A Historical and Comparative Analysis of Disruptors in Syrian Higher Education that Lead to Centrality of EMI

• In Event: Roundtable Session 8
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: Disruption and Contestation in Higher Education: Language, Politics, and Activism

Proposal

Introduction and Aims
The global market is increasingly embracing English-medium instruction as a means of education and employment for non-native English speakers. According to Abel Latif & Alhamad (2023), English skills are a significant barrier to survival and earning a living for Syrian students. As Tozan (2023) pointed out, Syria's public higher education institutions do not offer English-medium instruction (EMI). Tozan (2023) attributed this absence to the complete dependence on Arabic-medium instruction in Syrian higher education for most of the 20th century.
Syrian identity includes Arabic-medium schools, but two recent disruptions have made English-medium necessary. First, the government's efforts led to incorporating private universities offering EMI curricula into higher education in 2001 and 2011. Furthermore, Mourtada (2018) and Tozan (2023) cited private institution creation as the cause of the 2011 civil war, the second disruption. This manifested itself in increasing EMI needs for Syrian communities while navigating global changes and demands. Therefore, our aims are to a) tell the story of Syrian higher education, through historical analysis of literature and documents, and expose how the system arrived at its current status (through the disruptions); b) learn how to interpret/sustain EMI for high-impact implementation in the Syrian higher education context by comparatively drawing upon other countries’ systems who endured significant disruptions.
Relevance
This study’s focusing on Syria’s higher education system, by linking two distinct historical disruptions with the rise of EMI is novel yet critical. The comparative analysis of countries that endured similar disruptions demarcates a meaningful approach to offering policy/practice/research implications for Syrian higher education yet may be useful in other country contexts also.
Theoretical framework
The debates on language usage policies were explored by Spolsky (2004) by investigating factors such as the pressure of national identity, and the attraction of using English as a global language. This paper draws upon Spolsky’s (2004) model on Arabic and English language policies in education by interrogating language management, beliefs and practices in Syrian society. This includes examining the policies and beliefs behind embedding AMI or EMI in curricula in the Syrian higher education system and institutes.
Contribution and Preliminary Findings
To gain a better understanding of implementing English as a medium of instruction, we compare the Syrian higher education system with other countries that have experienced crises such as Iraq, and India. Through the example of Syrian experience, this paper will contribute to the existing literature of English language internationalization in crisis-hit countries. The analysis involves analyzing two historical disruptors that led to the urgent need of better EMI implementation policies. This study documents the social, political, and historical narratives that shaped the development of EMI in Syrian higher education between 1912 and 2024 (Mourtada, 2018; Tozan, 2023). Preliminary findings indicate: 1) integration of EMI is needed in both public and private Syrian higher education institutions due to high unemployability of students graduating from public institutions and 2) equity audits are needed to plan an equitable integration of EMI for equitable employability opportunities for students graduated from public or private.

Authors

• Maha Azzazi, University of Dayton

• Matthew A Witenstein, University of New Mexico