Sharing Good Practice
team used a number of sources in the
study including academic research
on educational best practice, and
benchmarking trips to five countries
including Singapore, New Zealand,
Ireland, Finland, and Switzerland.
The team also conducted meetings
with local and international experts,
workshops with 1500 key stakeholders
in
Bahrain,
and
it
reviewed
recommendations from international
experts..
Findings and Opportunities
The findings from this 'Diagnostic
study' showed that students in
Bahrain's education system were,
in
general,
performing
below
international benchmarks and they
were not meeting the expectations
of the private sector (Economic
Development Board, 2008).
The diagnostic revealed multiple
opportunities to improve output from
the education system:
School:
5 5 Achievement levels in core subjects
(Arabic, English, Mathematics and
Science) needed to be improved
across all levels of the system.
5 5 There was a substantial gender gap,
with girls outperforming boys at all
levels
5 5 There were two main reasons
identified
for
low
student
achievement:
o o The quality of teaching in schools,
with particular emphasis on the
need to improve the training of
teachers and other school staff.
o o The
curriculum
focus
on
knowledge acquisition rather
than skills development.
Student
Schools:
Outcomes
in
Bahrain's
In 2003, Bahrain participated for the
first time in the Trends in International
Mathematics and Science Study
(TIMSS). While the results contained
some cause for optimism, as Bahrain
was one of the top performers in
the Middle East, Bahraini students
performed poorly in comparison to
their international peers. Bahrain was
significantly below the international
average in both subjects, and
ranked 37th out of 45 countries in
Mathematics, and 33rd in Science.
Bahrain's students showed weak
performances
in
core
subjects
compared to the international average.
Appendix 1.1 shows the Bahraini
students' scores in TIMSS in 2003 and
Appendix 1.2 shows the eighth grade
Bahraini students' scores in TIMSS in
2007.
Performance Management:
The quality of teachers explains much
of the success of top-performing
education systems, but similarly
teaching quality may also be a factor
in the poor performance of Bahrain's
schools. The management system
of the Bahrain education system
was another factor affecting school
performance – did the management
system promote improvement in the
quality of teaching?
In order for the Bahrain education
system to perform better, the MoE
stipulated that the following criteria
had to be met:
5 5 Students, teachers and school
principals need to have a clear
picture of what good performance
looks like
5 5 Students, teachers, and school
principals need to understand
how they stand relative to that
benchmark of good performance;
and
5 5 Students, teachers, and school
principals need to be incentivised
to improve (Ministry of Education
Bahrain, 2010).
Bahrain's Vision 2030 requires an
education system that is amongst the
best in the world. Evidence from the
MoE, international studies, and surveys
of the private sector, suggested that
much work needed to be done in
Bahrain in order to create a world-
class education system, and hence the
reform initiatives outlined in another
article.
References
Daylami, M. Al, Bennison, B., Coutts, C.,
Hassan, F., Hasan, J., Huijser, H., … Wali, F. (2015).
The Establishment of Bahrain Polytechnic:
Assumptions Questioned, Myths Exposed
and Challenges Faced. In Myths in Education,
Learning
and
Teaching
(pp.
114–132).
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Houndmills.
Economic
Development
Board.
(2008).
Education Reform in Bahrain. Making It
Happen. Retrieved from http://www.bahrain.
com/en/Pages/default.aspx
Martin, M. O., Mullis, I. V. S., & Foy, P. (2007a).
TIMSS 2007 International Mathematics Report.
Findings from IEA’s trends in International
Mathematics and Science study at Fourth and
Eighth Grades. Boston.
Martin, M. O., Mullis, I. V. S., & Foy, P. (2007b).
TIMSS 2007 International Science Report.
Findings from IEA’s trends in International
Mathematics and Science study at Fourth and
Eighth Grades. Boston.
Martin, M. O., Mullis, I. V. S., Gonzalez, E.
J., & Chrostowski, S. J. (2003). TIMSS 2003
International Science Report. Findings from
IEA’s trends in International Mathematics and
Science study at Fourth and Eighth Grades.
Boston.
Ministry
of
Education
Development. Isa Town.
Bahrain.
(2010).
Mullis, I. V. S., Martin, M. O., Gonzalez, E.
J., & Chrostowski, S. J. (2003). TIMSS 2003
International Mathematics Report. Findings
from IEA’s trends in International Mathematics
and Science study at Fourth and Eighth Grades.
Boston.
Secretariate General of the Higher Education
Council. (2012). Future Skills and Preparing
Graduates for the 21st Century. Retrieved
September 20, 2015, from Ministry of Education,
Higher Education Council website: moedu.gov.
bh/hec/UploadFiles/Reports/Future Skills.pdf
Soman, B. (2008). Education Reform Project
Underway. Retrieved September 20, 2015, from
Gulf Daily News website: www.gulf-daily-news.
com/Story.asp?Article=233610&Sn=BNEW&Issu
eID=31229
The World Bank. (2013). Building Effective
Employment Programs for Unemployed
Youth in the Middle East and North Africa
(D. F. Angel-Urdinola, A. Kuddo, & A. Semlali,
Eds.). Washington, DC: International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development / The World
Bank.
Dr. Ahmed A.Karim, an international consultant in the quality of education, and
the founder & the Chief Executive Officer in Quality House Consultancy, is an
internationally renowned consultant in school quality improvement towards
excellence in education. He is one of the first to have contributed to the establishment
of the School Review Unit in Quality Authority for Qualifications and Quality
Assurance of Education and Training (QQA), where he was the Lead Reviewer.
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