400; or by mail at P.O. Box 23644, Doha, Qatar. For more information about RAND Education, contact the director, Susan Bodilly. She can be reached by e-mail at bodilly@; by telephone at +1-310-393-0411, extension 5377; or by mail at RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, Santa Monica, California 90401 USA.

Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxvii

ChAPTer One

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Past Efforts to Reform Education in Qatar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 RAND's Analysis of Qatar's K?12 System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Design of the Reform. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Implementation of the Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Aims and Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Organization of This Monograph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

ChAPTer TwO

Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Case Study Data Collection and Analytic Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Observations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Elicited Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Secondary Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Quantitative Data Characteristics and Analytic Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 QNEDS Surveys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 QCEA Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Sample Selection for Ministry and Independent School Case Study . . . . . . 22 Initial Sample Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

v

vi Implementation of the K?12 Education Reform in Qatar's Schools

Changes to the Study Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Study Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

ChAPTer Three

recruiting, retaining, and Developing Staff in Qatar's Independent Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Recruiting for the Independent Schools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Effects of Qatarization on Recruitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Challenges to Retaining Skilled Qatari Teachers in Independent Schools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Teaching in an Independent School Is More Demanding Than Teaching in a Ministry School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Teachers in Independent Schools Have Longer Working Hours and a Longer Academic Year Than Do Teachers in Ministry Schools. . . . . 36

Teachers in Independent Schools Feel Less Secure in Their Jobs Than Do Teachers in Ministry Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Higher Salaries Do Not Always Adequately Compensate for the Increased Workload. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Professional Development Opportunities Fostered by the Reform . . . . . . . . 40 Providers of Professional Development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Types of Professional Development Activities in Which Teachers Participated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Subjects Addressed in Professional Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Does Professional Development Meet the Needs of Independent School Teachers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

ChAPTer FOur

Developing Curriculum and Instructional Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Curriculum Development in the Independent Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Curriculum Development Was a Challenging Task for Independent School Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Curriculum Development Was Less Difficult for Teachers in Independent Schools That Had Formerly Been Scientific Schools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

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