The Modernization of Education: A Case Study of Tunisia

2018

Journal of Usuluddin, 2020

This study is a reflection into the methodological considerations that must be adopted to tackle the educational problem in the Arab and Muslim countries: the case of Algeria. The purpose is to discuss those methodological considerations that may pave the way to an objective approach of the educational problem in Algeria. This is to provide the researchers with some methodological tools to formulating the educational problem. An attempt has been made to address research questions, i.e. How should we conceptualize the educational problem in the Arab and Muslim countries: The case of Algeria? To conclude, this reflection requires us to give more importance to these methodological considerations to be able to state the educational problem in the ArabMuslim lands in the appropriate manner. And, the elucidation of the concept of the ‘problem’ in educational research is an inevitable necessity. This is to pave the way for Muslim educational theorizers to grasp the essential components of ...

InterDisciplines. Journal of History and Sociology, 2014

Tunisia’s recent movement from dictatorship to democracy presents a unique opportunity to understand educational developments in post-revolutionary settings. Within Tunisia, the study of the post-revolutionary scenery is integral because it is likely that education now has to deal with the baggage and verbiage of education for democracy as it attempts to partake in the global souk in a post-Ben Ali era. Using Tunisia as a case study, this research examines educational developments within transitory democratic spaces to advance the research hypothesis that revolutions act as an ‘educational contagion' as new ideas are imported and old ones realigned to seek national competency and international legitimacy. In this context, the study explores how the current post-revolutionary reforms are engendered, as in the case of Tunisia’s recent movement from revolution to elections, and engages in the themes and purposes of educational transformations. Theoretically, this study draws upon two strands of research in comparative and international education that strive to understand why states import new educational reforms and who is responsible for these reforms. A qualitative methodological scaffolding of latent and manifest content analyses is utilized to examine Tunisia’s education policies in the pre-and post-revolutionary period―revealing the “actors” and “institutions” that facilitated, giddied, and undergirded new reform initiatives. It explores the confluence of ‘when’ and ‘why’

2001

For centuries, Morocco has had a dynamic network of Qur'anic schools, serving children from elementary age through adulthood. Qur'anic schools are religious schools that facilitate memorization of the Qur'an through teaching children to pronounce and recite the Qur'an according to an accepted recitational style. Despite 44 years of French colonization, Islamic education persists, although it has in many ways been crowded out by the introduction of more secular public education that grew out of colonialism. This paper examines the interplay between these two traditions in Morocco, looking at ways in which they have come to coexist, ways in which they have influenced each other, and different social and educational roles they have assumed. In so doing, the paper discusses the paradox of the growth and popularity of Qur'anic preschools, even as the traditional pedagogy of these schools is subsumed by modern pedagogical strategies common to public schools.

New Directions for Community Colleges, 2013

Historically, education has always been the springboard for socioeconomic development of nations. Undoubtedly, education proved to be the catalyst of change and the front wagon that drives with it all the other wagons pertaining to other dynamic sectors. In effect, the role of education can be seen to provide pupils with the curriculum and hidden curriculum skills alike; teaching skills that will prepare them physically, mentally and socially for the world of work in later life. In Morocco, the country spends over 26% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on education. Unfortunately, though this number is important, Moroccan education (primary, secondary and higher education alike) still suffers from the mismatch between the state expenditures on education and the general product in reality. In this article, an attempt is made to touch on some relevant issues pertaining to higher education with special reference to Morocco. First, it provides some tentative definitions, mission and functions of university and higher education. Second, it gives a historical sketch of the major reforms that took place in Morocco as well as the major changes pertaining to these reforms respectively. Third, it provides a general overview of the history of higher education in Morocco, it also tackles an issue related to governance in higher education which is cost sharing. Fourth, it delves into the history of English Language Teaching (ELT), lists some characteristics of the English Departments in Morocco. Fifth, it discusses the issue of private vs. public higher education. Last, but not least, it tackles the issue of Brain Drain.

American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, 2008

This article revisits the origins of the Islamic reformist movement that arose in response to the challenges presented by western civilization in the nineteenth century. Tunisia was chosen because the spirit of reform manifested itself in the form of intellectual activity and socio-political action. The article highlights the features of the Tunisian experience before the French occupation in 1881, reveals the cooperation and complementary relationship between religious scholars and statesmen that gave the reform efforts their substance and form, and discusses the dynamic of the forces that were in play and helped determine the attempted reforms’ fate.

Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 2012

Trajectories of Education in the Arab World gives a broad yet detailed his torical and geographical overview of education in Arab countries. Drawing on pre-modem and modem educational concepts, systems, and practices in the Arab world, this book examines the impact of Western cultural influence, the opportunities for reform and the sustainability of current initiatives.