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No description available.

This study focused on the development of a proposal for a secondary alternative program that would be effective in the state of Kuwait. A professional preparation program that would function in support of the alternative school was also included. The investigator attempted to find the answers to the following questions: What are some of the major features of selected secondary school alternative programs in southeastern Arizona? How could these features be utilized in developing an alternative program for the secondary schools of Kuwait? What type of staff preparation program would be appropriate to effectuate the proposed alternative program? A review of the major elements of Kuwaiti history and culture was presented. Additionally, a summary of the development of the educational institutions in Kuwait was included, with special attention to current methods and practices. A review of the related literature indicated that the alternative school movement has become widespread in the United States as a means of providing youngsters with educational experiences different from those found in traditional schools. The recent increase in the number of alternative schools seems to be based on the assumption that differences among students require diversity in learning experiences. A theoretical framework was formulated from the literature to guide the collection of further data. It consisted of the following categories: (1)philosophy; (2)structure; and (3)function. Under each of these categories, several sub-categories were discussed. The study was conducted by the investigator as a participant observer in local alternative programs in a southwestern metropolitan area. The alternative programs under investigation participated in the study on a voluntary basis and included Cougar Alternative High School, Jefferson Alternative High School, Jackson High Alternative School, and Oak High School. The first three schools listed above serve a population of individuals who could not attend regular secondary schools. The fourth program is a conventional high school that includes an alternative program as part of its function. An interview schedule consisting of various questions regarding philosophy, structure, and function was developed and completed by selected staff at the schools under investigation. The resulting data was recorded and analyzed according to the three framework categories. A proposal for a secondary alternative program appropriate to the country of Kuwait was formulated, and a staff preparation program was included. A major element in the structure of the proposed program was the development of a cross-cultural team consisting of United States and Kuwait members and a representative from Kuwait University. The cross-cultural team would focus on the training of Kuwaiti educators for the proposed secondary alternative school. The investigator would function as coordinator for the training program and director of the proposed alternative program.

The problem on which this research was based was that little data were available for describing the Adult Basic Education (ABE) teachers--how they teach and how certain variables contribute to their teaching. Accordingly, the purpose of the study was to describe ABE teachers in Kuwait--who they were, how they taught, and how they were viewed by adult Kuwaiti students. This description was organized around four questions:1. How does the culture of the ABE teacher—educational background and training, language, habits and customs-contribute to what happens in the classroom?2. How does the planned curriculum--goals, objectives, materials, instructional approach, evaluation--contribute what happens in the classroom?3. How does the ABE teachers' role in Kuwaiti society contribute to what happens in the classroom?4. How does Quality of Personal Life contribute to what happens in the classroom?A variety of methods were used to gather data-teacher and student surveys and interview guides, a classroom observation instrument and a diary. Forty-one teachers and 155 students were surveyed. Ten teachers and thirty-six students were interviewed. Sixteen teachers were observed on one occasion. Three teachers were observed on three different occasions--at the beginning, the middle and the end of the study--over an eight-week period. A diary was kept on a daily basis.Mean scores on each item and a composite score for all items were tabulated for the surveys. Raw scores and percentages were tabulated in all other cases. From the analysis of data, major findings included:1. The cultural background of ABE teachers--language, customs, habits--does not interfere with their teaching because most of the teachers have been in Kuwait long enough to have adopted the Kuwaiti culture or to have adjusted to the culture.2. The ABE classroom involves a limited amount of planning, narrowly defined as use of textbook, chalkboard and lecture.3. ABE teachers see themselves as having an important role to play in Kuwaiti society, related to the development of the country. Whereas students view the teachers as respected, however, the teachers do not believe they are.4. In terms of Quality of Life--defined as the ABE teachers' perceived level of satisfaction--the ABE teachers felt underpaid and expressed resentment about differential treatment as compared to Kuwaiti ABE teachers.

