Livelihood planning and career guidance in Palestine and the broader MENA region
- 636 Downloads
- 6 Citations
Abstract
It has often been stated that the Arab “world” is faced by a demographic challenge which is very different to that of many countries in the global North. As the Arab Spring has shown, youths across the region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are keen to make a mark, and despite the internal conflicts and contests for power and influence, many young leaders are hoping to establish new forms of social cohesion which could lead to peace and prosperity within a globalised, interconnected world. This paper focuses on one aspect of the relationship between Arab youth and society, namely the difficult transition between formal education and employment. Drawing on, among other sources, a comparative study carried out across eight Arab states, the role which career education and guidance can play in the process is examined. This is followed by a case study of Palestine where, despite very challenging and difficult political and economic circumstances, significant and promising efforts have been made to help young people develop the life skills needed to engage with schooling in ways that do not only enhance learning, but also facilitate access to work and to self-employment. The paper argues that while career education and guidance (CEG) cannot possibly be expected to solve the disconnect between education and work, it does have a role to play in enhancing learning, in supporting transitions, and thus in contributing to both social and economic development goals.
Keywords
Career education and guidance (CEG) Livelihood planning Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Palestine Arab SpringRésumé
Programmation des moyens de subsistance et orientation professionnelle en Palestine et dans la région MENA – Il est fréquemment mentionné que le « monde » arabe est confronté à un défi démographique très différent de celui de nombreux pays dans l’hémisphère Nord. Comme l’a montré le Printemps arabe, les jeunes de la région couvrant le Moyen-Orient et l’Afrique du Nord (MENA) tiennent à faire entendre leur voix, et malgré les conflits internes et les luttes de pouvoir et d’influence, un grand nombre de jeunes chefs de file ont l’espoir d’instaurer de nouvelles formes de cohésion sociale susceptibles d’apporter la paix et la prospérité dans un monde planétarisé et interconnecté. Le présent article se concentre sur un aspect de la relation entre la jeunesse arabe et la société, à savoir la difficile transition entre enseignement formel et emploi. À partir entre autres d’une étude comparée menée dans huit États arabes, l’auteur examine le rôle potentiel de l’orientation professionnelle dans ce processus de transition. Cet examen est suivi d’une étude de cas sur la Palestine qui, en dépit de circonstances politiques et économiques particulièrement complexes et difficiles, a déployé des efforts significatifs et prometteurs pour aider les jeunes à acquérir les compétences pratiques nécessaires pour s’engager dans une scolarité, qui non seulement favorise l’apprentissage mais facilite aussi l’accès au travail et à l’auto-emploi. L’auteur conclut que si l’orientation professionnelle ne peut en aucun cas combler le fossé entre scolarité et travail, elle a certainement un rôle à jouer dans la valorisation de l’apprentissage, en accompagnant la transition et contribuant ainsi aux objectifs du développement tant social qu’économique.
References
- Abal Mohammad, K. A. H. (1992). Counsellor’s role and function as perceived by students, teachers and educational counsellors at credit course secondary schools in Kuwait. Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Hull (unpublished).Google Scholar
- Abu-Lughod, L. (Ed.). (1998). Remaking women: Feminism and modernity in the Middle East. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
- Abushowayb, K. (2006). Career guidance in the MEDA region: Country report on West Bank and Gaza Strip. Turin: European Training Foundation.Google Scholar
- Akkök, F. & Watts, A. G. (2003). Career guidance in Turkey: Country report. Unpublished paper.Google Scholar
- Al Kawaz, A. (1998). The informal sector and its role in Arab countries. Kuwait: Arab Planning Institute.Google Scholar
- Al-Jafari, M., & Lafi, D. (2006). Matching higher education graduates with market needs in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Ramallah: Sharek Youth Forum.Google Scholar
- Arulmani, G. (2009). Career and livelihood planning: Training manual. Bangalore: Jiva Project, The Promise Foundation.Google Scholar
- Arulmani, G., Bakshi, A. J., Leong, F. T. L. & Watts, A. G. (2014). The manifestation of career. In G. Arulmani, A.J. Bakshi, F.T.L. Leong, & A.G. Watts (eds) Handbook of career development: international perspectives. Dordrecht: Springer.Google Scholar
- Arulmani, G., & Nag-Arulmani, S. (2004). Career counseling: A Handbook. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited.Google Scholar
- Ausman, J., Jayed, A., Ahmed, S., Samad, M. A., Pour, A. S., Mathew, E., et al. (2013). Social factors influencing career choice in a Medical School in the United Arab Emirates. Education in Medicine Journal, 5(1), 14–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- AWRAD (Arab World for Research & Development) (2008). Palestinian youth: Politics, information and media. Results of an Opinion Poll. Ramallah: Arab World for Research & Development.Google Scholar
