[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-592646-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-592646-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","challenges-in-education-system-affecting-teacher-professional-development-in-oman","Challenges in Education System Affecting Teacher Professional Development in Oman","","Oman’s education system has expanded rapidly in access and teacher qualifications, achieving nearly universal basic education entry and progression to post-basic schooling. Despite this, international assessments such as PIRLS and TIMSS show consistently weak outcomes in literacy, mathematics, and science, with boys scoring significantly below girls. This meta-analysis synthesizes studies and reports to describe current schooling challenges and their implications for teacher professional development in Oman.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/challenges-in-education-system-affecting-teacher-professional-development-in-oman/592646/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/challenges-in-education-system-affecting-teacher-professional-development-in-oman/592646.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Mimi","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-08","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",16,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What progress has Oman made in its education system, and why is it still a concern?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Oman has achieved nearly universal access to basic education and rapid improvements in teacher qualifications. However, PIRLS and TIMSS results indicate very poor learning outcomes in literacy, mathematics, and science.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Which factors are identified as contributing to the educational challenges in Oman?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Key factors include an overcrowded, content-heavy curriculum, a need for more practical teacher training, limited adoption of student-centred learning approaches, and assessment practices focused mainly on summative purposes with little formative assessment.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How is Oman’s Basic Education system structured?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The Basic Education programme introduced in 1998 replaces the older General Education system. It runs from grades 1 to 10 and is divided into two stages: Cycle One (grades 1–4) and Cycle Two (grades 5–10).","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},592646,1792192468,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,115,120,123,127],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":112,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,30,"research-report",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":122},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":124,"slug":126},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":128,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":130},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":132},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":133,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":112,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":145,"read_time":146,"preview_page_count":4},2336477974920,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Challenges in Education System Affecting Teacher Professional Development in Oman  \nBy Amira Sulaiman Al Shabibi 􀀍  \nHeikki Silvennoinen†  \nOn international comparisons, the development of Oman’s education system in terms of the increase in educational enrolment rates and in the level of teacher qualifications has been remarkably rapid. Almost 100% access to basic education has been achieved, and almost all students progress onto post-basic education. A report from the World Bank in 2001 described the development of Oman’s education system in the decades 1970-2000 as \"unprecedented\" and \"unparalleled by any other country\". However, international assessments on learning outcomes in literacy (PIRLS), and mathematics and sciences (TIMSS) show that Omani students perform very poorly in all three subjects, and that boys’performance levels are significantly lower than that for girls. The aim of this study is to describe the present-day situation in Omani schooling and the challenges it poses for teacher professional development. The study is based on a meta-analysis of a variety of studies, research reports, articles, and statistics with the aim of presenting a comprehensive picture of the challenges for the development of teaching and learning in Omani schools.  \nKeywords: gender, learning outcomes, Oman, teaching, teacher professional development.  \nIntroduction  \nOman is located in the Middle East, bordered by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. In 2017, the estimated population of Oman was 4.74 million. A large share of the population are foreigners, about 600,000 people, mostly guest workers from Egypt, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and the Philippines.(Oman Population, 2017) .  \nAccording to the Human Development Report of 2010, of all nations included in the report the Sultanate of Oman showed the fastest progress in the Human Development Index. Since 1970 Oman has witnessed a rapid evolution from a very poor to a very rich country, e.g., with a quadrupling of gross enrolment and literacy rates and a 27-year increase in life expectancy (United Nations, 2010) .  \nOn international comparisons, the development on Oman’s education system in terms of increased enrolment rates and more highly qualified teachers has been remarkably rapid. Almost 100% access to basic education has been achieved, and almost all students progress onto post-basic education. A report from the  \n􀀍Curriculum Officer in English Language, Specialized Centre for Professional Training of Teachers,  \nOman.  \n†Professor in Sociology of Education, University of Turku, Finland.  \n[https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.5-3-3](https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.5-3-3) doi=10.30958/aje.5-3-3  \nWorld Bank in 2001 described the development of Oman’s education system in the years 1970-2000 as \"unprecedented\" and \"unparalleled by any other country\"(Al Balushi & Griffiths, 2013) .  \nThree stages can be identified in the development of Oman’s education system. The first stage, from 1970 to the mid 1990’s, created the educational infrastructure to increase educational access to all parts of the country. The second stage, from the mid 90’s onwards, introduced reforms to improve the quality of the education system. The third phase, currently in progress, focuses on reviewing and evaluating the system with the aim of improving student outcomes.  \nIn 1970 there were only three schools and 30 teachers in Oman. All 900 students were boys. In 1970 only 56.1% of men and a mere 11.7% of women were literate. By 2014 there were 1,042 government schools, with 516,891 students being educated by 55,343 teachers. Now, half of the pupils in schools are girls.  \nIn the early 1970’s half of the teachers held qualifications of a lower level than the equivalent of a General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and only 8% possessed a university degree. Now, over 83% of teachers have completed a bachelor degree-level qualification or higher (Ministry of Education, 2016).  \nDespite the progr","cbCaijoyWtOLPAxd","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijoyWtOLPAxd","pdf",672082,22,"English","# Introduction\n## Oman’s education development and comparative assessment results\n## Study aim and approach (meta-analysis)\n# Challenges affecting teacher professional development\n## Curriculum overload and delivery limitations\n## Need for more practical teacher training\n## Limited use of student-centred learning\n## Emphasis on summative assessment over formative assessment\n# School System in Oman\n## Basic Education programme and its structure","[{\"question\":\"What progress has Oman made in its education system, and why is it still a concern?\",\"answer\":\"Oman has achieved nearly universal access to basic education and rapid improvements in teacher qualifications. However, PIRLS and TIMSS results indicate very poor learning outcomes in literacy, mathematics, and science.\"},{\"question\":\"Which factors are identified as contributing to the educational challenges in Oman?\",\"answer\":\"Key factors include an overcrowded, content-heavy curriculum, a need for more practical teacher training, limited adoption of student-centred learning approaches, and assessment practices focused mainly on summative purposes with little formative assessment.\"},{\"question\":\"How is Oman’s Basic Education system structured?\",\"answer\":\"The Basic Education programme introduced in 1998 replaces the older General Education system. It runs from grades 1 to 10 and is divided into two stages: Cycle One (grades 1–4) and Cycle Two (grades 5–10).\"}]","Challenges in Education System Affecting Teacher Professional Development in Oman | PDF",1792075016,55]