In two vastly contrasting worlds, with different ethical, value-based, and social systems, education remains a critical and decisive process that determines the future of nations and positions societies among others. The development of the educational process is a clear indicator of the progress of some countries and the decline of others.
Interestingly, what distinguishes the West today in terms of education and teaching methods was what the Islamic world excelled in historically, presenting exemplary models of successful educational systems. While Arabs abandoned their ancestors' heritage and resorted to imitation, the West developed and advanced its systems, leading to a stark difference between a nation seeking the essence and truth of knowledge and one content with its form and appearance.
What are the most notable differences between the educational processes in the Arab and Western worlds? How did education become one of the key reasons for the West's advancement? How do Arab students studying abroad perceive Western education? This and more are explored in this report by “Al-Mujtama.”
A nation that seeks to rise and overcome its disputes and backwardness must prioritize the educational process.
It's not surprising that the first ayahs of the Quran command reading and learning, as knowledge builds a person, giving them value and status. Even when Allah created Adam, He taught him what He did not teach the angels, Allah says, “And He taught Adam the names - all of them.” (Al-Baqarah: 31), making that knowledge a shield against corruption and bloodshed.
A nation aiming to rise and overcome its disputes and backwardness must place education at the forefront of its priorities. This focus should not be on education as a national service but on the educational process itself, how students benefit from it, and how it aligns with labor market needs. Otherwise, it would be like a heavy burden with no benefit.
Historically, the state's system in the Arab and Islamic regions relied on the endowment system, where essential needs like health and education were decentralized. Thus, the collapse of a political system did not necessarily mean the collapse of civilization, including education and health.
For example, when the Ottoman Empire reached its peak in the 16th and 17th centuries, the educational system relied on various types of schools. First were the religious schools established in mosques or their annexes, later moving to independent buildings, aimed at producing graduates for judicial and religious institutions like judges, teachers, and muftis. These schools offered a high level of education, teaching various subjects beyond religious sciences, such as philosophy, logic, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, and history.
The second type was the saray (palace) schools, established to educate Ottoman family members and prepare officials for saray duties.
The educational methodology in the West relies on critical thinking and innovation, whereas in our countries, the focus is on memorization and repetition.
Military schools aimed to prepare military officers and state officials. There were also local schools, including boys' schools, and the Grand Istanbul School, established by Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror as the first university, teaching four primary sciences: religious, literary, mathematical, and natural sciences.
Modern education entered the Ottoman Empire in 1839, transforming to the Western model at the time.
The West developed a different educational system stemming from intellectual culture and the Enlightenment revolution during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries. An economic need arose for educated individuals to meet job requirements, and with increased production came the need to market goods, which required continuous employment for sustenance and luxuries. This created a sort of a closed-loop system.
The educational system was designed to provide all students with the same material at the same age to ensure a continuous supply of employees for the economy. Over time, this system began to have significant impacts on individual freedom and society.
Currently, the educational process in the West has evolved, whereas it has not undergone the same development in Arab countries. The system remains a closed process producing semi-educated individuals, sidelining religious, cultural, and moral education, and relying heavily on foreign and cultural curricula, causing a cultural identity crisis among children.
Despite the scientific advancement in the West contributing to prosperity, the ethical and moral aspects remain marginalized in the educational process.
Education in the Ottoman Empire, for example, took into account the individual needs of students. The teaching method relied on the student's ability to recall, research, and study independently, resulting in different outcomes compared to current public schools. Education was generally outside state control, with many revolutions and oppositions originating from the heart of religious schools. This type of education created a balance between state authority and the power of the people, providing a relatively greater degree of individual freedom.
What Distinguish the West?
The most prominent differences between the Arab and Western worlds lie in the current educational methodology. In the West, the focus is on critical thinking and innovation. Students are encouraged to be curious and explore knowledge independently, whereas in the Arab world, the focus is often on memorization and repetition. The educational system tends to be more routine-oriented than skill and innovation-oriented.
It is also noticeable that the West widely uses technology in education, such as cloud computing, e-learning, and innovative educational applications. In contrast, the Arab world faces challenges in fully adopting technology in education due to differences in infrastructure and technological requirements.
Western educational structures rely on the freedom to choose educational paths and specializations, allowing for flexibility and diversity in fields of study. In the Arab world, there may be restrictions on choosing educational paths, often favoring certain specializations over others.
Western educational culture encourages learning from mistakes and experiences, valuing innovation and failure as essential parts of the learning process. In contrast, the Arab world may have evaluative tendencies that prefer immediate success and focus on test results more than on creative work.
In Western education, there is an emphasis on the outcomes of the educational process and its alignment with the labor market's needs and the requirements for the country's development. In most Arab countries, the evaluation is often based on performance alone and the smooth running of the educational process, such as teachers attending classes and delivering lessons, regardless of the final output and the job market's needs.
Our Children Between Two Worlds
“Al-Mujtama” spoke with several Arab students who completed their university or postgraduate studies in Europe. The main differences they found between education in their Arab countries and in Western countries can be summarized as follows:
- Freedom to choose a field of specialization even before completing secondary education. In some European countries, a student can switch to studying a particular field, such as the arts, if they have a passion for it, even before completing pre-university years.
- Training in thinking methods rather than just scientific subjects, so that the student learns to analyze problems and solve them, engage in critical thinking, and learn how to learn, acquire information, and develop skills, making learning a continuous process not limited to academic studies.
The Arab and Islamic world has a rich value system rooted in Islam and consistent with human nature.
- Education through applications and models via challenge-based learning, encouraging students to apply what they have learned. Students often work on projects, and at certain educational stages, there is a project for each subject as an application of the academic content.
- Comprehensive education, studying subjects other than the specialization to ensure that the student is aware of various concepts beyond their field. For instance, an engineering graduate would have knowledge of other sciences such as humanities, medicine, or economics.
- Emphasis on openness to other cultures, with many Western universities providing opportunities for students to travel and support them in learning about their fields in other countries, and to learn skills in dealing with different cultures.
- Alignment with labor market needs, focusing scientific specializations on industries in which the country excels. For example, if a country is advanced in the automotive industry, engineering college specializations revolve around this industry. Hence, specializations align with the labor market.
These effective educational principles currently in the West were present in the Arab and Islamic world before adopting old Western systems. Students had the freedom to choose their subjects. In most Arab countries, boys learned writing, the Quran, and basic grammar. Once they mastered these subjects and skills, they listened to poetry and hadith. Some continued studying and delved deeper into one or more religious, literary, or scientific subjects, depending on the child's readiness and ability to learn and transition to the next educational stage.
Muslim scholars often traveled to learn and gain knowledge and interact with other societies, such as Imam Al-Shafi'i, who was born in the Levant and undertook a rich academic journey through Mecca, Medina, Yemen, Baghdad, and Egypt.
Many Muslim scholars excelled in multiple sciences, not just one, like Ibn Sina, who was a physician, philosopher, writer, and poet. There are numerous examples in this regard.
Despite the scientific progress in the West, which has contributed to prosperity and development, the ethical and moral aspect remains on the margins of the educational process. Sometimes schools and universities even encourage what contradicts human nature. We must acknowledge that this scientific progress has flaws because one of the roles of science is to discipline and refine human behavior.
In contrast, the Arab and Islamic world possesses a rich value system derived from Islam and consistent with human nature. If this were supported by advanced education, it would build a great civilization, not just mere development!
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