- Ayyash-Abdo, H., Alamuddin, R., & Mukallid, S. (2010). School counseling in Lebanon: Past, present, and future. Journal of Counseling and Development, 88, 13–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Bailey, S., & Murray, D. (2012). The status of youth in Palestine. Ramallah: Sharek Youth Forum.Google Scholar
- Bardak, U. (2006). An overview of educational systems and labour markets in the Mediterranean region. Mediterranean Journal of Educational Studies, 11(1), 103–125.Google Scholar
- Barnes, A., Bassot, B., & Chant, A. (2011). An introduction to career learning and development 11–19: Perspectives, practice and possibilities. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
- Basit, T. N. (1997). ‘I want more freedom, but not too much’: British Muslim girls and the dynamism of family values. Gender and Education, 9(4), 425–440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Bchir, M. H. & Rajhi, T. (2012). Short term economic responses to unemployment in Arab Region. Unpublished paper (mimeo).Google Scholar
- Bengtsson, A. (2011). European policy of career guidance: The interrelationship between career self-management and production of human capital in the knowledge economy. Policy Futures in Education, 9(5), 616–627.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Benjamin, B. A., Gati, I., & Braunstein-Bercovitz, H. (2011). Career development in Israel: Characteristics, services and challenges. Career Planning and Adult Development Journal, 27(1), 20–38.Google Scholar
- Bergmo-Prvulovic, I. (2012). Subordinating careers to market forces? A critical analysis of European career guidance policy. European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults, 3(2), 155–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Billeh, V. (2002). Matching education to demand for labor in the MENA region. In H. Handoussa (Ed.), Employment creation and social protection in the Middle East and North Africa. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
- Borg, A. (2004). Manual for gender sensitive vocational guidance. Malta: Employment and Training Corporation.Google Scholar
- Boulahcen, A. (2005). Le processus d’orientation scolaire au Maroc: Une analyse sociologique. Revue international d’éducation de Sèvres, 38, 25–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Byrne, D. & Smyth, E. (2010). No way back? The dynamics of early school leaving. Dublin: The Liffey Press in association with the Economic and Social Research Institute.Google Scholar
- Carson, A. D., & Altai, N. M. (1994). 1000 Years before Parsons: Vocational psychology in classical Islam. Career Development Quarterly, 43, 197–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- CEDEFOP (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training) (2011). Guidance supporting Europe’s aspiring entrepreneurs: Policy and practice to harness future potential. Research paper No. 14. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.Google Scholar
- Charmes, J. (2010). Statistics on informal employment in the Arab region. In ILO (ed.) Gender, employment, and the informal economy in the Arab States: A regional overview. Beirut: ILO & CAWTAR.Google Scholar
- Darmon, I., & Perez, C. (2010). “Conduct of conduct” or the shaping of “adequate dispositions”? Labour market and career guidance in four European countries. Critical Social Policy, 31(1), 77–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Donn, G. & Al Balushi, S. (2013). Career guidance in Oman: Establishing a centre and the use of action research as a tool for capacity building. In I. R. Haslam, M. Swe Khine & I. M. Saleh (eds) Large scale school reform and social capital building (pp. 198–214). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
- Edge (2013). Digital youth empowerment. The Edge, Qatar’s Business Magazine, 6 April. http://www.theedge.me/digital-youth-empowerment/. Accessed 6 Feb 2014.
- El-Khairy, O. (2010). American dreams of reinventing the “Orient”: Digital democracy and Arab youth cultures in a regional perspective. In A. E. Mazawi & R. G. Sultana (Eds.), Education and the Arab “world”: Political projects, struggles, and geometries of power (pp. 319–334). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
- Farah, A. M. (1992). Guidance and counseling in the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan: Some observations. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 15(1), 17–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Fargues, P. (2011). Immigration without inclusion: Non-nationals in nation-building in the Gulf States. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 20(3–4), 273–292.Google Scholar
- Flum, H., & Cinamon, R. G. (2006). Socio-cultural differences between Jewish and Arab teachers’ attitudes toward career education in Israel. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 6, 123–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Gulf News (2012). UAE launches vocational education guidance project. Gulf News, 3 October. http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/education/uae-launches-vocational-education-guidance-project-1.1084804. Accessed 7 Feb 2012.
