VIEW OF EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT IN OMAN

This article provides a description and analysis of the development of the education system and its stages in the context of Oman, at the level of formal school. This descriptive analysis constitutes three core objectives. First, to focus on the development of education in Oman; Second, to explore each stage of these developments, and lastly to evaluate the extent to which the developments are consistent with the intended aims of education development in Oman. I will meet these objectives by analyzing studies that evaluate the education system in Oman. In the beginning of this article, I focus on the stages of development undergone by the education system in Oman, in particular before and after 1970. This analysis found that despite changes implemented by the Ministry of Education (MOE) intended to improve the education system, no significant change has occurred. In fact many of the weaknesses of the previous system continue to exist. The main contribution of this evaluation is that it provides policy makers with the most up-to-date information and evidence on the condition of the current education system. Also, this research highlights some key obstacles which prevent the education system from improving. Subsequently it is hoped that the MOE can work to find solutions to overcome the obstacles that may prevent the further development of the education system in Oman. Whilst providing a robust evaluation, this article has two main limitations. First, it is based entirely on one data collection method which is a review of the literature. It has no supporting evidence which might corroborate or validate the literature review findings. The second limitation is that despite every effort made to be objective and systematic in the reviewing process, it is inevitable that the analysis and findings include an element of the author’s biases.