improving education system in oman through ... - OIDA IJSD Journal

IMPROVING EDUCATION SYSTEM IN OMAN THROUGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM, TEACHING METHODS AND EVALUATION: WHAT IS NEEDED? Maryam Salim AL-Maskri a , Sheikha Hamed AL-Mukhini b ,Ismail Hussein Amzat c a, b, c

Department of Education Foundation and Administration, College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman. c Corresponding author: [email protected]

©Ontario International Development Agency ISSN: 1923-6654 (print) ISSN 1923-6662 (online). Available at http://www.ssrn.com/link/OIDA-Intl-Journal-Sustainable-Dev.html

Abstract: The education system in the Sultanate of Oman has witnessed many changes and improvements in align with the global educational standard. However, the journey of improving the education system to have well-established and completed system is continuous and the room for upgrading is wide opened. This research came into being to explore about the elements and suggestions that are needed to improve the educational system in Oman in terms of school curriculum, teaching methods and evaluation system. Thus, it strives to describe types of information that should be embedded in the school system for improvement and changes that should be occurred for further development. To answer those inquiries, five lecturers were interviewed from Sultan Qaboos University (SQU): College of Education, College of Art and the Language Center. Two of them were foreigners and the others were Omanis. The results of this study show that, there is an essential need of upgrading the Utopia of the school curriculum in relation to the real life. It is suggested for the school curriculum in Oman to add more into the curriculum some problem-solving programs where student can analyze and solve their daily life problems as well as at preparing students for future challenges. Moreover, inculcating effective communication skills, public speaking program and effective critical thinking or subject into the curriculum is suggested. Ongoing research by the Ministry is needed as well as empowering students to be active learners through

research and propagate valuable lessons to the society and patriotism. Diversity of school assessments for evaluation system is proposed and continuous evaluation of the school assessment should be always carried out for its effectiveness. Keywords: Evaluation; Curriculum; System; School; Teaching Methods INTRODUCTION Farther steps for a well developed educational system

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ince Oman has chosen development in all spheres of technological advancement as its onward direction, it is essential for Oman to take the main road to be at a high step on the development ladder. H.M. Sultan Qaboos stated that "Education is the cornerstone for the progress of society which the state fosters and endeavors to spread and make accessible to all" (the Royal Decree, November 1996, Article 13). From there, education became the way that Oman has chosen to take on its journey on the development ladder. Oman has taken wise and cautious steps to improve the educational system, and history is the best witness to confirm this fact.

Retrospectively going back forty years in Omani history, before 1970, there were no schools in Oman; little children were taught the Holy Quran, under a

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AL-Maskri / OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development 03: 10 (2012)

tree by an old man, who had knowledge about the Holy Quran's sciences. Then three schools were developed, two in Muscat and one in Salalah, with 30 teachers and about 900 male students studying a few basic subjects like, Arabic and Islamic culture. Yet today, under the wise leadership of H.M. Sultan Qaboos, there are more than 1050 schools all over Oman with approximately 541,436 students from both genders, and about 43,672 teachers who are teaching a variety of new subjects like engineering and ICT (Information and Computer Technology). The overall aim of all these efforts is to ensure that all young people in the Sultanate of Oman have access to the quality school educational system appropriate to the needs of the 21st century “globalized world" (National Report on Quality Education in Oman,2004). However, the journey to improve the educational system has not finished yet; the Sultanate has the quests for a high level of well-developed educational system. After focusing on quantity in the education by applying the Act NCLB (No Child Left Behind), which started in America in 2001, calling for education for all children, now is the time to seek quality educational system in order to produce good citizens who will lead the country through all the challenges to the next millennium. Dr. Abdul Halimi claimed that, "…. as we speak of education, industrialization and progress, we should also focus on the growing need of humanity to preserve spiritual and moral values. We need ‘total human beings’, not robots or machines. Islam focuses on the total happiness of mankind and welfare of society. This is what our educational system should aim at" (ECSSR, Dr. Abdul Halimi Ahmad, 1999). Omani Educational system needs to be in the same line with the current global changes and challenges, and therefore, there is an essential need to improve it in the light of the latest changes. The following lines will offer suggestions to improve the educational system in Oman in terms of the school curriculum, methods of teaching and performance evaluation system as the vital and interconnected components of the educational system. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Oman's Renaissance era witnessed a remarkable improvement in the educational sector as the best method for human development which was and still H.M.Sultan Qaboo's first concern. However, the rapid global changes require equivalent changes and improvement in the educational system, especially in the curriculum and to what extent it suits these changes, in the methods of teaching and their efficiency in transmitting knowledge to the students, and in evaluating how good the system is.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS (a) What is needed to improve the school curriculum in Oman? (b) What kind of methods is needed to ensure the students’ learning? (c) What would be the best methods to evaluate the students' performance? RESEARCH OBJECTIVES (a)To investigate some suggestions to improve the school curriculum in the Sultanate of Oman to fill the gaps in the current curriculum. (b) To highlight some effective methods of teaching that will improve the educational process. (c) To examine some improvement in the educational evaluation system. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY The results of this study cannot be generalized to all the schools in Oman as there are some schools, like the basic education schools that manage to overcome these difficulties and fill these gaps in the curriculum, evaluation system, and methods of teaching which depend a great deal on the teachers’ individual efforts. Furthermore, the interview included only five lecturers' opinions whose accounts on schools belong to a distant past. However, there is a tangible improvement that no one can deny. LITERATURE REVIEW Curriculum Development According to the Director of Curriculum Development in the Ministry of Education of Oman, curriculum is an educational plan that contains many items which include educational content, goals, experiences, teaching and measurement which are mobilized from psychological, social, and philosophical fields that are related to the learner and his environment. In his paper, (at the ECSSR, Education and Training in GCC Countries: Some Issues of Concern, 1999), Al-Sulayti stated that it was essential to improve the school curriculum to ensure the quality of education to fit the current era of information explosion. The school curriculum in the GCC countries needs to be reformed in its content and organization. The educational materials should be flexible, related to the society’s needs and should be interesting enough to induce the students to learn as well as grasp different skills for them to be internally motivated to seek knowledge. Therefore, the old traditional curriculum that mostly depends on memorization needs to be replaced with a new one that emphasizes on high level of thinking skills that will help them to cope with the current age challenges. In order to ensure the success of the reformation in the curriculum improvement, we need to prepare and train the teachers to carry out this holistic mission. (p274).

