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Challenges of Arab Education in the Twenty-First Century and Its Effect in Determining the Role of Teachers in the Future
Place of publication | Year of publication | Collation: 
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates | 2007 | p. 143-159
Author: 
ملكاوي، نازم محمود
Corporate author: 
University of Sharjah
Region: 
Arab States

This study aims at recognizing the most important challenges and issues, which Arab education has encountered during the current century in order to initiate a starting point for highlighting the role of teaching and its importance for future teachers. Among such challenges have been cultural hurdles, sustainable education, change leadership, the information revolution, vocational instruction, and environmental crises.
The study points out that the role of a teacher in previous centuries was substantially different from the role teachers are required to perform in this century, this with reference to electronic education, which has already been established throughout the world, and future electronic schools. The teacher is no longer the sole source of knowledge and information. In fact, there are various means and sources available with huge quantities of information that can be easily retrieved and applied to teaching, which might in turn encourage instructors to develop their thought processes and cultural and technical capabilities.

Current and future instructors must have an understanding of their new role in directing all of these sources in order to serve educational objectives in the interest of their countries and the Arab nation as a whole. Knowledge and its use should be viewed as among the most important sources of wealth. It is unity not division, wholeness not partiality, swiftness not reluctance that should form the basis of the new educational model.

 

The study focuses on the features and role of the future teacher so that he/she might perform the teaching mission properly. The importance of the teaching profession is made clear along with the need for instructors to participate in higher levels of the educational decision-making process.

Instructors need to participate in the educational process inside and outside school and realize the importance of teaching in this age of globalization, progress and openness. Instructors need to be experts in the means and methods for accessing information. They should depend upon a solid and thoughtful educational basis, supported by a strong belief in the career of teaching as a profession and the importance of the instructor’s own behaviour so as to prepare students with creativity, innovation and their constant learning in mind.
The study recommends building a comprehensive educational plan for the Arab nation, where similar circumstances permit, the planning of which should be based on field and scientific research and encompass both the teacher and the educational process.

Resource Type: 
Research papers / journal articles
Theme: 
Diversity / cultural literacy / inclusive
Sustainable development / sustainability
Level of education: 
Other