Description of the educational system in Egypt

The intent of this chapter is to give the reader a general position of the context in which the survey is conducted. The chapter will travel, from planetary to specific, by giving a general description of the educational system in Egypt runing from its doctrine, structuring and finance to curriculum planning, design and development. Emphasis will be given to English linguistic communication instruction ; its purposes, and manner of development. A farther point about higher instruction: current state of affairs and national reform is highlighted. Finally, EFL teacher developing programme, the function of CDELT in accomplishing national ends are brought into focal point for its importance to the whole intent of the probe.

Country profile

The Arab Republic of Egypt lies in the north eastern portion of Africa and Sinai Peninsula in the western portion of Asia. It is about one million square kilometers in size. The population of Egypt was estimated in 2008 as 75,175,062 harmonizing to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics in Egypt. ( Said & A ; Mourad, 2008 ) .

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The nature and doctrine of instruction in Egypt

Egypt 's instruction system is the largest in the Mena part and among the largest systems in the universe. As of 1999-2000, the system reported an registration of about 16 million, of which 7 million are in primary instruction, 4 million in preparative instruction, 3 million in secondary instruction, and over 1.8 million in third instruction. The system besides employs the largest figure of civil retainers in Egypt about 3.8 million employees ( The World Bank, 2007 ) .

Some negative features of the Egyptian educational system include what Hargreaves ( 1997 ) termed `` a additive consolidative merger '' ; instructors with low degrees both in the cognition of the capable affair and in teaching method ; a mismatch between course of studies and curricula drawn at the cardinal national degree and the existent instruction larning state of affairs ; ritualisation, and mechanistic acquisition and learning methods. Other negative characteristics include: examination-driven direction, politicisation, bureaucratism that hinders the accomplishment of indispensable marks behind schooling, limited resources, centralization, and mal-distribution of educational services amongst the province parts ( Jarrar & A ; Massialas, 1992 ) .

Many of the defects of the educational system, and so its failure to convey about effectual long-run reform, have been due to its being extremely centralised, in malice of efforts at decentralization. The system is really hierarchal, with the Ministry of Higher Education ( MOE ) at the top of the pyramid. The system is based on senior status instead than virtue. Due to its extremely centralised and bureaucratic nature, the educational system defines and predetermines what is to be taught, how it is to be taught, the functions of instructors and scholars, every bit good as the intended results of the educational procedure. Given this character, the Egyptian educational system is about imperviable to influences and enterprises from instructors, parents and scholars ( Gahin, 2001 ) .

Egyptian instruction has been portrayed. harmonizing to ( Hargreaves, 1997 ) as `` undemocratic '' , `` teacher-centred ' , `` autocratic '' ' and `` extremely competitory '' . Students ' greatest concern is to hive away and keep information so that when it is needed, they pour it out in the test which is held to prove their grounds of larning. Their exam tonss are the exclusive standards for pupils ' success.

Higher Education system in Egypt

Egypt has a really extended higher instruction system. About 30 % of all Egyptians in the relevant age group go to university. However, merely half of them alumnus. The Ministry of Higher Education supervises the third degree of instruction. There are a figure of universities providing to pupils in diverse Fieldss. In the current instruction system, there are 17 public universities, 51 public non-university establishments, 16 private universities and 89 private higher establishments. The higher instruction cohort is expected to increase by close to 6 per centum ( 60,000 ) pupils per annum through 2009. ( Higher Education in Egypt: Reappraisals of National Policies for Education, 2010 )

In 1990, a statute law was passed to supply greater liberty to the universities. But still the instruction substructure, equipment and human resources are non in topographic point to provide to the lifting higher instruction pupils. But at that place has non been a similar addition in passing on bettering the higher instruction system in footings of debut of new plans and engineerings. Both at national degree ( inspection systems, scrutinies ) and at local degree ( school degree pupil appraisals ) steps of the success of instruction schemes and the public presentation of the system are weak. ( Ginsburb & A ; Megahed, 2009 )

Although higher instruction was founded much earlier in Egypt before it appeared in Europe ( Metcalfe, 2008 ) , The Government of Egypt recognizes that there are still existent challenges to be faced in the sector, foremost amongst which are the demand to significantly better sector administration and efficiency, increase institutional liberty, significantly better the quality and relevancy of higher instruction plans, and maintain coverage at bing degrees. Recent Government actions to construct political consensus on issues critical to reform hold created a clime that is mature for alteration.

