Preface	6
	Note	8
	Acknowledgements	10
	Contents	12
	Abbreviations	16
	List of Figures	18
	List of Tables	20
	Chapter 1: Introduction: Background and Rationale to the Study	21
	References	24
	Chapter 2: Cultural and Educational Traditions in the MENA Region	27
	2.1 Introduction	27
	2.1.1 Essentialism and the Middle East	28
	2.2 An Historical and Cultural Description of the Region and Its People	29
	2.2.1 The Birth of Islam	30
	2.2.2 The Influence of the USA	32
	2.2.3 Historical Background to Education in the Region	33
	2.2.4 The Knowledge Economy in the Middle East	37
	2.3 Education in the Gulf States	39
	2.3.1 The Context of Bahrain: A Typical Rentier State in the Arabian Gulf	40
	2.3.2 Education Reform for the Knowledge Economy in the Middle East	41
	2.4 Conclusion	43
	References	46
	Chapter 3: Education in the Globalised Knowledge Economy	49
	3.1 Introduction	49
	3.2 Globalisation	51
	3.2.1 Globalisation, ICT, and the World Bank	54
	3.2.2 Globalisation in the Networked Society	56
	3.3 The Knowledge Economy	59
	3.3.1 The Learning Economy	64
	3.3.2 The Creative Economy	65
	3.3.3 The Open Knowledge Economy	67
	3.4 Conclusion	71
	References	72
	Chapter 4: Educational Challenges in the Arab World	79
	4.1 Introduction	79
	4.2 Globalisation in the Arab World	80
	4.2.1 Bahrain and the GCC Countries	82
	4.3 The Knowledge Economy in the Arab World	83
	4.3.1 The Shock of the New	83
	4.3.2 Ambivalence Towards Technologies of Learning	84
	4.3.3 The Education Deficit	86
	4.3.4 Local Problems and Concerns Over Schooling	90
	4.3.5 Global Responses to Local Concerns	91
	4.3.6 Teaching and Learning	93
	4.3.7 Gender Segregation in Schools, Teacher Preparation, and Teacher Status	95
	4.4 Conclusion	96
	References	97
	Chapter 5: Structure and Agency in the MENA Region: Theoretical Perspectives	102
	5.1 Introduction	102
	5.2 The Relationship Between the Frameworks	106
	5.3 Critical Theory and Grounded Theory	108
	5.4 Structure and Agency in Late Developing Countries	113
	5.4.1 Structuration and the Neoliberal Imaginary: Islamic States Confronting Modernism	113
	5.5 Homo Economicus and New Institutional Economics	114
	5.6 Conclusion	118
	Notes	118
	References	119
	Chapter 6: Modernism Confronts Tradition	122
	6.1 Introduction1	122
	6.1.1 The Local Bahraini Context	127
	6.2 Data Gathering and Analysis	127
	6.2.1 Organisational Culture	128
	6.2.1.1 False Memories and “Fuzzy Traces”	129
	6.2.1.2 Accountability, Policy Making, and Idealistic Rhetoric	130
	6.2.1.3 Atomisation	131
	6.2.1.4 Overload and Innovation Fatigue	131
	6.2.1.5 Performativity	133
	6.2.2 Technology	136
	6.2.2.1 Pedagogic Ownership and Curriculum Integration	140
	6.2.2.2 Personal Initiatives	142
	6.2.3 Tradition	144
	6.2.3.1 Expectations of Traditional Pedagogy	146
	6.2.3.2 The Creative Curriculum	149
	6.3 Conclusion	151
	Notes	152
	References	153
	Chapter 7: Reflections on the End of History	156
	7.1 Introduction	156
	7.2 Policy Intent and the Local Drivers—Visions of a Post-rentier State	156
	7.2.1 The Paradox of the Gulf States	157
	7.2.2 Text as a Material-Semiotic Actor	160
	7.3 External Policy Drivers: Technology-­Enriched Futures and Public Policy Making	162
	7.3.1 The Neoliberal Imaginary	162
	7.3.2 The Influence of SNO and Global Corporations	164
	7.4 Policy Constraints—Culture, Identity, and Limited Local Capacity	165
	7.4.1 The Dynamics of Technology Integration	166
	7.5 Making Sense of the Data	169
	7.5.1 Recurrent instances of the Techno-Mythologies of Information Systems	171
	7.5.2 Towards an Overarching Conclusion	172
	7.6 Conclusion: Reflection on The End of History	175
	7.6.1 Multiple Paths to Modernity	176
	References	177
	Chapter 8: Bridging the Long Divergence	183
	8.1 Introduction	183
	8.2 Islam and Modernism	184
	8.2.1 Enlightenment and the Arab World	185
	8.2.2 Imperialism and the Formation of UNESCO	186
	8.3 The Great Divergence	187
	8.3.1 Socio-economic Divergence	188
	8.3.2 Epistemological and Politico-Cultural Divergence	189
	8.4 A Shared Humanity—Post-Colonial Possibilities	190
	8.5 Conclusions	191
	8.5.1 Structure and Agency in Technology Integration	191
	References	193
	Endpiece	195
	References	199
	Index	200