Globally, the past decade has seen a surge of interest in early childhood education. Similarly, in Dubai, the education sector has seen a rapid growth in the past ten years. Overall, there is a high rate of enrollment of Emirati children in the kindergartens, with over 70% enrolled in the private sector, while only 5% of age-eligible Emirati children in Dubai are enrolled in nurseries. However, public provision of nurseries is more scarce, with only two nurseries catering to 43 Emirati children.

In its role as a regulator of the education sector in Dubai, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has conducted an in-depth study of the early childhood education sector, on which this brief is based. The brief will provide a description of the pre-school educational landscape in Dubai, and the challenges facing its further development, along with policy recommendations to address the current needs in the sector.

In the Middle East, a region traditionally associated with male privilege, women’s participation in higher education has been increasing at far greater rates than that of men, to the point where currently over 70% of students in tertiary education in the United Arab Emirates are women. While research has been conducted on male participation rates in some OECD countries very little has been conducted in the Middle East despite even lower male higher education participation rates.

This paper covers the case of the United Arab Emirates and uses the literature on access as a framework to examine male participation in higher education from an economic and sociological perspective. It explores the reasons why so many Emirati men are failing to enroll in higher education. Key factors for the low male participation rates identified in this paper include the disconnect between educational effort and probable rewards, social and educational stratification and poor prior academic attainment of Emirati males.

The paper concludes by recommending further research into the causes of low male participation rates in higher education in the UAE, with particular attention to socioeconomic influences on student achievement.

Private tutoring — also known as “shadow education,” due to its informal nature — is a worldwide phenomenon that has been growing steadily, accounting for close to 3% of Gross Domestic Product in some countries. A recent survey conducted by the Dubai School of Government (DSG) found that more than 65% of Emirati students in Grade 12 attend private tutoring lessons. While there can be benefits to both students and teachers, private tutoring also has serious negative implications, not only for the individuals involved, but also for the education system as a whole.

This brief gives an overview of shadow education, its reach and patterns worldwide. Next, it presents the results of the recent DSG study revealing private tutoring practices among Emiratis. The brief concludes with a discussion of the consequences of private tutoring, and offers policy recommendations to address the issue.

With the generous support of the Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Education Policy and Research, and in collaboration with the Dubai School of Government, the Gulf Comparative Education Society (GCES) organized its second annual symposium on March 16 and 17, 2011. Entitled “Intersections of the Public and Private in Education in the GCC,” the symposium was held at the Al Hamra Convention Center in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It consisted of nine panels and 32 presentations, with both invited speakers as well as those who had submitted abstracts for presentation. The speakers came from a wide variety of countries, including the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Switzerland, England and the United States, and represented different voices in the education sector, ranging from policy makers, academics and researchers, to school providers and leaders, consultants and teachers.

The purpose of the GCES symposium was to examine the increasing influence of the private sector on public education policies and practices in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), particularly in the context of access, equity, quality and accountability. Delivering the keynote address on new education governance partnerships was Prof. Susan Robertson, Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Bristol, while the remaining panels addressed the following topics:

Blurred Boundaries: Public and Private Schooling in the GCC
The Role of the Market in Higher Education in the GCC
Building Teacher Quality
Addressing STEM
Leading Policy Change
Building a Knowledge Economy
Privatization of the Education System
Global Influences, Local Choices
Innovation in Education
 In addition, the symposium brought together over 100 participants working in a range of organizations across the Emirates, the Gulf states and beyond, all of whom shared an interest in comparative education in the GCC.

Following the symposium, presenters were asked if they would like to submit a 1000 – 3000 word paper on their presentation. This volume is the compilation of those who submitted papers. While it does not cover all of the presentations that were made at the symposium, presentation slides for all the presentations are available on the GCES Web site at http://gulfcomped.ning.com.