THE CHALLENGE OF GLOBALIZATION CHANGES IN EDUCATION: POLICY AND PRACTICE IN THE GULF STATES

The academic literature on globalization and education has burgeoned over the last two decades. However, most of the recent, groundbreaking educational literature on education and globalization focuses on western industrialized countries and the newly industrialized countries at the Pacific Rim. This state of affair might raise questions about the relevance of this work for understanding globalization and education policy in the undeveloped countries which are struggling with the external forces of globalization to maintain their sovereignty and merging nationhood. This paper examines a number of issues related to the effects of globalization in the Gulf States and the challenges that they face in preparing today's students to be successful citizens in a fast-changing world. Drawing on the recent literature on this issue, an attempt is made to set a conceptual framework for understanding various aspects of the education / globalization relationship in Gulf states with special reference to the state of Kuwait.