AL-Maskri / OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development 03:10 (2012)

As for Oman, basic education is a step towards development of the educational system. According to what Is reported (in the International Report on Quality Education in Oman, 2004), the basic education curriculum comes into existence as a replay for the urgent need to reform the old general education to be more relevant to the society and to fit the rapid changes in the 21st century. The aim of this new curriculum is to provide students with real life situations, to guide them to learn from their experiences and to gain imperative and relevant skills and values that are deeply rooted in our religion (Islam) and in our identity as true Omanis (p15-16). Doubtless, the basic curriculum is a fascinating one, full of colorful pictures, that attracts students, particularly the first circle books (1-4), yet I think it is heavy for the students' level. It has many topics, and complicated activities that many students cannot solve in most times because they are not prepared for such kind of activities, especially for those who don't start from the first years. Besides, what I think is the most important point is that the teachers are not highly qualified to teach such a curriculum. They have studied and taught the old curriculum for a long time, hence, it is not that easy to adapt to the new curriculum that obliges them to change their methods of teaching that they have been used to. Before taking this huge step, the Ministry ought to prepare for the relevant professional captains who would control the rudder to drive the educational vessel to a safe shore. G. Wraga, (2002) refers to what is called curriculum enactment "as the most promising prospect for improving the educational experiences of children and youth" because this kind of curriculum requires a collaborative work from both learners and teachers to achieve the purpose of education. Personally, we believe that this kind of curriculum is what we need to have in achieving the purpose of education that can produce effective and strong human resources and capital for a much better future. Through this curriculum that encourages learning engagement in conversation, learners are active and not passive and tend to participate in the classroom discussion. Students interacting in the teaching process improve their skills, especially the communication skill, which is a key word for one’s development (p.3). Methods of teaching and its Development Brok and Gnnarsdottirs (2001) have claimed that the best methods that the teacher may use are the methods that transform the students into active learners. Besides, it is agreed that "most of the educational psychologists proclaimed that active learning was better than passive learning." Making the class learner-centered is the method that makes learners interact in the class through asking questions

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which develop their communication skills. They have strongly stressed on interaction in the classroom, between the students and the teachers, the students themselves, and the students with the technology (p21-22). Further, it is true that students are more likely to retain the knowledge and the skills that they have learnt by doing. Student–centered learning is considered as an effective way to stimulate them to learn because in a class where they have power and involvement, they develop themselves not only intellectually but they also enhance their personalities by gaining the skills, like decision making, problem solving and communication skills as well. This definition seems to be similar to Debra’s (2002) by defining teaching as "an intricate network of acts, a fact to which anyone who stands in front of a classroom can readily verify". (p104). Individualized learning is another important method for teachers to apply in their classes to make sure that each student understands on the same line with the teacher. Alfred Bork’s Tutorial Distance Learning Rebuilding Our Educational System, (2001), stated that individualized learning required the teacher to consider all the students’ different abilities and levels of understanding. (P47) According to Santrock, the flow theory supported the need for individualized learning in terms of considering the students' different levels of understanding and choosing the best challenges that are capable of making them to be self-motivated towards learning. Teachers need to provide each student with the appropriate challenges that will achieve the flow of interest and understanding within the students which will invariably show their real abilities and potentials. The following Figure shows the consequences of the conflict between the students' level of understanding and the challenges. (P464466) To solve the problem of not having enough teachers to take care of each student individually, Robert E. Slavin’s Educational Psychology, Theory and Practice (2006) suggested the Peer Tutoring and Adult Tutoring as effective methods of learning. In Peer Tutoring the teacher tells the students to help each other in learning. Each of two students sits together and helps each other in understanding the lessons. The second way is the Adult tutoring; oneto-one and adult to child tutoring. It is an effective way when students learn from those who are older than they are, for example, grade nine students teach grade seven students. It doesn’t have to be students to student tutoring; it can be by any educated adults, such as, the parents. (p289+290)

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Students’ Perceived level of their own skills low

Students’ Perceived low level of challenges high

high

Apathy

Boredom

Anxiety

Flow

Figure1: Outcomes of Perceived Levels of Challenge and Skill

Evaluation System Development

Performance Tasks

All kinds of traditional evaluation procedures have been implemented in Omani schools for the past 40 years, yet some modern ways have been applied for evaluating students when the basic education was implemented in the 1998-99 academic year. In Omani schools, test is the most dominant strategy to evaluate the students’ performances while it is an unfair instrument to assess the students’ learning as they are intellectually and mentally equal. According to the Ministerial Decree (40/2010), most of the evaluation system items rely on examination which takes 60% from the overall grade. James E.M and Robert E.L, on Why We Assess Students-And How, The Competing Measures of Students’ Performance (1996) suggested that tests were almost considered as biased and not fair items of assessment when some of the students’ grade in the tests relied on some information other than what was being tested. However, alternative assessment demonstrated a specific area in different knowledge which gave every student equal opportunities to show their abilities, though all the teachers and principals wanted to make the assessment as fair as possible. The most popular types of alternative assessments are given below.

In these tasks, students are required to demonstrate a competence in performing any activity related to different areas of educational subjects, for example, implement a course of actions, complete a science experiment and develop possible alternatives or solutions to the problem or task.

Constructed-response items These items require students to have their own answers to solve the problem in a written form rather than selecting the answer from possible given answers. They are mostly open-ended which means they have more than one possible answer.

