Projects
RAND Education's work in Qatar
The leadership of the Arabian Gulf nation of Qatar sees education as the key to Qatar's economic and social progress. Long concerned that the country's education system was not meeting the needs of its society, the highly committed Qatari leadership approached the RAND Corporation in 2001, asking it to examine the kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) education system in Qatar and to recommend options for building a world-class system consistent with other Qatari initiatives for social and political change, such as wider opportunities for women. After accepting a specific system-wide reform option, (the Independent School Model), the leadership then asked RAND to further develop the option and support its implementation. This ongoing work has provided RAND with the unique and exciting opportunity not only to observe a major reform undertaking from the ground level, but to participate in the process as well.
The first generation of twelve Independent schools opened in 2004; and by Fall of 2006, 46 Independent schools were in operation alongside the more-traditional Ministry of Education schools and the private Arabic schools. From 2005 to 2007, the RAND team conducted a study to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Independent school reform. The data collection protocols from that study are available here.
In addition to a series of projects related to the K-12 system, RAND has also analyzed the country's scholarship system, recommending a new approach to supporting academically-able students to study at world-class universities in Education City in Qatar and around the world. Building on that work, RAND recently completed an examination of the entire postsecondary education and training sector in Qatar.
Additional information and the current status of these efforts is documented on the Supreme Education Council of Qatar, "Education for a New Era" web site: http://www.english.education.gov.qa/
In addition to work for the Supreme Education Council, RAND has participated in a major effort to restructure Qatar University (http://www.qu.edu.qa) and in an education project for the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (http://www.qf.edu.qa).
Reports
As public reports are issued to document these projects, they will be highlighted here.
Lessons from the Field: Developing and Implementing the Qatar Student Assessment System, 2002-2006 — 2009
Gabriella Gonzalez, Vi-Nhuan Le, Markus Broer, Louis T. Mariano, J. Enrique Froemel, Charles A. Goldman, Julie DaVanzo
Developing a School Finance System for K-12 Reform in Qatar — 2009
Cassandra M. Guarino, Titus Galama, Louay Constant, Gabriella Gonzalez, Jeffery C. Tanner, Charles A. Goldman
Full Document
Research Brief (English version)
Post-Secondary Education in Qatar: Employer Demand, Student Choice, and Options for Policy — 2008
Cathleen Stasz, Eric Eide, Francisco Martorell, Louay Constant, Charles Goldman, Joy Moini, Vazha Nadareishvili, Hanine Salem
Education for a New Era: Design and Implementation of K-12 Education Reform in Qatar — 2007
Dominic J. Brewer, Catherine H. Augustine, Gail L. Zellman, Gery Ryan, Charles A. Goldman, Cathleen Stasz, Louay Constant
Facing Human Capital Challenges of the 21st Century:
Education and Labor Market Initiatives in Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates — 2008Gabriella Gonzalez, Lynn A. Karoly, Louay Constant, Hanine Salem, Charles A. Goldman
Post-Secondary Education in Qatar: Employer Demand, Student Choice, and Options for Policy — 2008
Cathleen Stasz, Eric Eide, Francisco Martorell, Louay Constant, Charles Goldman, Joy Moini, Vazha Nadareishvili, Hanine Salem
Aligning Post-Secondary Educational Choices to Societal Needs: A New Scholarship System for Qatar — 2008
Catherine H. Augustine, Cathy Krop
A Survey of Qatari Secondary School Seniors: Methods and Results — 2008
Louay Constant, Vazha Nadareishvili, Hanine Salem
A Survey of Recent Qatari Secondary School Graduates: Methods and Results — 2008
Francisco Martorell, Vazha Nadareishvili, Hanine Salem
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