Sunday, May 3, 2015

The Impact of Globalization on Education Policy of the Sultanate of Oman



Recently, I read a very interesting article written by the professor of Sultan Qaboos University in Oman Khalaf Al’Abri. 
In his article “The impact of globalization on education policy of developing countries: Oman as an example,” Al’Abri (2011) discusses the concept of globalization, its impact on education policy in developing countries through the case of the Sultanate of Oman, a very beautiful country which is located at the mouth of the Arabian Gulf (p.491).
 Considering globalization as “the speedy, free movement of … knowledge across national borders,” the author confirms that there are positive and negative sides in the globalization phenomenon (p.491). Although Al’Abri (2011) comments, how globalization influenced education policy development in Oman, he does not give complete detailed picture what exactly the benefits and drawbacks of this influence are.
According to Al’Abri (2011), “globalization is a dangerous phenomenon,” which affects the world negatively (p.492). However, he also considers this phenomenon as “a fruitful” one which is helpful in making connections with other countries (p.492). Emphasizing the influence of globalization on the development of education policy in developing countries, the author shows it on the example of the Sultanate of Oman.
Interestingly, development of education in this country was divided to 6 periods. Each period was characterized by peculiar changes in the system of education. One of these changes is implementation of Basic Education, a response to globalization, was recommended by Oman’s 2020 Vision conference to overcome challenges caused by globalization and Omanisation (p.500). Although the author mentions the word “challenges,” he does not highlight what he means by these challenges. However, he calls the aims of implementing the so-called Basic Education. Firstly, it was implemented as a way to face the challenges of globalization. Secondly-to prepare people in Oman as the workforce who will correspond to the requirements of the global economy.
In summary, the influence of globalization on education policy of developing countries is blatant. The Sultanate of Oman is a good example of it. Pointing out the implementation of Basic Education, the author shows how the education policy in this country has changed. However, in my opinion, more information should be given about the disadvantages of globalization impact to compare them with advantages. As this paper is the first study of globalization and education policy development in Oman, in conclusion Al’Abri recommends doing more research on this issue.    
Reference
Al’Abri, K. (2011, December). The impact of globalization on education policy of developing 
            countries: Oman as an example. Literacy Information and Computer Education Journal
            (LICEJ), 2(4), pp. 491-502. Infonomics Society.






                                                                     

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