The Ministry of Higher Education ( MOHE ) acts as a title-holder for reform. The Minister, appointed in 1997, rapidly established a commission for the reform of higher instruction known as the Higher Education Enhancement Programme ( HEEP ) Committee which drew in a broad scope of stakeholders including industrialists and Parliamentarians. A National Conference on higher instruction reform was held in February 2000, and a Declaration for action emanating from the Conference was endorsed by the President and the Prime Minister. The Declaration identified 25 specific reform enterprises.

Due to the dynamic nature of the reform scheme, which entails reconsidering precedences for each period, a Strategic Planning Unit ( SPU ) was established for the MOHE to guarantee the sustainability of planning and undertaking monitoring during the three stages and for future 1s. A Students ' Activity Project ( SAP ) was besides initiated as portion of plan accreditation similar to scientific research and station alumnus surveies.

Egyptian universities

Universities in Egypt are by and large either state-funded or in private funded. Education in Egypt is free by jurisprudence, nevertheless there are really little fees paid for registration. Public establishments, with few exclusions are by and large overcrowded with a pupil organic structure of several 1000s. Private universities are either Egyptian or foreign, and normally have a much smaller pupil organic structure and with a much higher tuition rates.

Public Universities

Public universities are under authorities disposal. Public Higher instruction is free in Egypt, and Egyptian pupils merely pay enrollment fees. International pupils pay full tuition with fees that reach up to ? 1,500 a twelvemonth.

In 2004, the Egyptian authorities announced its program to make new public universities from dividing multi-branch universities . This should let the enlargement of these much neglected smaller rural subdivisions and supply infinite for the increasing figure of pupils. There is besides al Azhar University, considered the best university for the survey of faith and scientific discipline.

Private Universities

Before 1993, merely two private foreign establishments were established decennaries ago. The American University in Cairo, founded in 1919 and the Arab Academy for Science and Technology ( AAST ) . Under a new jurisprudence in 1993, Egyptian private universities were established get downing from 1996. These new universities are accredited from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Universities every 3 old ages, in add-on to accreditation from foreign educational organic structures in Europe. ( Herrera, 2007 )

Admission

Admission to public universities and establishments operates through a centralised office, Admission Office of Egyptian Universities. This office receives applications after the consequences from the General Secondary Education Certificate are announced in any of its offices or online. The application day of the months are announced every twelvemonth but normally take topographic point every August.

The application is both discipline-based and university-based. Students are asked to make full the admittances application that naming their picks of their coveted subject and university in a descending order of precedence. Students with higher tonss have a better opportunity of procuring a topographic point for themselves in their school of pick. While lower-scoring pupil may `` acquire stuck '' in a school or train different from that they desired, which might take them to seek admittance in private universities where competition for topographic points is less ferocious.

Admission to private universities is different and is similar to universe broad registration processs.

Course of study

In universities, general or private, course of study are left to lectors and professors to make up one's mind the doctrine, guidelines, and even stuffs that they think pupils should learn.

By and large talking, the course of study is centralised plenty to incarnate political and classless rules presented in free instruction and guaranting that all students have entre to the same programm of survey. It aims to raise criterions, guarantee that all pupils attain the aims at each degree, and to make the conditions for increased school and instructor answerability.

English linguistic communication instruction in Egypt

English has long been given a particular position in Egypt, whether `` a necessary immorality during the British business '' or `` a practical vehicle for educational, economic and societal mobility ( Schaub, 2000, p. 235 ) '' . the chief aims set for ELT are to develop the ability to utilize English for communicating ; to further favorable attitudes towards learning in general and towards appropriate foreign civilizations in peculiar ; to develop an consciousness of the nature of linguistic communication and linguistic communication acquisition and hence, achieve cross-cultural consciousness ; to assist pupils ' womb-to-tomb acquisition every bit good as develop self-independence and to advance collaborative as a measure towards conveying up citizens who appreciate teamwork ( Schaub, 2000 ) .

