UNESCO Doha Office has launched a case study research in Kuwait to assess the quality of education and examine existing learning outcomes in terms of content (i.e., what to learn) and cognitive expectations (i.e., how to learn).

The objective of the research is to understand the extent to which the instructional strategies are in line with curriculum expectations in math, science, and reading. 

In partnership with the Kuwait National Commission and education specialists from several institutions in Kuwait, the research team will gather data in two phases. During the first phase, launched on Monday October 20 2014, research partners in Kuwait are facilitating quantitative data collection on a random sample of 36 girls’ and boys’ schools across six districts in Kuwait through questionnaires designed for principals, teachers, and students at grades 4 and 8. During the second phase, individual interviews will be held with key government officials and education partners. 

Preliminary case studies on each school, boys' and girls' schools, will also be conducted to discern patterns and compare findings between male and female schools. 

It is hoped that the regional research will contribute to better empirical evidence and knowledge about the quality of education outcomes in the GCC, provide insights on the challenges impeding improvement in the quality of education and system-performance in the region and inform potential prospects for education post 2015.

Research progress on the QNRF project and preliminary findings from the case study on Kuwait will be shared at the 2014 Qatar Foundation Annual Research Conference on November 18-19 2014, in Doha, Qatar.

For further information, please contact Faryal Khan at f.khan(at)unesco.org, Iman Chahine at i.chahine(at)unesco.org and Maricel Fernandez at m.fernandez@unesco.org