- Gulle, D., & Griffiths, T. (2001). Learning through work experience. Journal of Education and Work, 14(1), 113–131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Hansen, E. (2006). Career guidance. A resource handbook for low- and middle-income countries. Geneva: ILO.Google Scholar
- Hart, J. (2007). Empowerment or frustration? Participatory programming with young Palestinians. Children, Youth and Environment, 17(3), 1–23.Google Scholar
- Hashweh, M. (2006). Human resources development and its links to the labour market in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Turin: European Training Foundation.Google Scholar
- Herrera, L., & Bayat, A. (2010). Being young and Muslim: New cultural politics in the global South and North. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
- Herrera, L. & Mayo, P. (2011). Digital youth, Arab revolution and the challenge of work. Counterpunch, March 4–6. http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/03/04/digital-youth-arab-revolution-and-the-challenge-of-work/.
- Hoffman, M., & Jamal, A. (2012). The youth and the Arab spring: Cohort differences and similarities. Middle East Law and Governance, 4(1), 168–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
- Hooley, T., Hutchinson, J. & Watts, A. G. (2010) Careering through the Web: The potential of Web 2.0 and 3.0 technologies for career development and career support services. An Expert Paper prepared for UKCES. University of Derby: International Centre for Guidance Studies.Google Scholar
- Hooley, T., Watts, A. G., Sultana, R. G. & Neary, S. (2013). The “Blueprint” framework for career management skills: A critical exploration. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 41(2), 117–131.Google Scholar
- Hughes, D. & Gration, G. (2009). Evidence and impact: Careers and guidance-related interventions. Research paper commissioned by CfBT Education Trust. http://www.eep.ac.uk/DNN2/Portals/0/IAG/E&I(Synthesis)_FINAL(W).pdf.
- IFC (International Finance Corporation). (2011). Education for employment: Realizing Arab youth potential. Washington, DC: IFC.Google Scholar
- ILO (International Labour Organization) (2013). Gender in the Arab states. http://www.ilo.org/beirut/areasofwork/equality-discrimination/lang--en/index.htm.
- Irving, B., & Malik, B. (Eds.). (2004). Critical reflections on career education and guidance: Promoting social justice within a global economy. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
- Karam, I. N. K. (2010). Arab youth, education, and satellite broadcasting. In A. E. Mazawi & R. G. Sultana (Eds.), Education and the Arab ‘world’: Political projects, struggles, and geometries of power (pp. 300–316). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
- Karayanni, M. (1996). The emergence of school counseling and guidance in Israel. Journal of Counseling and Development, 74, 582–587.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Khasawneh, S. (2010). Factors influencing the career planning and development of university students in Jordan. Australian Journal of Career Development, 19(2), 41–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Law, B. (1998). Careers education in a curriculum. In A. G. Watts, B. Law, J. Killeen, J. M. Kidd, & R. Hawthorn (Eds.), Rethinking careers education and guidance: Theory, policy and practice (pp. 95–111). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
- Law, B. (1999). Career learning space: New DOTS thinking for careers education. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 27(1), 35–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Law, B., & Watts, A. G. (1993). The DOTS analysis: The original version. Cambridge: The Career Learning Network.Google Scholar
- Loewe, M., Blume, J., Schönleber, V., Seibert, S., Speer, J., & Voss, C. (2007). The impact of favouritism on the business climate: A study on wasta in Jordan. Bonn: Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik.Google Scholar
- Maguire, M. (2004). Measuring the outcomes of career guidance. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 4, 179–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Maguire, M. & Killeen, J. (2003). Outcomes from career information and guidance services. OECD background paper (unpublished).Google Scholar
- Miaari, S. H., & Sauer, R. M. (2011). The labor market costs of conflict: Closures, foreign workers, and Palestinian employment and earnings. Review of the Economics of the Household, 9, 129–148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Miller, A., Watts, A. G., & Jamieson, I. (1991). Rethinking work experience: A key text for improving practice. London: Falmer.Google Scholar
- MoEHE & MoL (Ministry of Education and Higher Education & Ministry of Labour) (2010). National TVET Strategy (revised). Ramallah: MoEHE and MoL. http://www.tvet-pal.org/sites/default/files/11-02-09_revised%20TVET_strategy-final_Signed-version_EN_0.pdf.
