Feature
May 5, 2009Dean Susan Mayer Teaches in Dubai
Susan Mayer, dean of the Harris School, traveled to Dubai in March to teach an executive education course on creating sustainable solutions for education development. Offered by the Harris School and the Dubai School of Government (DSG), the course covered topics ranging from the benefits of different education systems around the world to the efficiency of major policies suggested for increasing human capital to evaluation of new standards and policies.
One reason the Harris School agreed to conduct the session-at the DSG's invitation-is "because the education leaders we spoke to in the Middle East have been looking for ways to improve their educational systems to drive economic growth and employment," explained Executive Education Director Mario Polizzi. "Many countries in the Middle East are now moving from providing access to education, to improving quality and strengthening the link between human capital and social well-being."
Nonprofit, government, and education leaders from numerous Gulf states attended the course with a goal of providing them with the tools to begin implementing education reforms in their countries.
Among the lessons offered to students, Mayer cited the need to understand that improving education requires better instruction, that research is essential in determining what problems exist and what solutions can be useful, and that there is no "silver bullet" for education improvement.
"I [also] hope students took away an understanding that education is local," she said. "The educational goals for children can differ from place to place and therefore what reforms will work vary from place to place. We rely heavily on tests of cognitive ability in assessing the success of school, but non-cognitive traits are very important, and we largely ignore them."
Mohammed Dulaimi, director of research and innovation at the Abu Dhabi International Centre for Organizational Excellence, was interested in the session because of the link between education and sustainable development. "The Gulf region is facing the challenge of how to trigger and sustain the necessary changes to create the education system that can support its strategic development programs."
This is just one of the executive education courses the Harris School offers throughout the year. In May, a session will be taught on public policy, advocacy, and communications; and in June Brazilian business students will attend a week-long program in Chicago covering public policy, finance, and investment strategies.
And the DSG is just one of the School's training partners. The Harris School works with organizations from all sectors to individually tailor these programs, drawing upon its vast experience in a wide variety of tool-based and substantive topic areas to provide both rigorous and practical training.
The course taught by Mayer is also part of a part of a broader initiative with the Dubai School of Government, with whom the Harris School recently signed a memo of understanding. The memo serves as a statement of intent for the two schools to work together and provides a framework through which to develop programs and activities.
"I learned a lot more research is needed in the Middle East and North African region," said Pauline Greaves, head of professional development at the Abu Dhabi Education Council. "The countries [here] are often compared with Western countries; however, there is not baseline data for these countries for what they are measuring themselves against."
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