These are what is stated as the theoretical purposes of instruction. However, As far as the EFL schoolroom is concerned, it is non different from any other school topic, since it is a portion of the whole system. The state of affairs might conceivably be worse, due to the particular nature of the English linguistic communication learning in Egypt. The dominant form in the bulk of schoolrooms is that of an active instructors and inactive scholars. The instructor is the exclusive authorization to make up one's mind `` what '' and `` haw '' in the instruction and acquisition procedure, based on the cognition spelled out by the stakeholders.

In footings of quality, the instruction and acquisition of EFL is characterised by instructors ' low proficiency in the mark linguistic communication. Teachers ' chief involvement and purpose is to acquire their pupils to go through their tests. Students ' Markss in such tests are the grounds of instructors ' success along with their governments in accomplishing the purposes of the MOE. That is why it is non surprising to happen a parallel system of instruction called `` private tuition '' taking at enabling pupils to go through the test and acquire high Markss. This private and Markss oriented tuition has long been fought by the authorities, which tries difficult to take serious and terrible steps against it. However, these attempts have been in vain up to now. Besides, a big per centum of primary and preparative school instructors are non-specialists ( 41 % ) ( Ibrahim, 2008 ) . In add-on, rating techniques do non get by with the development in acquisition and learning methodological analysis techniques, and are rather far from the existent appraisal of pupils ' public presentation.

Teacher preparation Reform Programm

Egypt has no deficit of instructors, so if anything Egypt has a excess of instructors, with some of 800,000 instructors presently believed to be in the state. ( Abdel-WAHAB, January 2008 )

( Crookes, 2003 ) concludes that autochthonal Egyptian instructors, though non need fully utilizing activities or schoolroom interaction forms thought most desirable by Second Language Acquistion theoreticians, likely acquire better than foreign teachers ; but that the big category contexts that were new to the Egyptian instruction system ( through non unusual around the universe ) were a challenge met by the visitants. However the techniques used by visitants to pull off theses challenges, Holliday suggests, would be improbable to hold positive long-run effects because they did non construct on autochthonal forms and penchants.

( Holliday, 1996 ) concludes that '' merely a new, rationalized-yet traditional- attack, could be to the full effectual in the culture of Egyptian university big classesa. Exceptions apart, merely local lectors would be able to the full to accomplish this, because it would necessitate a rationalized edifice and re-allocation [ of thoughts and resources ] on an bing traditional footing

Well aware of the challenges, the authorities is now looking for new ways of making things and has emarked on a big graduated table reform programm of public instruction to give single instituttions greater liberty and engagement to the private sector to assist increase capacity and better criterions.

The major accomplishments of the Higher Education Enhancement Programm ( HEEP ) have been integrated into the national Education strategic program for the period 2008-2012, which aims to deconcentrate the national the national school construction, present school-based reform and better human resources through professional development programms. The increased accent on instructor preparation within the model of the National Education Strategic Plan is considered one of the most of import facets of the reform programm.

EFL prospective instructors preparation programm at Menoufia University: Since the focal point in this survey is centred on prospective EFL instructors ' perceptual experiences of microteaching, it will be utile to supply an overview of Menoufia university, Faculty of instruction and their readying programm in the school of instruction.

Menoufia University: Historical background

An Egyptian Public University founded in 1976, is located chiefly in Shibin EL Kom, a metropolis in Delta and the capital of the Monufia Governorate. There is besides a subdivision in 1 '' Sadat City, founded in 2006. It contains modules: of Education, Agriculture, Arts, Computers and Information, Commerce, Law, and Medicine. Both undergraduate and post-graduate instruction is offered.

Menoufia university 's mission is lending to construct the academic and moral construction of people, and developing both the local and national societies by supplying the specialised cognition and accomplishments peculiarly those that are related to the rural and new industrial communities through high quality educational, research, and social services that can assist the university to accomplish a competitory advantage at the national, regional, and international degrees. The general intents of the University represent the cardinal indexes of success of the achievement of the University 's mission. Seven general intents are identified for Menoufiya University. Each of the old general intents has a figure of strategic aims that reflect them. ( see appendix 1 )

The module of Education was foremost established in 1971, affiliated to Ain Shams University. In 1975, it became attached to Tanta University. The module so became attached to Minoufiya University at its initiation in 1976. It contains sections of Educational Psychology. Curricula and Teaching Methods, and Education Fundamentals. Its Bachelors grades are offered in combination with one of the sections in the module of Humanistic disciplines or the Faculty of Science.