- Mohamed, A. A., & Mohamad, S. M. (2011). The effect of wasta on perceived competence and morality in Egypt. Cross Cultural Management, 19(4), 412–425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Nag, S., Arulmani, G., & Bakshi, A. J. (2012). Editorial introduction. Indian Journal of Career and Livelihood Planning, 1(1), 1–3.Google Scholar
- Nassar-McMillan, S., & Zagzebski-Tovar, L. (2012). Career counseling with Americans of Arab descent. Career Planning and Adult Development Journal, 28(1), 72–87.Google Scholar
- NCGE (National Centre for Guidance in Education) (2012). Confidence through evidence. NCGE Journal, Issue No. 37 (summer). Dublin: NCGE.Google Scholar
- OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) (2004). Career guidance and public policy: Bridging the gap. Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
- OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) (2008). Euro-Mediterranean enterprise policy assessment. Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
- OECD & EC (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development &European Commission) (2004). Career guidance: a handbook for policy makers. Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
- Omeira, M. (2010). Schooling and women’s employability in the Arab region. Al-Raida, 128, 6–16.Google Scholar
- PMNE & ARI (Palestinian Ministry of National Economy & Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem). (2011). The economic costs of the Israeli occupation for the occupied Palestinian territory. Ramallah and Jerusalem: PMNE & ARI.Google Scholar
- Raghavan, C. (2009). Gender issues in counseling and guidance in post-primary education: Advocacy brief. Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok.Google Scholar
- Ravari, A., Vanaki, Z., Houmann, H., & Kazemnejad, A. (2009). Spiritual job satisfaction in an Iranian nursing context. Nursing Ethics, 16(1), 19–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Riyada (2011). Evaluation: School-to-Career Project. 9 February (mimeo). Ramallah: Riyada Consulting and Training.Google Scholar
- Roudi, F. (2011). Youth population and employment in the Middle East and North Africa: Opportunity or challenge? Resource document. UN Population Division. http://www.un.org/esa/population/meetings/egm-adolescents/p06_roudi.pdf.
- Sabour, M. (2003). Contradictions within higher education: An assessment of the vocations and prospects of Moroccan universities. International Journal of Contemporary Sociology, 40(1), 153–172.Google Scholar
- Savickas, M. L., Nota, L., Rossier, J., Dauwalder, J.-P., Duarte, M. E., Guichard, J., et al. (2009). Life designing: A paradigm for career construction in the 21st century. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 75(3), 239–250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Schoon, I., & Silbereisen, R. K. (Eds.). (2009). Transitions from school to work: Globalisation, individualisation, and patterns of diversity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
- Shaher, A. (2005). Choice or preordainment: An Islamic viewpoint on career decision making. Unpublished paper drawing on MA dissertation submitted to the University of East London, UK, Department of Psychology, Centre for Training in Career Guidance.Google Scholar
- Simon, R., Dippo, D. A., & Schenke, A. (1991). Learning work: A critical pedagogy of work education. New York: Bergin & Garvey.Google Scholar
- Sukarieh, M., & Tannock, S. (2009). Putting school commercialism in context: A global history of Junior Achievement worldwide. Journal of Education Policy, 24(6), 769–786.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Sultana, R. G. (2002). An EMIS for Palestine: The Education Management Information System in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Mediterranean Journal of Educational Studies, 7(2), 61–92.Google Scholar
- Sultana, R. G. (2003). Review of career guidance policies in 11 acceding and candidate countries: Synthesis report. Turin: European Training Foundation.Google Scholar
- Sultana, R. G. (2004). Guidance policies in the learning society: Trends, challenges and responses across Europe. Thessaloniki: CEDEFOP.Google Scholar
- Sultana, R. G. (2007). Palestinian refugee children and education: Challenges for UNRWA. World Studies in Education, 8(2), 5–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Sultana, R. G. (2008a). Career guidance in the occupied Palestinian Territories: Mapping the field and way forward. UNESCO (mimeo): Ramallah.Google Scholar
- Sultana, R. G. (2008b). The Girls’ Education Initiative in Egypt. Amman: UNICEF.Google Scholar
- Sultana, R. G. (2010). TVET in the Gaza Strip: Mapping provision, identifying gaps and ways forward. Ramallah: UNESCO (mimeo).Google Scholar