This qualitative research inquiry explores the perspectives of a diverse range of participants, namely head teachers, teachers and mothers, towards inclusion of "slow learners" in two primary mainstream schools in the State of Kuwait. The concept of inclusion, through a review of major issues and limitations in the current practice of inclusion is highlighted by this case study. A multi-method data collection approach, using semi-structured interviews and critical discourse analysis of the policy document for inclusion in Kuwait, has led to identifying what has been done, so far in practice, for inclusion, as well as identifying the potential changes that need to be made. Kuwait is a signatory to the UNESCO Salamanca Statement, set out in 1994, which requires states to move towards systems "enabling schools to serve all children". However, to date, "inclusion" in Kuwaiti mainstream schools is limited to two groups of children: those with Down's Syndrome and those referred to as "slow learners", a term used to describe certain children with low IQ. All other children with special educational needs are educated in segregated settings. This study examines policy and explores participants' perspectives towards the inclusion of children identified as "slow learners" in primary mainstream schools in Kuwait, in order to arrive at insights which might further the policy and practice of supporting inclusion of children with special educational needs. This study found that the dominant conceptual model underpinning policy and practice in Kuwait is the "medical model" of disability, as the current understanding and practice of inclusion, teachers' and mothers' perspectives towards inclusion and articulation of the inclusion policy in Kuwait is informed, conceptualized and affected by this model. This understanding lends itself to practices of integration rather than inclusion, However, "the term 'inclusion' replaced 'integration' and is often contrasted with 'exclusion' " (Topping & Maloney, 2005, p.42). Inclusion means equal access and increasing the participation of students with special needs in mainstream school as promoted by the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO,1994), while integration means limited access and less participation of students with special needs in mainstream school, thus integration is "largely a 'disability' or SEN issue" (Topping & Maloney, 2005, p.42). This study also found that perspectives of inclusion are influenced by the social, cultural and religious context of the country. Finally, this study concludes that in the context of Kuwait, there is a clear effect of the cultural understanding of disability on the way that the current policy of inclusive education is represented. Such cultural influence not only affects the policymakers of the region and the way inclusion is implemented, but also it effects "slow learners" in the light of how disability and inclusion are constructed by the head teachers, teachers and mothers in this study. Such cultural and social values and beliefs of Kuwaiti culture pose obstacles to the existence of inclusion in Kuwait, as promoted by the Salamanca Statement. As a signatory to the Salamanca Statement, this study suggests that in order to adequately accommodate "slow learners" and other students with disability in mainstream schools in Kuwait, policy needs to be reconceptualised.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of principals toward educating handicapped students in the regular schools of Kuwait. The sample for this survey was composed of regular school principals in the State of Kuwait for the 1986-1987 school year. Of the 400 Principals, 229 principals were randomly selected. A 79.5% response was received. The survey instrument consisted of 40 statements to measure attitudes of individuals regarding acceptance of special education programs in regular school. A Likert-type scale was used to rate the perceived influence of each statement. Frequency, mean, standard deviation, t-test, analysis of variance, and chi-square were used to answer the study questions. The findings of the study indicated that 100 of the 182 principals identified positive attitudes toward serving handicapped students in the regular schools, there were no significant differences between male and female principals, but there were significant differences among principals at the three levels (elementary, intermediate, and secondary). / Ed. D.

The issue of developing effective teacher preparation and professional programs by providing effective teaching and learning strategies to prepare teachers to teach in more challenging ways and change their old ways of teaching to more powerful ones has gained great attention around the world. Cooperative learning was one of the astonishing strategies introduced by many researchers to prepare effective teachers and to solve many educational problems. Teacher educators have taken different approaches to help teachers learn and change in powerful ways. They have focused on the knowledge and attitudes of teachers in promoting their adoption of new practices through educational courses, workshops, and training. After introducing the cooperative learning strategy through a training workshop, this study investigated the knowledge of and attitude of teachers at the College of Basic Education (CBE) in Kuwait towards cooperative learning as a new teaching and learning strategy. The literature reviewed the historical and practical use, theoretical roots, different models, and outcomes of cooperative learning. In addition, (1) teachers' knowledge and attitudes as factors affecting implementation and (2) preservice teacher preparation and training in the use of cooperative learning were reviewed. An attitude survey and a knowledge test were developed based on Bouas, (1993) survey and test. Additionally, an interview guide and a demographic data survey were all used to collect data. The survey and the test were translated into the Arabic language. Ninety-one responses of participants in two experimental classes and one control class were analyzed. Twenty-one participants were interviewed. A significant difference in knowledge of and attitude towards cooperative learning was found between experimental classes and the control class (p< .05 for both knowledge and attitude). In conclusion, the training workshop affected preservice teachers' knowledge of and attitudes toward the cooperative learning strategy. Therefore, the researcher suggested that cooperative learning should be introduced in the College of Basic Education in Kuwait and the University of Kuwait as another teaching and learning strategy.

This study was aimed at understanding the use of technology in early childhood school and home settings as well as its impact on students' social and language development, specifically with children aged four to seven from two schools (Kindergarten and elementary) in Kuwait. The study followed a qualitative design in which the interpretative approach was applied. Non-participant observations were conducted to gather data concerning the actual use of technology in the classrooms, they were followed by interviews with teachers and a group of parents from each classroom. The study used Vygotsky's social development theory as a framework for the analysis of data. The analysis showed limitations in the use of technology in the classroom; teachers identified a need for training to increase their knowledge about how to integrate technology into instruction. Also, the limited availability of up-to-date technology was viewed as a challenge. Teachers and parents agreed that the use of technology may foster social and language development for most students, on the condition that their use is supervised and guided by an adult. However, they also perceived that technology could have a negative impact on the development of students' social development, an area that requires further investigation.