Egypt's Education and Globalization January 10, 2007 In 1970, Egypt accelerated into the global capitalist economy. Egypt is the most populous Arab country but lacks oil, arable land, and large manufacturing industries. So it chose tourism as a vehicle to achieve globalization and economic growth. With the help of other countries, mainly the United States, Egypt has been improving its economy, government, infrastructure, health, tourism, and education. This article focuses on how Egypt's globalization effort has affected the education sector. Egypt has relative stability and peace with Israel and so is seen as a viable market for foreign investment. Investing in the region over a long term can gain rewards in the future as the country grows and progresses. The United States has long realized that Egypt is the gateway to the Middle East, and Egypt is leading Arab countries to embrace a new way of doing business. The U.S. has been investing in Egypt to improve its workforce, economy, and business environment to better enable it to participate in the U.S.-dominated global economy. For example, according to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) website, the U.S. has invested $911.1 million from 1975-2005 for programs to improve Egypt's education system. Egypt has reformed its national education system to improve primary education. Funds from the USAID helped improve school management, teacher training, educational technology, school libraries, and Early Childhood Development. The "Alam Simsim" show is Egypt's "Sesame Street". The USAID donated $8 million to produce "Alam Simsim" and introduce Egyptian children to reading, writing, math, and problem-solving skills. The TV show also promotes positive behaviors and role models for boys and girls to help prepare them for primary school. This TV program reached 80 percent of Egyptian children in 2004, according to the Egypt Demographic and Health Survey 2005. To cover more areas of Egypt, new schools were constructed. Also, 120,000 girls' scholarships are available, and 28,112 have been awarded. In addition, the USAID sponsored literacy classes for 4,776 students. Life-skills classes to teach adolescents good health practices were given to 34,400 young adults. New School, National Book, and Leadership in Education and Development Scholarship programs were created. The USAID allocated one-third of the construction cost of the American University in Cairo. Education standards using self-assessment, outside evaluation, and measures of improvement were developed at the local and national level. Boards of Trustees were established throughout Egypt to encourage parent involvement and to help decentralize its education system. The USAID worked closely with the Ministry of Education to set up and implement Education Reform Programs (ERP) in seven governorates of Egypt. Each ERP tries to improve school management and professional development. Educators, administrators, and social workers have received training to improve their professional development. School-to-Work and Community Youth Mapping programs were established. The School-to-Work program provides essential skills to help high-school students transition from school to the job market. The Community Youth Mapping program helps in "training youth to collect and analyze data in their communities on specific community needs." The Egypt Household Education Survey gets and evaluates community feedback on the ERP. Standard tests measure students' critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Information Management Education Systems collect data to assist school officials in their decision making process. A standards-based Classroom Observation Protocol measures teachers' effectiveness. Programs such as School Team Excellence Awards Program (STEAP) encourage educators to achieve excellence and improve the quality of their teaching. Over a two-year period, STEAP has awarded 75,000 educators and education teams. With the help of the USAID, Egypt's Information Technology (IT) in schools has improved dramatically. New computers, software, and computer training were made available to Egypt’s students and educators. Students were trained in IT to better prepare for the global job market. Educators were given IT training to incorporate it into their lesson plans. IT is also used to exchange ideas and collaborate with other educators via the Internet to improve their teaching. Besides USAID assistance, Egypt's focus on tourism also shapes its education system. Egypt's commitment to the tourist industry in the 1970’s generated numerous projects to promote tourism in Egypt. These projects added new hotels, restaurants, and museums throughout Egypt. In 2002, the construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum started and will be completed by 2010. When completed, it will be the largest Egyptian artifact museum in the world and will allow scholars to study Ancient Egypt. Egypt's education reform was primary economically motivated. It is undeniable that the national education system has improved tremendously. All measures show that educators have improved their teaching and students are now better prepared for higher education and the workforce. The collaboration between the USAID and the Egyptian Ministry of Education has been successful. Education reform in Egypt provides a model for other Arab countries. References Kuppinger and Petra. “Globalization and Exterritoriality In Metropolitan Cairo” Geographical Review, Vol. 95, Issue 3(2005): 348-372. Mark Warschauer. The Rhetoric And Reality of Aid: Promoting Educational Technology In Egypt. Globalisation, Society and Education, Vol. 25, Issue 3(2005): 377-390. USAID in Egypt. 18 October, 2006. The U.S. Agency for International Development. Retrieved January 10, 2006, from http://egypt.usaid.gov.