- Sultana, R. G. (2011a). On being a ‘boundary person’: Mediating between the global and the local in career guidance policy learning. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 9(2), 265–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Sultana, R. G. (2011b). Career education in Palestine: An analytic assessment report. Save the Children (mimeo): Ramallah.Google Scholar
- Sultana, R. G. (2012). Learning career management skills in Europe: A critical review. Journal of Education and Work, 25(2), 225–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Sultana, R. G. (2013). Career education: Past, present … what prospects? British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 41(1), 69–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Sultana, R. G. (2014). Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will? Troubling the relationship between career guidance and social justice. International Journal of Educational and Vocational Guidance, iFirst, 14(1), 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Sultana, R. G., & Watts, A. G. (2007). Career guidance in the Mediterranean. Turin: European Training Foundation.Google Scholar
- Sultana, R. G., & Watts, A. G. (2008). Career guidance in the Middle East and North Africa. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 8(1), 19–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Sweet, R. (2006). Career guidance in the Western Balkans region. Turin: European Training Foundation (mimeo).Google Scholar
- UN (United Nations). (2002). World population ageing: 1950–2050. New York: Department of Economic and Affairs, Population Division.Google Scholar
- UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). (2006). Arab Human Development Report: Towards the rise of women in the Arab world. New York: United Nations Development Programme.Google Scholar
- UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) (2012). The Arab knowledge report 2010/2011 – Preparing future generations for the Knowledge Society. Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation and UNDP-Regional Bureau for Arab States.Google Scholar
- Wagner, J. (2009). Summary of labour market strategy active labour market tools under the GTZ “TVET Strategy Program”. Paper prepared on behalf of GTZ/GOPA, 23 March (mimeo).Google Scholar
- Walther, A. (2006). Regimes of youth transitions. Choice, flexibility and security in young people’s experiences across different European contexts. YOUNG, 14(2), 119–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Watts, A. G. (1996). Socio-political ideologies in guidance. In A. G. Watts, B. Law, J. Killeen, J. M. Kidd, & R. Hawthorn (Eds.), Rethinking careers education and guidance: Theory, policy and practice (pp. 351–365). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
- Watts, A. G. (2002). The role of information and communication technologies in integrated career information and guidance systems: A policy perspective. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 2, 139–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Watts, A. G. (2013). Career guidance and orientation. In UNESCO-UNEVOC (ed.), Revisiting global trends in TVET: Reflections on theory and practice (pp.239–274). Bonn: UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training. Accessed 7 February 2014 from http://www.unevoc.unesco.org/fileadmin/up/2013_epub_revisiting_global_trends_in_tvet_chapter7.pdf.
- Watts, A. G. (2014). Cross-national review of career guidance systems: Overview and reflections. Journal of the National Institute for Career Education and Counselling, 25, 345–360.Google Scholar
- Watts, A. G., & Fretwell, D. H. (2004). Public policies for career development: Policy strategies for designing career information and guidance systems in middle-income and transition economies. Washington, DC: The World Bank.Google Scholar
- Watts, A. G., & Sultana, R. G. (2004). Career guidance policies in 37 countries: Contrasts and common themes. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 4(2–3), 105–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Wilson, D. J. (2007a). Youth livelihood mapping: A career counseling toolkit for career counselors, youth workers, families and youth. Save the Children/Jordan Country Office, mimeo, 5 Nov).Google Scholar
- Wilson, D. J. (2007b). Exploring pathways to the future: A career counseling toolkit for career counselors, youth workers, families and youth. (Save the Children, mimeo, 26 Oct).Google Scholar
- World Bank. (2008). The road not traveled: Education reform in the Middle East and North Africa. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
- Yesilyaprak, B. (2012). The paradigm shift of vocational guidance and career counseling and its implications for Turkey: An evaluation from past to future. Educational Sciences, 12(1), 111–118.Google Scholar
- Zelloth, H. (2009). In demand: Career guidance in EU neighbouring countries. Turin: European Training Foundation.Google Scholar