Portfolio Portfolio culture, as it is called, is a file which contains a collection of the students’ works during the whole year, whether required assignments from teachers or daily class activities. In most cases, it includes the students’ initiative works to practice some learnt skills. Portfolio culture, generally, are visual presentations for the students’ accomplishments. METHODOLOGY Five interviews had been used to be applied to the methodology by using four lecturers from the SQU (Sultan Qaboos University), the College of Education, the College of Arts and Social Sciences, and the Language Center, two of whom were foreigners and the others were Omanis. Besides, the interview sought to investigate the lectures’ opinions of the school curriculum, methods of teaching, and evaluation system according to their experiences as teachers who had been to the schools. The questions were divided into three sections which were questions about school curriculum, questions about method of teaching, and questions related to the evaluation system.


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DATA ANALYSIS Interview Protocol Analysis Table 1: Question 1- Do you think the school curriculum is a well rounded set of educational courses? Does it address the latest issues in the world and prepare students for the job market? EXISTENTIAL MEANING Participant 1: According to government’s report, it shows that the curriculum is well rounded, yet there are many issues related to the curriculum. Firstly, is the curriculum applied in the school, the same curriculum as that decided by the government? There definitely is a problem in the application of the curriculum; therefore the government must do a research on it from every angle. It also has to test and examine whether the curriculum is helping the students and fitting into the government’s and the society’s needs. The government has all that in the documents, but it has to look back to check if the teachers are following the curriculum. There should be an intensive evaluation so that the government will know whether it has improved the curriculum and teachers’ abilities or not. Participant 2: Yes, I do agree. All school curricula look fantastic on paper. They all use the terminology in vogue, and claim that they are in tune with the age, etc., but in reality the situation might be different. Undoubtedly, there has been a great effort in addressing the concerns of students in terms of material provision, as the Internet has been of considerable help in this matter, but students need to be prepared professionally as well. For instance, the curriculum might indirectly address issues related to the job market so that students get a realistic picture of the world they live in. The curriculum also needs to focus on other practical everyday life matters.

CODING

The government has put a well rounded school curriculum, yet teachers are not following that curriculum; therefore, the government has to do researches to ensure the application of the established curriculum.

Although the school curriculum is designed to be well rounded and to fit the society and the students' needs, its application is a doubtful issue. Undeniably that has been noticeable efforts in the material provision, such as, internet in preparing students for the job market, but it needs to be more related to the students' everyday life.

THEME

Application

-

Implementation

-

Evaluation of the system

-

Application in reality

-

Practicality

-

Market and the society’s reflection

-

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Participant 3: Well, if the new one is compared to the old one when I studied, yes, but still we need such kind of reform, such kind of renewal to those curricula in order to be in the same line with the global curricula that are used in other places in the west. I think that the new curricula, to some extent, satisfy the needs of the Omani people, but still we need to do such kind of reformation. There is no way to say, "these are the right curricula." We still need to improve them. Yes, for sure, for example, the subject that prepares the students for their jobs later in Your Career Path. Such kinds of courses are new to the system and I think they are doing their job if they are taught correctly. The other subject is Life Skills which is also a subject that prepares students to prepare for jobs in the future either to the market or where they plan for the future. Participant 4: I hope so; I have not really had the chance to have a look at the line of the curriculum from where it starts to the graduate, but as a person who went through that system of education, my account goes to about 10 years ago when there had been many changes, yet still I do not think that the school curriculum prepares students for real life situations. I mean, imagine if a student in grade two is given a picture of a blind man wanting to cross the road and there is a young boy who helps him who then thanks the boy. You move to grade 12 and there is a man who slips and falls and another man sees him and helps him up, in which everything is all perfect. Let the car hit the man and then tell me what are you going to do? Our curriculum is seen to express as if we lived in utopia and none of the bad situations, such as, a divorce occurs in a society. The essence of the curriculum seems to avoid things that are really taking place in our society. There is a clash between what we study and what is real in

global changes.

-

Fitting student career path

-

Building global citizen

-

There is an obvious improvement in the school curriculum comparing with many years ago in term of satisfying the society needs also there are new subjects to prepare students for their future live such as life skills, yet there is still a need to reform the curriculum to cope with the global changes.

Suiting

Schools' curriculum doesn’t prepare students for real life situations where they will face problems to solve as they don’t reflect the society we are living in. There are many important issues which need to be included in the curriculum to fit the imperative needs of the society to acknowledge students to these issues that are taking place in our society, like, time management and planning for the future.

Well

with

the

curriculum needed

-

Upgrading the curriculum

-

Reflecting the society’s needs.

-

rounded


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life. Now is the time to teach the children in schools to respect their parents, how to manage their time and to plan their future because we are having problems in these issues. Our curriculum is static and not flexible in the truest sense of the words.

Table 2- Question 2: What is missing in the schools' curriculum? EXISTENTIAL MEANING participant 1: The government has to give input in the curriculum the issue of communication because it is a big problem in Oman where students are not able to comprehensively communicate or explain themselves very clearly because the entire curriculum is full of theories as there is no real life practicality in the existing curriculum. The communication problem is between students and teachers and between students themselves. Students cannot develop themselves without teachers, as they have to listen to the teachers and they don't have their own initiatives to create learning environment for themselves and develop their communication skills. The curriculum should be more proactive to practice to make students active learners, yet I still cannot find that activity. The curriculum is there but is not applied and there is no communication skill, thus it is not active. The curriculum can improve if they find solutions to these problems. Participant 2: It seems that there is more emphasis on the technological aspect of teaching and learning than on the human one. The curriculum needs to be "humanized" so that students learn how to interact better with the rest of the society. Something else which is perhaps "missing" from the curriculum is rigor and

CODING

There is a lack of communication skills in our curriculum, as a result, the government has to focus on improving the students’ communication skills with their teachers and among themselves.

There is a great concern in the technological aspect wherein it should focus on the human aspect so that students can improve their communication skills. Rigor and discipline are missing too in the curriculum which should challenge students in order to raise their standards in life.

THEME

Lack of communication skills in the curriculum.

-

Interaction in the classroom with teachers to be encouraged.

-

Rigors and discipline in dealing with the curriculum are missing in the school curriculum.

