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Oman

Summary



Oman has made great growth in its general educational arena and literacy improvements; however, growth in technological supports that facilitate educational advances have been slower—the type and amount of instructional technology that teachers receive varies greatly. Even at the higher education levels, the most common instructional media used by many teachers and a large portion of student teachers has been chalkboards, followed by lectures, printed materials, and the use of textbooks. The use of computer tools, including software and Internet sources has not been fully accessed, understood, or used. The use of more media in the Omani education system is still needed. In 1999, Oman had only one Internet service provider, which minimized the amount of global resources that pupils could receive and access.



In addition to the need for more technological and Internet resources, Oman is in greater need of library resources at all levels of the education system, including national. Library resources and facilities have been limited in content and sparsely populated.

As a whole, the educational system in Oman has improved tremendously under Sultan Qabus. The literacy rate has greatly improved, national resources have made educational support a priority, and teacher training has sought to better prepare teachers and to solicit more indigenous teachers from Oman. With added improvements in the area of technological resources, library expansion, and government nursery care, Oman's educational system will only grow stronger.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abu-Jaber, Majed. "Student Teachers' Use of Instructional Media and its Implications at Sultan Qaboos University in the Sultanate of Oman." International Journal of Instructional Media 23, no. 1 (1996): 59-78.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The World Factbook 2000. Directorate of Intelligence, 1 January 2001. Available from http://www.cia.gov/.

Dahawy, Bayoumi Mohamed. "Pre-school Education in Egypt, Oman, and Japan: A Comparative Perspective." Research/Technical Reports (April 1993): 1-38.

The Europa World Yearbook 2000. Vol. 1. London: Europa Publications Limited, 2000.

Hadidi, Muna S.Z. "Education of Children with Vision Impairments in the Sultanate of Oman." International Journal of Disability, Development, and Education 45, no. 4 (December 1998): 423-429.

"Happy and Rich in an Omani Toytown." The Economist, 2 September 2000.


Karim, Bakri Musa A. "The Emergence of Libraries in the Sultanate of Oman." International Library Review 23, no.3 (September 1991): 229-236.

The Library of Congress. Country Studies: Area Handbook Series, 6 March 2001. Available from http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html.

Razik, Taher A. "Evaluation of Curriculum The Case of Oman: Primary Level."Ministry of Education and Youth, 1987.


—Kimberly A. Battle-Walters

Additional topics

Education - Free Encyclopedia Search EngineGlobal Education ReferenceOman - History Background, Educational System—overview, Preprimary Primary Education, Secondary Education, Higher Education