The Seventh Annual Gulf Comparative Education Society Symposium

Call for Papers

Sponsored by the Gulf Comparative Education Society

Innovation and Transformation: Values, Challenges, and Prospects for Education in the GCC

April 5-7, 2016

Arab Open University - Kuwait Branch 

The 2016 GCES Symposium calls for papers that focus on the use of innovation to transform education, at any level, across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Papers that utilize a comparative perspective are particularly welcome, as this is the focus of the society. Comparisons can be made across various dimensions including, but not limited to: time, space, or level of education. Papers might explore how education innovation can be conceptualized by scholars and policymakers as an alternative paradigm to traditional educational methods and what the implications are. A critical approach, which looks at both the promises and pitfalls of embracing innovation or of rapid transformations, is encouraged in order to provide a comprehensive examination of the topic. Relevant topics could include Open, Flexible, Online (OFO) education, changes in pedagogy, use of new technologies, the role of non-governmental organizations, etc.

We also welcome papers that take the alternative perspective and examine how conventional/traditional K-12 and tertiary education systems endure in the face of pressure to innovate and change, and what mechanisms these resistors to change use to maintain the status quo in the GCC. Perspectives from any education-related discipline are encouraged as are all methodologies.

Applicaiton deadline is  January 7, 2016.  Notification Date: February 2016

Doctoral Student & Faculty Travel Grants Avaible. For more information click here .