-

Emphasis on the human aspects is required.

-

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discipline. Standards need to be observed and there should be more rigors in dealing with the curricula. Learners should be challenged through intensive curricula, and they should be made aware that it is not in their interest to have low standards of performance. Participant 3: What is missing is the connection between what is done in reality and what is taught in theory, as we need to be in the same line with what is done globally. We don’t want to be left behind. We also need to connect the curriculum to the needs of the society; it is not enough to provide a curriculum that contains information. There is a big need to match it with the needs of the society. If we make it to match the philosophy of education in the sultanate, the heritage and culture of the Omani society, then that will serve a lot, besides the global trends, like sustainable development, and why don’t we introduce it to our curriculum? This is one of the issues globally. The curriculum also needs to follow the experts’ advices and recommendations. Globally now in each science, we have experts and researchers who have gone through such problems and such situations in their countries and why don’t we get the benefits from what they did? We don't have to start from zero; people have now reached a certain state and why don’t we go with them and start from where they have reached? We also have to improve the quality of the Omani people in serving this area, the curriculum. Participant 4: The curriculum doesn’t reflect the society that we are living in. It doesn’t present the social problems that our society is facing. What are really missing are real life situations and teaching students about important issues that our society has these days, like divorce, respecting parents and managing our time.

The connection between what is in the curriculum and what goes on in the society is what is missing in the schools' curriculum and therefore we need to get the benefits from others’ experiences in developing the curriculum in order to be on the same level with the global changes.

A big gap between the curriculum and the reality exists.

-

Matching global change.

-

Upgrading the curriculum.

-

Our curriculum is so ideal that it avoids the real life problems and the issues that are taking place in our society.

Gap between classroom and outside.

-


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Table3: Question 3-Do you think that teachers in Oman are using effective methods of teaching? EXISTENTIAL MEANING participant 1: According to the document, the Ministry of Education stated that teachers were advised to use effective teaching, and this kind of effective teaching is well standardized, but the problem is in the application. You may have criteria and methods for teachers to use in the class but the problem is, are they using them? The government has to do a research to ensure the application of what was stated in the document for the school. It also has to check whether teachers are following that criteria and whether they are teaching effectively using different materials or not. The government also has to make sure that teachers are teaching in a correct and systematic way that fits the students' needs and reflects the society's features. If we are also talking about effective teaching, it has to be defined first. In order to be an effective teacher, you have to have a complete material for your class. You have to read before you go to the class and link your explanation in the class with something outside and you further have to make sure that what you are teaching is what the students and the society need. Hence, effective teaching is a compensive input of efforts. It is not about using PowerPoint but it is about what your efforts have contributed, and as long as teachers are not applying any of these, I cannot call them effective teachers. Participant 2: It is very hard to answer this question with confidence because of the variables. In some cases, we are not even sure whether there are methods as such, let alone those we deem "effective." Some teachers believe that whatever they learned in college or university might not be effective enough to deal with the school environment, hence, these teachers resort to intuition at

CODING

THEME

Effective teaching.

-

Research

-

Application

-

The problem that the educational system faces in Oman, in terms of effectiveness, is the application of what was stated in the document. To solve this problem, the government has to do researches in the system from different angles. Effective teaching can also be defined as a combination of efforts by teachers to ensure that what is taught should fit well for the students’ and the society's needs.

Implementing

Some teachers think that the knowledge and experiences they have don't influence the methods they use, thus, they create their own methods of teaching. It is also hard to determine the effectiveness in teaching, yet a clear approach and well defined objectives are essential to achieve .

Standardization of methods of teaching.

-

Providing effective teaching rubrics.

-

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the spur of the moment. That is to say, they create their own methods which, at times, might really work. Now, "effectiveness" is very hard to define, since even when you use technology in the classroom, this might not yield good results at the pedagogical level in terms of results. In a sense, what is needed to achieve "effectiveness" in teaching is a clear approach and a well-defined objective Participant 3: Unfortunately no. I'm not generalizing but I've visited many schools and I saw that they were still using traditional ways of teaching and they are using the same methods their teachers used to teach them. I believe that they were trained and prepared to use modern methods that dealt with the students as humans and as children, but I don't know why they didn’t use these new methods. You'll see that female teachers are better than males because males don't believe in improving themselves through teaching methods. Why? Is it an issue that needs to be studied? Participant 4: No, I have been to schools and most of the teaching methods are teacher-centered. The amount of talking time that the teacher is doing is more than the amount of time that the students have to do. Teachers are not encouraged from the upper management to go beyond the teaching plan. I would say we do not really mean to focus in empowering teachers. Education now is focusing more in empowering learners. It is time for the teachers to sit and to learn from their students. What do the students need? Now they can get knowledge from the internet, but how are they to receive the knowledge and what good resourses of knowledge can they choose?

Our teachers, especially male teachers don’t use effective methods for teaching. They still stick to the old methods although they were trained to use new and modern methodologies.

Applying the new methodologies of teaching.

-

Modernization of teaching.

-

The major methods that teachers are using are teacher-centered methods that make students passive in the class. It is time to involve students in what they are learning and we have to empower them.

Application

of studentscentered approach.

-

Focusing on empowering learners.

-


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Table4: Question 4- What are the methods that teachers may use in order to ensure knowledge transmission to the students? EXISTENTIAL MEANING Participant 1: We have standard methodologies and teachers may also have additional reliable methodologies but as long as they are very effective in engaging with the students, then everything is fine. If you are applying a method, you need to look to the kind of students you have in the class and find out what their abilities and levels are. Just then you will know what methods are appropriate to use. To check their understanding you also have to have a continuous assessment which helps you to check whether the kind of methods that you are using are effective, and whether the students are getting something out of your class or not. Only then will you know if you have to keep those methods or replace them or to come up with a better method. Participant 2: Interactive learning and learnerfocused teaching methods are, on the whole, considered effective to transmit knowledge. Having said so, the teacher needs to create a truly conducive environment for learning first, and only then can he/she applies the methods. What's the point of trying to share information with a partner who either lacks motivation or is careless? I think we need to work on the human/emotional aspect, which is a terribly missing factor these days because of too much emphasis on the technological aspect. Participant 3: Teachers shouldn’t follow the traditional way of just vomiting information and data to the students, they need to interact and create a kind of friendship between them and their students and the methodology they will use should reflect that interaction. A white board can be enough if the teacher

CODING

Continuous assessment helps teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of the methods that they are using and it enables them to create good methods that fit the students’ varied abilities and levels of understanding.

