An Examination of the Qatari Licensure System: Giving Voice to Educators at Government-Funded Schools

The issue of developing a comprehensive licensure system aligned with professional standards for teachers and school leaders has received considerable attention in recent years. As part of the Qatari educational reform in recent years, teachers and school leaders are held accountable to offer quality education for all students. The current study thus examined the experiences of educators in Qatar with the licensure process currently implemented at government-funded school. Using a survey study design, a total of 1,669 participants expressed their perceptions on the strengths and weaknesses of the licensure system, the professional standards, and the professional portfolio. Findings included participants’ beliefs on the importance of the licensure system in improving their performance, the necessity of using the professional standards as tools for professional growth and development, and the importance of refining the professional portfolio for authenticity and reliability. Documenting teachers’ and school leaders’ voices was fundamental in finding ways to successfully drive future developments of the licensure system. The findings may also provide implications for other countries interested in developing or refining their own appraisal systems

أثر تدريس مادتي العلوم والرياضيات باللغة العربية على مستوى أداء الطلاب في المدارس القطرية

The interest in education is the cornerstone of the civilized growth of the State of Qatar, because of its great impact on preparing the human resources that the nation needs in its progress in various fields, in order to achieve the Qatar Vision 2030. In 2003, the State of Qatar launched an ambitious initiative to develop public education known as "Education for a New Era". A bilingual system that started with teaching Math and Science subjects, so that both Arabic and English are used in the educational process, followed by a decision to teach the two subjects in Arabic in all government schools. Therefore, this research aims to focus on the performance in government schools in the country, which shows the rates of student achievement in specific educational stages and in specific subjects, where the improvement of achievement in government school students in basic subjects (Arabic, English, Mathematics and Science) in the three educational stages, is considered to be one of the objectives of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education to realize the Qatar Vision 2030, and accordingly the Ministry of Education and Higher Education sets and develops many strategies, procedures and decisions with the aim of achieving this goal

Principal selection for Qatar's government schools: Policy makers', principals' and teachers' perspectives

Research indicates that principals are critical in school reform since the implementation of policies and practices is to a large extent determined by the role that principals play in educational change. This study examines the principal selection process used in Qatar for the government schools and identifies knowledge and skills necessary for effective principals from the perspectives of policy makers, principals and teachers working in these schools. Qualitative interviews were held with three policy makers, 21 principals and 82 teachers in focus groups. Findings provide insight into the principal selection process and demonstrate that principals should develop their decision-making skills, should advance as instructional leaders and, since government schools are very diverse, principals must be able to manage issues of nationality, culture and equality. Recommendations are offered to improve the principal selection process for principals working in Qatar or other countries in the Gulf Region.Scopu

An Investigation of Math and Science Teaching and Learning in Qatari Independent Elementary Schools

Following the establishment of a set of key elements for educational reform in Qatar, this chapter presents the findings from a research study in 67 randomly selected third and fourth grade math and science classrooms in Qatari Independent Schools on the status of the key educational reform elements. Observations were conducted to determine teacher and student classroom behaviors related to student-centered teaching and learning. Surveys were administered in these classes to investigate students’ perceptions of inquiry and learning environment and teachers’ perceptions of reform-based instruction and teacher efficacy. Achievement data were obtained from reports of the Qatar Comprehensive Educational Tests. Findings indicated a mismatch between observed behaviors, including achievement per-formance, and participant perceptions of student-centered teaching and learning. In general, participant perceptions indicated greater implementation of reform-based elements than were evident in observations and achievement data. Few differences in profiles of higher- and lower-performing schools were found, although lower-performing schools exhibited more student-centered classroom characteristics with more student off-task behavior. Implications of the findings are also discussed in the chapter.The Qatar National Research Foundation, National Priorities Research Program, Grant # 13-6-7-1