Theoretically, EFL instructors is prepared in the module of instruction through two complementary sets of class. The first set of class is chiefly linguistic communication proficiency class ( capable affair cognition like English literature, interlingual rendition, grammar, phonetics, and linguistics ) , and the 2nd set is pedagogical class ( the instruction proficiency ) , including class like foundations of instruction ; comparative instruction ; educational psychological science ; along with the learning practicum that aims to fix pupil instructors for the prospective occupation. The practicum is jointly carried out and supervised by the MOE inspectors and instructors along with the staff of modules of instruction.

Bettering Pre service teacher developing programmes. The national board for professional instruction criterions ( NBPTS ) identified five features of high-quality instructor:

• Teachers are committed to pupils and their acquisition.
• Teachers know the topic they teach and how to learn those topics to pupils.
• Teachers are responsible for pull offing and supervising pupil acquisition.
• Teachers think consistently about their pattern and learn from experience.
• Teachers are members of learning communities.

Demand for teacher readying plans at establishments of higher instruction and through a go oning procedure of development and research, the centre for the development of English Language Teaching ( CDELT ) supported by the Integrated English Language Program ( IELP- II ) have integrated information about instructional rules to develop Egyptian criterions for instructors graduating from pre-service English instructor instruction plans ( STEP ) . Through the professional instruction plan, campaigners are expected to run into the criterions at progressively complex degrees. Campaigners are assessed at each degree to show public presentation. The subjects of building cognition, developing pattern, and furthering relationships provide the foundation for each of the criterions. These criterions, which are grouped into five chief spheres schoolroom direction, linguistic communication, direction, appraisal, and professionalism, organize the anchor of our instructor instruction plans.

The STEPS undertaking is a countrywide enterprise under the protections of the Center for the Development of English Language Teaching ( CDELT ) in coaction with the Program Planning and Monitoring Unit ( PPMU ) . It is sponsored by the Integrated English Language Project II ( IELP-II ) . Its purpose is to put criterions for instructors of English at pre-service degree. The STEPS undertaking force consists of representatives from 12 Faculties of Education from nine universities and from the Ministry of Education of the Arab Republic of Egypt. The Task Force has drafted a set of criterions in five spheres depicting what freshly qualified instructors from our Faculties of Education should cognize and be able to make.

The Role of CDELT to better Clinical supervising during Practicum

Harmonizing to ( Bowers & A ; Gaies, 1997 ) , Five rules underline the clinical supervivsion of CDELT class. These are:

1. There should be a balance between. theory and pattern, between the ''educational '' and the '' preparation '' maps.
2. The feasibleness of proposals for alteration in instructor public presentation should be judged against the existent restraints of the learning context.
3. The personal sensitiveness indispensable to effectual counciling and preparation is best developed within the security of a system or '' paradigm '' of counselor-teacher interaction.
4. Observation should be systematic and focused, with rating based on grounds available to the instructor.
5. Reding should steer the instructor toward specific, mensurable, and moderate alterations in behaviour.

Examination of theses rules offers an indicant of the scheme of the CDELT attack to supervisor readying. The CDELT offers a full-time class of 24 hebdomads. It includes 20 hebdomad class work in four blocks of 5 hebdomads each, and one 4-week block of practical experience, in the center of five blocks. During the first two blocks, along with class related to linguistic communication betterment, there are talks and seminars in debut to linguistics, theories of English linguistic communication instruction, and learning methods. Theses satisfy the demand to set up perceptual experiences of what linguistic communication is, what instruction is, and alternate attacks to the instruction of English.

Over the diploma class as a whole, we aim to integrate into supervisor readying the five indispensable purposes of instructor instruction identified by, which among them guarantee theoretical grasp and practical application: principle, experience, observation, test and integrating.

Decision

The purpose of this chapter has been to supply the layout of the Egyptian educational system so as to give the reader an overview about the context in which this survey is connected, clarifying why this survey is of import for Egyptian instruction in general and linguistic communication instruction in Egypt in peculiar. Furthermore, the chapter reveals the alterations and fortunes that have been underway for about two decennaries now. These alterations are represented by proposing and planning new attacks, rules and weaponries for the general instruction, and in peculiar, for EFL acquisition and instruction.

The undermentioned chapter is chiefly devoted to reexamining the literature related to EFl instructor readying programme and the function of microteaching in bettering their instruction public presentation.

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