Interactive learning and learnerfocused teaching are very effective methods that teachers can use besides providing the appropriate learning environment which motivates students to learn.

Teachers should use new methods that get students to interact in the class and that can be done without using technology if the teacher knows what method to use and create a friendship with his/her students.

THEME

Using different methods of teaching.

-

Applying methods suiting the students' different abilities and levels.

-

Applying best methods.

-

Developing students' emotional intelligence.

-

Creating

-

learning environment.

New methods of teaching.

-

Students to interact in the classroom.

-

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is using the correct methodology for each lesson. By traditional way I don't mean not using technology; teachers can use many ways without technology, for example, bringing materials to the class so students can see them.

Participant 4: The kind of methods I would suggest: 1. Encourage students to voice their thought, such as, grouping them in circles and let them discuss and express their opinions. 2. Empowering students, whatever the methods he will think of; for example, asking students to give presentation, to engage in research, taking students in field trips and encouraging reading culture. 3. The factor that I would really emphasize is publicizing social ideas to the society, for instance, two days off from teaching and get out to the society, to the street, university or go to the very busy road, observe what that road lacks and give the society a lesson about certain topic, for example, mitigative symbolic punishment in the family in juvenile delinquency. It is something that we see, but we don’t want in our societies. We teach our children that the religion teaches us to respect those who are older than we and have mercy to those who are younger than we, but when we come to the society we do not find such practices. When the parents see their children walk in the street and holding posters saying "I have the right not to be slapped by my parents", they will then realize that they have made a mistake in the way they treat their children and when they are back home they will demonstrate merciful attitudes towards their children. We can start in a small scale and then spread it to our society which is going to change and I believe that education needs a change and I think if we can move from the era of giving theories to the era of practice, get it, feel it, and be aware

The methods that the teachers should use should focus on empowering students by giving them the chance to speak and express themselves, for example, groups' discussions, critical thinking methods and helping students to start their role in involving the societies by publicizing social issues to the open society which encourages the students’ vocal opinions.

The curriculum needs to be put into practice.

Methods that focus on empowering students to think.

-

Methods that encourage students' voice in the society.

-

Practicality is the main theme.

-


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of it, then the change will happen. Table 5: Question 5- In your opinion, what is/are the best method/s to evaluate the students’ performance? EXISTENTIAL MEANING Participant 1: Evaluating students’ performance starts from the classroom, through their communication and participation in the class, and therefore teachers should have different techniques to evaluate students’ progress. First of all, they have to train them on public speaking, where they have to present their opinions in front of the class to improve their abilities and communication skills. They also have to work in groups and apply problem based learning where they are given a problem to solve in a group; you can give them a problem and ask them to go out to solve them and come back to give you the results. At the same time you need to ensure that students are attentively engaged in the class so that you can test them orally in a written form. If you want to have competent students, you have to test them in all levels of knowledge not only examinations. You can still have midterm exams and final exams, but to me, I believe more in the students’ participation to evaluate their abilities because students have different abilities, such as, some are good in writing but not in communication while others are good in presentation, thus, the evaluation should cover all students' abilities. You can ask them to argue and defend themselves through debates. Participant 2: I believe that continuous and holistic assessment is the best method. Tests can be useful, but they are not always adequate in revealing the students' actual level of abilities. Tests should never be overemphasized at the expense of other interactive means of evaluation. Participant 3: I believe that now our schools are

CODING

Teachers shouldn’t only depend on the school examinations to evaluate their students’ progress. They should use different techniques to evaluate the students’ various abilities and skills, like communication, debate and problem solving skills; hence, the evaluation should be started from the classroom through the students’ participation.

Participation is an appropriate method to evaluate the students’ abilities because it enhances their communication skills.

The best evaluation method is continuous assessment of the students’ abilities and therefore tests should not be overemphasized.

Exams are not the best way to

THEME

Examinations test students' real abilities.

-

Engaging students' skills and competence.

-

Participation

improves students' skills.

-

Continuous assessment is needed.

-

Holistic

-

evaluation and methods.

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using better methods of assessment and evaluation and they are not stuck to the summative as once it was when I was in the school where we used the midterms and the final exams, but now they are using presentations and different activities which are good. I am against the exams, and I am trying in my classes to provide different ways of assessments, but still there is a policy. At the schools they have to have exams and if you study exams and you search around the word “examination”, you will find that it is connected with all scary words, anxiety, stress, tension, and all words of similar connotations. If I am a policy making person, I won't put exams as the priority. I can assess my students in the right way and I can know who the A performers are and who the B perforemers are. We have a strategy that tells you to teach, examine and assess each student differently, for example, Maryam is good in presenting opinions and I can assess her in that way while Mohammed is good in writing. Participant 4: There is no best way, but there are many ways depending on the situations. There is no fast track for some students. There are some students who are very clever, and if choose the wrong method, we can make these students become stupid. If a student knows what he has studied in the first grade or the second grade and he wants to sit for a test so that he can jump to the third grade or grade four, why do we not allow him? Why do we go by the age only? (If you are seven years old and you are in grade one, you cannot, by any means, be in grade three). There is something happening in the evaluation and we should have some tests that allow students to skip a grade if they can. Furthermore, there are two ways of assessments which are summative (the finals) and continuous (the teacher and the students work together, such as, attendance and participation). The Ministry of

evaluate students’ abilities and skill because they affect their performance negatively, besides, students have different abilities, therefore alternative methods, like presentation should be used to suit the students’ different levels of abilities.

