When Palestinian primary school teacher Hanan Al Hroub won the 2016 Global Teacher Prize, she put an international spotlight on the impact teachers can have through her use of play to resolve violence and tension in her classroom of Palestinian refugee students. Al Hroub, who grew up in a Palestinian refugee camp and attended Al-Quds Open University in the Palestinian territories, was recognized for her outstanding teaching.
Teaching can prove a rewarding career for education grads in the Arab region. And whether students choose to pursue the teaching route, a degree in education can launch a variety of education-focused careers. Teachers may later want to venture into another area in the field.
Anies Al-Hroub, chairman of the department of education and professor of educational psychology and special education at the American University of Beirut, says education careers can vary, including curriculum designers, education psychologists, experts at NGOs focused on education and policymakers. The school offers a bachelor’s in elementary education and a master’s in education with several concentrations, such as educational psychology and science education, among others.
[Explore how Arab region universities are evolving.]
Al-Hroub, no relation to Hanan, says that many AUB graduates work in Gulf countries in education ministries in addition to schools, as well as in NGOs and educational institutions as consultants, experts or researchers and as faculty members at Lebanese universities.
One possible career route, Al-Hroub says, is the ministry of education in a student’s home country, promoting education reform and implementing educational policy changes that address disadvantaged and refugee students.
This concept is close to the heart of Syrian national Sinamis Doughouz, who graduated in 2015 with a master’s in international and comparative education from the American University in Cairo. Doughouz says she chose AUC for its high standard of education and reputation in the region, which she felt could equip her with the knowledge and tools needed to rebuild her homeland. She says the staff in AUC’s Graduate School of Education helped her see that she could evolve into a developer, policymaker and activist for education reform.
[Learn what parents should weigh before sending a child to an overseas Arab region university.]
Doughouz is working to advocate as a policymaker on behalf of Syrian and other refugees in Sweden to ensure educational accessibility. She teaches English to Syrian, Somali and Afghani students in Sweden whom she says are newcomers to the country, escaping war or poverty. She also develops English as a Second Language programs and is using her master’s capstone project to help refugees solve conflicts and be positive citizens in their host country.
“This should ease the transition they are facing,” says the high school teacher, who has a bachelor’s in English language and literature from Damascus University in Syria. She hopes to start educational projects in Syria that address education reform.
Ted Purinton, dean of AUC’s Graduate School of Education, says the school was founded in part “to demonstrate to the region that broader possibilities do indeed exist, and to prepare people for work in educational policy, educational research and educational activism.”
The school offers two master’s degrees with four concentrations: one in international and comparative education, with concentrations in teaching and learning and international education development and policy; the other, in educational leadership with concentrations in school leadership and higher education. Purinton says many students plan to go to the U.S. or U.K. for a Ph.D. with the intention of returning to Egypt to work in policy; leadership in the ministry of education, universities and NGOs; or academia.
A career in academia interests Algerian national Nora Merouani, who started as a teacher and has taught English and humanities at the secondary level in Algeria and Egypt for 16 years.
Merouani says she’s ready for another challenge. She is pursuing a master’s in educational leadership at Qatar University, which offers Bachelor of Education degrees in primary, secondary and special education, and master’s degrees in educational leadership, special education and curriculum.
She says Qatar has many opportunities in the education sector, including for non-Qataris, to help implement education reform. She says she didn’t find such opportunities in Algeria.
[Find out the factors to consider when choosing a university in the Arab region.]
“Qatar is undertaking educational reform and welcomes research projects and ideas that help achieve its Vision 2030 and ‘education for a new era.’ I want to find a job in the education sector and use my ideas and experience to help the country,” says Merouani, who has a bachelor’s in teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Constantine in Algeria, a master’s in international education from the American International College branch campus in Egypt, and plans for a Ph.D.
While teaching may be a common path for education majors, the field is wide open to experiment and explore multiple career routes, whether inside or outside the classroom.
And educators are much in need. Al-Hroub, from AUB, says the region suffers from a large number of refugee and disadvantaged children and youth. He says there’s a need for education centers and local NGOs to serve underprivileged children and provide education support by training psychologists, mental health workers, school counselors and social workers to deal with academic and psychological issues.
From education advisers to diagnosticians to curriculum designers, Al-Hroub says, “all are needed.”
See the complete rankings of the Best Arab Region Universities.
More from U.S. News
Arab Region Students Creatively Use Arts Degrees
Arab Region Grads In Demand for Health Care, IT Fields
Arab Region Branch Campuses Offer Western-Style Education
Arab Region Education Degrees Spell Multiple Career Routes originally appeared on usnews.com
