ORBIS SCHOLAE
ORBIS SCHOLAE

We inform authors and readers that, following an agreement with the Karolinum publishing house, from 2024 (Volume 18), the journal Orbis scholae will be published only in electronic form.

Orbis scholae is an academic journal published by Charles University, Prague. It features articles on school education in the wider socio-cultural context. It aims to contribute to our understanding and the development of school education, and to the reflection of teaching practice and educational policy.

ORBIS SCHOLAE, Vol 4 No 2 (2010), 21–40

The institutionalization of a global educational community: the impact of imposition, invitation and innovation in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

Alexander W. Wiseman

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/23363177.2018.124
published online: 22. 02. 2018

abstract

How does world culture impact the development of educational policy in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries? This paper begins by describing the ways that the development of the educational system in the GCC is shaped by the global community, and further impacted by the emergence of a global education governance structure. Legitimizing transnational actors frame national, regional and local policy options in GCC countries, which lead to a “global” perspective being the chief priority in GCC educational policymaking often in spite of regional and local needs. However, the global discourse has limits in GCC countries because of the unique ideological traditions of Arab and Muslim culture. Therefore, while ideological discourses frame education policy at each level in GCC countries based on international norms and values for both education and society, educational policy and reform balances these international norms and values with traditional and conservative norms and values. This paper concludes by analyzing how Western rhetoric is harmonized with Arab and Muslim norms and values with seemingly little contradiction and little educational impact as well in the GCC countries’ education systems.

keywords: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC); Education policy; World culture; Education governance; Transnational actors

230 x 157 mm
periodicity: 3 x per year
print price: 150 czk
ISSN: 1802-4637
E-ISSN: 2336-3177

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