The policy of placing students according to their ages killed clever students’ abilities and intelligence; therefore, the evaluation should be changed according to their abilities. The focus should be on the formative assessment, like, presentations and discussions.

Dynamic ways of evaluation.

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and public speaking.

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Avoid using students' age to evaluate students’ levels of performance and abilities.

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Emphasize on the continuous assessment in the evaluation system.

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Presentations


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Education should give the continuous assessment more attention than the summative evaluation because tests do not reflect what the students have been learning through the semester. On the other hand, giving presentations, conducting small research and doing discussion with students can give the teacher a good evaluation on the students' improvement of gaining knowledge. Table 6: Question 6-How does the evaluation system influence the students’ performance? EXISTENTIAL MEANING Participant 1: There is a problem in the evaluation most of which is in written form; midterm and final exams, even in the classroom they are always teacher-centered where the students only have to listen to the teacher (receive the knowledge and give it back in the exam paper), thus, they lose their creativity. The majority of the classes are based on teachercentered learning, and only in a few classes, students are given a chance to participate in the class. Evaluation is not really inducing the students' abilities. Participant 2: Students react sensitively towards grades. It's a cultural phenomenon, universal more than local. Society is mostly to blame because of the pressure placed on the students in order to get high grades. Students also misunderstand the issue of grades by always assuming that if they get low grades it means that there is something wrong with them rather than with their performance on a given test. The culture of grades needs to change. Participant 3: It affects so much. I haven’t taught in schools, but I was once taught there and I know the system. Whenever you provide activities to the students, they will tell you "no, we don’t want them and we want

CODING

THEME

Depending on only exams make students passive in teachercentered classes, thus, they lose their creativity.

The present evaluation does not show the students' real abilities.

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We are leaving in a grade culture where students associate themselves with their grades in a certain test to the extent that if they get low grades, these would miserably affect the way they look at themselves and others look at them, in the sense that they will look down upon him\her.

Changing grade culture encourages better students' performance.

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The evaluation method that teachers use affects students' performance so much. For example, if the teacher uses only exams, then his students will tend to memorize the information only

The evaluation method directly affects the quality of the students' performance.

-

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only exams", in which case they don’t understand the bad effects that are connected to the exams. When you provide them with activities to write to present, you will find them like having problems because they aren’t prepared for such thing. In the schools we need, as teachers, to provide the students with the right assessment that students will like. I am still using the UDL (the Universal Design for Learning) because if you only provide assessment that is exams, with paper and pencil to write exams, they will only make the students to memorise the information for you, because they will not study for the purpose of studying. The other salient point is that you have to find something interesting for the students, such as, presentation, drawing on a paper, or having any activity that your individual students will like. You can have a team work, and assess your students through their participation in the classroom. This type of assessment will affect the quality of the students’ study Participant 4: It really happens in some countries like Egypt, where curriculum is test driven, thus, in order to pass the grade, students have to sit for a test and get a high grade to ensure that they have a place in the university whereby in such system the students only study and memorize things for the test and once they pass, they forget all what they have studied, but if we emphasize on the continuous assessment, then we are teaching students skills which cannot be easily forgotten; but once you learn how to manage your time you will one day use it when you are under pressure so that you'll be able to survive.

and will face difficulties if they have to present the facts or do activities; on the other hand, if the teacher assesses them according to their participation in the class, that will make them active and study hard.

Using only test to evaluate students make them study for the sake of passing the tests only, while using continuous assessment helps them to gain long life skills, hence, this kind of evaluation should be focused on.

The method used in the evaluation affects students' attitudes towards learning.

Table7: Question 7- What kind of changes would you like to see in the evaluation system? EXISTENTIAL MEANING participant 1: First of all, communication skill should be every where starting in

CODING There should be great emphasis on communication skills in the class

THEME Communication skill is the key for evaluating the system

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the classroom whether in the school or university. Secondly, learning should be student-centered whereby they have to participate and present in the class. You must apply different methods and engage them in problem solving sessions. The assessment must also have to be in the communication form. Participant 2: There should be more credit given to motivation as this is frequently ignored in our evaluation system. If a student is motivated and hardworking, he/she should be encouraged though sometimes he/she might disappoint the teacher. Remember that grades do not define the students, for many students end up getting high grades without necessarily proving to be highly intelligent. Participant 3: I am working on the idea of a universal design, UD, in education which works to design spaces, products and services even in the education that meets the needs of the wide range of diverse individuals who use these services in which we have diversity in the schools and you will find students who are argumentative and those who are too quiet and need to be engaged in something to make them all working. In terms of the assessment "I recognize that using only typical final exams and quizzes sat diver will not reflect what my students have learned" thus, test is not a good way in evaluating the students’ performance because some students are good test takers while others are not. I would like to see the use of grouping in the class. Participant 4: One thing that I would highly suggest is having a center of excellence that is very specialized for testing and provides guidance and supervision for teachers in continuous assessment. We don’t want all teachers to assess students differently; for instance, this student for me is an A student, but

and in the evaluation system, and to move from the theoretical teaching to the practical one.

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and the improvement.

motivation for evaluation.

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Emphasis of intelligence rather than grades.

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The UD in education should aim to suit all students’ different needs and abilities considering that not all students are good test takers, thus, test is not the appropriate method to evaluate students' performance.

Evaluation methods should fit the individual’s various abilities.

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Teachers need training in evaluating students and that can be achieved by having a special center to supervise teachers and guide them so as to guarantee the quality of the evaluation system in the schools.

Establishing quality assurance and testing centers to supervise teachers in schools.

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Using The focus should be in motivating students to seek knowledge not grades. High grades don't guarantee the quality of an intelligent person.

