Perhaps nowhere is the valuation structure described by Bateman and Willis (1999), and applied here to science capacity, more necessary than in the Middle East and North Africa. The most recent figures available, which are a regional composite, indicate that unemployment approaches 20% in some areas. Despite gains in school enrollment, rates remain low and “there is little evidence that education has contributed to economic growth” (Sarbib, 2002, p. 1). Currently, the majority of students who leave Middle East countries for higher education—most to the U.S.—do not return, and those that do face the same unemployment challenges as the less-educated (Taqrir Washington, June 13, 2007). Yet, as Sarbib (2002) points out, the region faces a larger challenge.

Harnessing the region’s human and social capital so that it can take its place among today’s leading knowledge economies will take less financial investment than policy reform: transforming education systems to meet the demands of a global economy driven by advances in knowledge and technology; encouraging private businesses to invest in research and development; creating business and research set-ups that foster innovation (Sarbib, 2002, p. 1).

There are exceptions; sophisticated information and communications technology (ICT) is found in the oil-rich Gulf States, where options for students are more numerous (Taqrir Washington, June 13, 2007). Dubai Internet City (DIC) offers what it calls a “one-stop-shop environment” for technology oriented international businesses, while incorporating a national development plan (The Career Centre, 2007). Away from the Gulf States, and among those disenfranchised by cultural mores, options are fewer. It is, indeed, ironic that Arab countries find themselves with such wide disparity both among themselves and their economic classes, and between themselves and the industrialized world, considering the role of Arabic culture in fostering scientific and mathematical advances prior to the Renaissance.

Jordan

While not specifically science education-oriented, Jordan’s Education Reform for Knowledge Economy (ERfKE) program is designed to increase the overall capacity of Jordanian primary and secondary students, better positioning them for higher education. Now in its fourth year, ERfKE is comprised of components that address Sarbib’s (2002) concern for policy reform, including provision of ICT for student use (Education Reform for Knowledge Economy I Program, 2003).

The first component is significant in that it addresses overall policy and the refinement of systems responsible for policy implementation, including an effective decision support system and “comprehensive and coordinated educational research, policy analysis, and monitoring and evaluation activities” (Education Reform for Knowledge Economy I Program, 2003, para. 3). The second ERfKE component encompasses revised curriculum and assessment, the provision of professional development and learning resource development and acquisition including, with the third component, the need for both computer and science labs. Component 3 also provides for a sufficient number of safe, uncrowded schools, which, with the fourth component, “promotes readiness for learning through early childhood education. It is designed to enhance equity in low-income areas by providing kindergarten for children of age 5” (Education Reform for Knowledge Economy I Program, 2003, para. 3).

Lebanon

Michigan State University, through its College of Communication Arts & Sciences, is working with Lebanese American University to develop an ICT education program “to strengthen the capacity for ICT training and to help Lebanese educators, particularly women, as they develop new strategies for teaching” (U.S. Department of State, 2006, para. 2). The goal is to build regional capacity in ICT, integrating what is known about how women approach technology (Research Around the World: Lebanon, 2007). The project is an initiative of the U.S. State Department’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), with equal funding from each university and additional assistance from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) (U.S. Department of State, 2006).

Tunisia and Egypt

Tunisia’s Education Quality Improvement Program (EQIP) is dual-phased, with Phase 1 having closed in 2006. Project evaluation documents classified the initial phase as satisfactory in meeting the three project goals:

• * Achieve near-universal completion of basic education (Grade 1 through 9).
• * Provide a greater number of students with opportunities for post-basic education.
• * Modernize the sector in ways that improve the quality of outputs and the efficiency with which they are produced (Education Quality Improvement Program, 2000).

Both EQIP Phase 2 (2004) and Egypt’s Higher Education Enhancement Project (2002) are similar to Jordan’s ERfKE program in scope, particularly in improvement of infrastructure for subsequent development initiatives.