Early Childhood Care and Education in the Gulf Cooperation Council States: Exploring Participation and Regulation

• In Event: Teachers, the Curriculum and Literacy

Proposal

Following global trends, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have started to increase the policy attention to given to early childhood care and education over the past decade (ECCE) (Alqassem et al., 2016; The Daily Tribune, 2021; Ministry of Education, 2022; Tekin, 2015; UAE MOE, 2018;). For example, in May 2022, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) established a new Federal Authority for Early Childhood Education (Guatum, 2022). Similarly, Bahrain, Oman, and Saudi Arabia have recently started to review or develop their ECCE bylaws and regulations (Al Khalifa, 2021; DARPE, 2022; Ministry of Education, 2022).

This paper is divided into two main sections. The first examines existing literature to better understand global public versus private ECCE provision, rationales behind ECCE provision, and the role of regulation in ensuring quality and equity. The paper's second section analyzes qualitative and descriptive quantitative data to examine ECCE in the GCC region. It investigates the role that human capital theory and the related drive to become knowledge economies in the GCC countries have in relation to the attention given to ECCE. It also explores GCC participation in ECCE (including in comparison to global rates) as well as ECCE regulations and structures in the GCC states. The paper concludes with a discussion of ECCE research and policy areas in the GCC states that would be useful to consider moving forward, such as a stronger understanding of the rationales behind provision.

Research Questions and Methodology

This study focuses on ECCE services for children aged zero to four years old and is based on two primary research questions. The first question is, 1) what is known about global private and public ECCE policy, specifically in terms of definitions, policies, and regulations? The second question is, 2) what does the ECCE policy and service landscape look like in the GCC states?

In terms of methodology, I adopted a mixed methods approach. In the first stage, I conducted background literature review that primarily utilized two educational databases, ERIC, and Education Source, to locate books, journal articles, and governmental as well as multilateral agency reports, and data related to private ECCE. A key criterion to be included was that the resource had to be from the year 2000 or later. Ultimately, more than 80 publications were examined, not including government websites and news sources. In the second stage of the research, I conducted a focus group with 10 policymakers and education leaders from across each of the six GCC states to learn more about their own understanding of the ECCE policy landscape, challenges, and future directions.

Findings and contributions to the literature

The preliminary findings of this study have revealed three key areas that are valuable to consider as the ECCE sector continues to develop in the GC region. To start, public provision of ECE in the GCC states remains limited, with no public ECCE services available at all in Bahrain. When public ECCE is available for children aged zero to three years old, it is often for the children of parents who work in the government. Across the region, for-profit, private provision dominates which has implications for access, equity, and quality control.

A second key finding is that in the GCC countries, governance of ECCE tends to be fragmented which leads to overlapping responsibilities and uncertainty. In each country, at least two government entities oversee ECCE, typically with mandates dictated by children's ages or public or private affiliation. Relatedly, the ECCE sectors in the region also tend to be less regulated than K-12 education (see also Graves, 2016; Tekin et al., 2021; Verma & Cook, 2019).

Thirdly, there is an inconsistent presence and use of national curricula at nurseries. Some states, such as Bahrain and the UAE, do not have a national ECCE curriculum for the youngest children. On the other hand, other states, such as Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman, have national curricula. However, there are indications that these curricula may not be closely connected to the next stage of education or be appropriately adapted for the local context (Althani & Romanowski; Tekin et al., 2021).

As GCC states continue to promote expanding access to quality education, supporting ECCE is anticipated to remain a priority, among other reasons, given its link to strengthening long-term learning, social benefits, and economic returns. Given there is a limited amount of research on ECCE in the GCC states, this study represents a valuable contribution as it is the first to comparatively examine the ECCE sector across all six countries and identify potential future research directions and policy considerations.

Author

• Susan Kippels, University of Washington