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for another teacher he is a D student, in which case it is a very big difference. There has to be reliability and you can do that by having centers to train teachers for testing. Another thing, which has been established recently in the ministry is quality assurance. You need to have special centers which will ensure the teaching quality in the schools, like the number of students per teacher. In a class with a teacher for 40 children, how can you ensure quality? The interviews were conducted and the responses were recorded using a tape recorder. They were then analyzed in a table of three sections to ease their readings; the first section had the original data as stated by those interviewed, while the second section had the summary and the last section contained the theme obtained from the interviewed answers. Shared Perspectives Curriculum The major problem that school curriculum is facing is in its application in the schools. The curriculum doesn't satisfy the society's needs. There is an imperative need to shift from the theoretical curriculum to a practical one. Methods of teaching Teachers are not really using effective methods in their teaching because they don’t apply what they were taught and trained to do. Teachers should use methods that fit the students' different levels of performance and abilities. The best methods are the methods that get students to interact in the class. Learning should be student-centered. The focus should be in empowering the students to speak and discuss. Evaluation System Exams are not the best way to evaluate students' performance. Continuous assessment needs to be emphasized in the evaluation system. The methods used to evaluate the students' performance have a direct effect on their performance. SUMMARY & DISCUSSION The findings of the study show that there is a need to improve the educational system in Oman in terms of the school curriculum, methods of teaching and the evaluation system. Firstly, in terms of the school curriculum, the analysis of the perspectives of the four lecturers who were

interviewed shows that the school curriculum does not fit the needs of the society because of the gap between what is mentioned in the curriculum and what is going on in real life. In order to improve the curriculum that gap has to be filled by different pressures. The curriculum has to be connected to what is happening in reality; It ought to contain real life problems that our the society is facing every day and to encourage students to carefully examine these problems and try to find solutions for them. Furthermore, the curriculum has to be interesting and practical so as to stimulate students to seek knowledge. Students are bored from the curriculum that is full of theories that do not touch their life. Problem solving, critical thinking and communication skills are essential components for the success of any curriculum. In terms of the methods of teaching, all those interviewed agreed that teachers are not using effective methods although they were trained to do so. The methods that teachers are using are very static and teacher-centered and give no chance to the students to discuss and to express their opinions. The four who were interviewed shared the same perspective that now is the time to empower students by giving them more space to speak, discuss and communicate and express themselves through participating in learner- centered classes. Secondly, teachers also have to vary their methods to fit all the students' different levels of performance and abilities. There are cleaver students who are internally motivated to learn and there are slow learning students who won't change even if they were motivated, hence, the teachers' concern should be on those who are in the middle level. Enhancement using Problem Based Learning (PBL) is an excellent method to get students to be involved in real life situations and problems to analyze and solve in groups with wide open doors for them to gain long life knowledge and skills, like communication skills.


Thirdly, in terms of the evaluation system, from the analysis of the interviews it is clear that tests and exams are not the appropriate methods to evaluate the students' performance. Having only tests makes students memorize the information in order to pass the test, which does not profusely penetrate the core of learning. Therefore, another alternatives are needed to be used and emphasized besides exams. Participation in the class, presentations, and debates are some alternatives that might be used to evaluate students. In addition, teachers should be aware and careful that their students are having different abilities and skills, some of them are good in memorizing while others are good in presenting and so on, hence, teachers cannot use only one method for evaluation. Moreover, the alternatives, unlike the exams, expose the students to experiences and unforgettable skills, such as, critical thinking, vocal expressions and problem solving. Having a very good evaluation system requires the Ministry of Education to allocate special centers to supervise teachers and guide them in their evaluation to guarantee quality in the evaluation system. RECOMMENDATIONS Great efforts have been made to improve the educational system in Oman in the last 40 years. With due respect to those efforts, the findings of this study reveal some weaknesses and missing elements in three important basics of the educational system, in the Sultanate of Oman, which are school curriculum, methods of teaching and the evaluation system. It also provides some solutions for the Ministry of Education to fill up these missing elements with the sense of strengthening the weaknesses as the interviewers recommended hereunder: (a) The government has to keep an open eye on the schools and teachers to make sure that what has been pointed out is applied by having annual researches in every angle in the educational system. (b) The fact that 'students learn better by doing' should be taken into consideration when making school curriculum, which requires a great attention in the practical learning than just having books full of theories (c) The curriculum should keep the students in line with what is happening globally, and therefore, it has to introduce the latest issues in the world and to give the students the chance to discuss them and to express their words about them. (d) The government has to realize that it is impossible to separate the curriculum from the society, thus, the curriculum should be the mirror image that reflects what is happening in the society and as the mirror gives the exact image, the curriculum also should be honest in introducing the society to all its problems but with more space for the students to think of solutions on the society’s problems and difficulties. (e) The government has to

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make a curriculum that fits the societies’ various needs, such as, religious obligations, economic upliftments and so forth. (f) The curriculum ought to acknowledge that the students are not living in utopia, and its role is to prepare them for the dystopia that they might one day face outside the classroom. (g) The curriculum should contain topics that prepare students for the job market and for their future. (h) The government has to focus on the overall aim of education which is providing students with long life skills that they will need in all their life stages and in the marketing sector, like communication and problem solving skills and not only load their minds with information that will be useful for only passing the exams. (i) The government has to encourage teachers to use effective and modern methodologies that stimulate the students' upper level skills, such as, critical thinking skills. That encouragement can be by highlighting the prospects that can raise their salaries in the future job market. (j) Teachers need to be encouraged to do researches in educational issues in order to improve themselves professionally. (k) The government should focus on giving the Problem Based Learning (PBL) the lion's share in the learning process as an effective method to link between the learning and the society. (l) The attention should be drawn to empowering students by opening the doors for them to participate in the learning processes and to shift from being passive to be active learners which can be achieved through learner-centered classes where student are given space to communicate and improve themselves. (m) The government has to appoint experts to continuously evaluate the teachers' competency in teaching and to direct teachers to use different methodologies that suit the students' different abilities and levels of understanding. (n) Being the determiner of students' performance, the evaluation has to be given a great attention. The government has to have a special center for evaluation that takes care of all what is related to the evaluation system which can supervise the teachers' evaluation methods, and guide them to the right evaluation strategies. (o) Less emphasis should be given to the examination and testing as they are not considered very appropriate methods to evaluate the students’ performance. They do not fully engage in all the students' different abilities; some students are good in retaining the information while others are practicality oriented and excel in presentations and participations. (p) Continuous assessment should be stressed in the evaluation system because it is an effective method that treats students’ different abilities and teach them skills which cannot be forgotten. Participating in the class, debating, and giving short presentations are some successful ways to evaluate the students' performance which can positively improve their communication skills and raise their self-confidence. (q) The

