Emily Anderson

ICT-integrated education and national innovation systems in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries

The widespread use and availability of information and communication technologies (ICT) has greatly impacted how nations conceptualize innovation and the ways formal mass education can be used to advance socio-political and economic agendas. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have increasingly focused on the roles of science and technology in building research development and innovation (RDI) capacity to create national innovation systems (NIS). This paper uses evidence from the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the 2009 World Bank Institute Knowledge Economy Index (KEI) to investigate the spread of ICT in national education systems in the GCC countries and the impact of ICT-based learning as a catalyst for NIS and RDI capacity in the region. Previous research suggests that ICT-based instruction has the potential to build capacity in knowledge development, which is a key component in the establishment of national innovation systems. However, the analyses presented here suggest that the ways ICT is used in education in the GCC do not build capacity in knowledge development in youth. Although evidence shows that GCC countries do have institutional capacity in ICT, it is not used for knowledge development in part because of limitations imposed by the cultural contexts for education in the Gulf. The paper concludes with recommendations for ways that GCC teachers can use ICT to create national innovation systems and research capacity through reforms to teacher training and professional development.

Reflections on the Field of Comparative and International Education, and the Benefits of an Annual Review

Abstract This chapter introduces readers to the Annual Review of Comparative and International Education and approaches to reviewing the field broadly, by examining the ways that scholars and professionals in the field reflect on comparative and international education (CIE). It begins with a synthesis of the reviews and reflective pieces published since the mid-20th century, and then critiques the field for being neither consistently nor systematically reflective. The chapter then summarizes several of the benefits of consistent and systematic reflection through a process of annual review. The chapter concludes with an overview and synthesis of each of the sections, which provide the structure of the Annual Review, and poses questions that drive systematic reflection through each section of the volume and the field as a whole.

Reflections on the Annual Review and Recommendations for Institutionalizing Reflection in the Field

Abstract This chapter synthesizes the key themes and issues from across the Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2013, and reflects on how the input from the regional society presidents and representatives was developed in each section of the review. Ways to think about making the Annual Review a reflective process for the field as a whole, and to engender input from all corners of the global comparative and international education community are suggested as well.

Developing Innovation and Entrepreneurial Skills in Youth Through Mass Education: The example of ICT in the UAE

Abstract Much of the literature on innovation and entrepreneurship in education focuses on how external ideas, processes, and techniques can be applied to education systems, schools, and classrooms to improve educational performance. Little research, however, addresses the ways that internal ideas, processes, and techniques within educational systems, schools, and classrooms impart innovation and entrepreneurial skills to youth worldwide. This chapter identifies ways that these skills can be developed in youth through mass education systems. Particular attention is given to the ways that youth are prepared to participate in the knowledge economy by becoming information innovators and knowledge entrepreneurs.

Introduction to the Annual Review: The Reciprocal Effects of Teacher Education on Comparative and International Education

Abstract The Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2014 provides an opportunity for reflection and debate of current issues in the field. Central among these is how comparative and international education (CIE) is defined by scholars and practitioners, and how these understandings contribute to the field’s sense of professional and academic identity. The work of teachers and teaching in classrooms worldwide comprises much of the CIE field’s technical core and focus of policymaking as well as other relevant activity. As a result, the education of teachers and their professional development are key, and often undervalued, components. Based upon this foundation, the 2014 Annual Review highlights ways that teacher education and professional development impact CIE research and professional activity, and vice versa.

Building a Foundation for Reflecting on Comparative and International Education: A Synthesis of Published Comparative Education Research

Abstract Reflecting on scholarship and professional practice is a hallmark of a developing scholarly field and its professionalization. Yet, reflection requires data or evidence to support the ideas and directions of the field as it develops. Although there is an increasing amount of data examining comparative and international education scholarship, it is neither coordinated nor systematic. This research identifies a foundation plan for creating a systematic and consistent evidence base for reflective practice. First, by examining the full-text articles in four leading comparative and international education journals published in 2014, the research reported here empirically analyzes both the content coverage in the field as well as how the research published in the field is methodologically approached. This gives an indication of where the field of comparative and international education has been and where it is going. And, by finding the answers to the “what” and “how” questions, scholars and professionals in comparative and international education are better equipped to reflect on the field and revise, expand, and develop it accordingly. This foundational research finds that single-country, qualitative research authored by single authors dominates the field of comparative and international education. But, there is also evidence that the dominant discourse in the field – represented by the most frequent title, abstract, and keywords – is incorporated into quantitative and theoretical work more than in any other. This suggests that the nature of research in comparative and international education may be characterized by a particular type (single country, single author, qualitative), but that the dominant discourse published in the comparative and international education field does not necessarily align with the most frequently used methodologies in comparative and international education research.

Introduction to Part 6: Diversification of the Field

The topics of student achievement, teacher pedagogy, school management, financial impact, and others have been institutionalized into the research and literature produced throughout the history of the field of comparative and international education (Peterson, Baker, & McGaw, 2010; Postlethwaite, 1995), but the advent of newer social, economic, and political concerns have brought attention to new and diverse elements in the field as well (Vavrus & Bartlett, 2012). Crafting new spaces in the literature to examine critical areas not currently represented is necessary for the field to remain relevant to both scholars and professionals. In a time where funding for comparative and international education research is constrained by dire economic realities facing universities and funding agencies, scholars are pressed to find linkages with other academic disciplines to support their work in underrepresented and emergent areas of research. This presents a unique challenge for comparative and international education scholars and professionals because the field remains on the margin of more traditional education-related research and practice. At the same time, however, it provides an opportunity to expand and reimagine the field through the inclusion of new areas of study.

Introduction to Part 4: Research-to-Practice

A hallmark component of comparative and international education is the bridge between research and practice (Wilson, 1994). Much of education is professional education, which often translates to explicitly practical application in schools and classrooms. This is a vital component of comparative and international education, and it is important for the field to support and maintain professional training that prepares comparativists of education to support educational development, evaluation, pedagogy, and decision-making in local educational contexts, communities, classrooms, and other situations. Yet, the field of comparative and international education is also by nature a global field in that it provides educators and policymakers with a way to understand broader, cross-system, and global trends in educational policy and practice. One of the best tools that comparativists of education have for understanding these trends is through the development and testing of theory using research. As such, comparative and international education activity is at once theoretically grounded, but also practically oriented. Often this provides a conundrum because what scholars and professionals think about comparative and international education phenomena using theory, does not always match how real-world situations develop and vice versa. The challenge for comparative and international education is to recognize when research and practice overlap and when they contradict.