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government has to bear in mind that students vary in their abilities and understanding levels, therefore, age should not be a main determiner to evaluate students. There are many students who are older than their ages; they are clever and should be given an opportunity to have a double promotion to the right level that fits their intelligence. Schools need placement tests, otherwise the students' abilities will be smothered in classes that underestimate them. IMPLICATIONS Some implications are drawn in this study based on the point of view of the person interviewed. In terms of the curriculum, this has been reported to be more theoretical than practical. It also lacks the society’s reflection that the students are living in, such as, little problem solving, less communication activities and critical thinking. If the school curriculum is not modified or reformed to suit the learners' everyday life to connect with the society, the students may have a low motivation towards learning. Besides, students might face some difficulties outside their classroom, such as, dealing with the society and the job market because they are not that well prepared to face the real life difficulties and challenges. However, replacing the old theoretical curriculum with the practical one, like PBL, critical thinking and innovation will encourage them to build strong attachment and connection with the society which will help them to make sense of what they study and obtain skills. It will also prepare them for the real life outside the classroom and bring them to the same line with what is happening globally, and not only that but they will also be able to participate in making their society a better community and solve its problems. In terms of the methods of teaching, all the interviewers criticized the static methods that the school teachers were using in their classes which were mainly teacher-centered. In these classes, students are listeners only because they are not given any opportunity to speak out or discuss aloud. These kinds of methods are making the students passive in the class. This kind of method helps students to be good listeners and not proactive learners. However, changing the teachers' methods to be studentcentered will empower students and guarantee good thinkers, masterful speakers and discussion participants. We can only proudly say that the system and method are effective and can produce a global and all rounded citizen who can develop the country when the qualities mentioned above are found in our students. As one of the philosophers said, "the real purpose of education is to introduce good citizens.” Looking at the evaluation system, for a long time the written final examination has been the only potential method that teachers depend on to evaluate their students' performances. Besides, there is a high

tendency for students to depend on memorization and when using only this method the students tend to limit their academic abilities. In this sense, education could lose its noble aim when students study for the sake of passing exams not for the education itself and knowledge attainment. In this case, a better evaluation system is a system that evaluates using different methods, approaches and ways to reveal the students’ inherent abilities and capabilities. Therefore, alternatives are needed beside using the final written examination, such as, continuous assessments, presentations, debates, written assignments, and public speaking. According to William Haley, "Education would be much more effective if its purpose is to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they do not know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it." Moreover, how would the government be able to improve the educational system if they do not know where has it reached in its progress? The establishment of a well rounded educational system is one thing but its application and implementation in every school in the Sultanate of Oman is something else that needs serious consideration. Besides, the government has to utilize researches as mechanisms to ensure that teachers and schools are strictly following the curriculum as stipulated in the educational system and information which are fully described in the governments' documents and to stick to them, otherwise it will remain as scripts and policy that will never be articulated and adhered to. CONCLUSION The conclusion that can be drawn from the interviews and the findings of the study is to continue the remarkable progress that the Educational System of Oman has achieved and the many developments that have to be done in its three main elements, namely, school curriculum, methods of teaching and the evaluation system. School curriculum was reported to be unsuitably constructed all round because of its inability to satisfy the societies' needs, besides neglecting its role in preparing the students for their career. It was agreed that it missed a very important component which was communication. Its theoretical topics and activities lack the communication interlinkage between the teacher and the students and between the students among themselves. An appropriate practical curriculum is recommended to be applied in teaching the students with long life skills and to get them to value and appreciate learning. The struggle that the government is facing to improve the educational system is that because all the improvements that have been done are not being


implemented in the schools. Although all the practices and the trainings that they were given, teachers are still using static and traditional methods in their teaching. They are stressing their empowerment in the class through their teachercentered classes while their aim should be empowering their students by giving them the chance to express themselves in their student-centered classes which will stimulate them to learn and to improve their personalities in a society that requires them to stand for their rights. Moreover, students need to be exposed to real life problems through applying Problem Based Learning (PBL) which builds strong connections between the education and the society. For the evaluation system improvement, the great focus on exams should be reduced in order to ensure a fair evaluation for the students' performance. The quality of the educational system is determined according to the students' improvements which can be seen in their performances, and therefore, great heed should be paid to the students' evaluation strategies. Through a special center for monitoring the teachers’ evaluation methods with trained teachers to take into account the students’ various abilities and skills, these measures will surely develop the evaluation system. Once the government ascertains that evaluating teachers is an effective way to ensure their competency and to watch them carefully, the educational system will take a further step on the development ladder because that will guarantee a good teaching system. Competent teachers use effective methods to utilize the curriculum to fit the students' needs which result in competent citizens. REFERENCES [1] A.H. Ekpo & O.J. Umoh (1998). An Overview of the Nigerian Economic Growth and Development. Retrieved from http://www.onlinenigeria.com/links/economyadv .asp?blur b=488. [2] Becker, G. S. (1964). Human capital. New York: Columbia University Press. [3] Bynner, J. and Joshi, H. (2002). Equality and opportunity in education: evidence from the 1958 and 1970 birth cohort studies’, Oxford Review of Education, Vol. 28, No. 4, pp. 405–25 [4] Carlo. R, Alan., D, Helen., G., Dave., H, Lisa., J., and Afroditi, K. (2007).Education and poverty: A critical review of theory, policy and practice. Joseph Rowntree Foundation. ISBN: 978 1 85935 5701.Retrieved from: www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop. [5] Director of Curriculum Development .Ministry of Education.(2011) Muscat ,Sultanate of Oman.

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