Kuwait and the United States are two countries with high levels of literacy and high standards of living for their populations. This paper will look into the differences between education systems in Kuwait and the United States through contrast of the key features of Kuwaiti and American education.
One of the critical differences is the social fabric and quality of workforce. The Kuwaiti educational system generally employs foreign teachers and professors. Indeed, Kuwaiti teachers in local high schools and universities are a rare occurrence. While some teachers and professors are well-qualified, many others, who have come mostly from other Arab countries in the region, such as Egypt and Syria, seem hardly qualified for their jobs (Al-Sharaf, 2006). In addition, even those teachers who have good qualifications tend to pay insufficient attention or fail to put adequate effort into the educational process if to compare with teachers in the United States.
Use your promo and get a custom paper on
"Education Differences between U.S. and Kuwait".
Next, the attitudes of the government towards education differ in the two countries. In Kuwait, local officials tend to neglect education and do not regard it to be a high priority. Local people admit that unlike health and other public spheres in Kuwait, education is considered unimportant. One of the outcomes of this neglect is insufficient number of academic institutions and, as a result, overcrowded universities. In a recently published editorial to Kuwait Times, it is said that “students have been suffering for nearly 30 years and nobody has solved this problem. It’s reached a point where the number of students in each hall average at 140 and sometimes reaches 160.” (Kuwait Times, Sept. 9, 2013). Conversely, education in the U.S. is a priority, which is governmentally funded and regulated. With reference to higher education, students in the United States are placed in conditions which are favorable for studying and inspire them to study. Many students who come from overseas admit to American professors being totally committed to teaching and using innovation and creativity.
Further, the issue of equal access to universities is a prominent difference between Kuwait and the United States. In Kuwait, lack of governmental universities and the overcrowding issue have led to foundation of a few private universities. Since most of them are run by former education ministers, they are rather autonomous in the question of fair access of students, in particular through the governmental scholarships. In the United States, the matter to access to a private university is only a question of funding (Kuwait Times, Sept. 9, 2013). On the other hand, a range of universities offer partial or full scholarships for bright and highly talented students is high.
Further, the gender issue is treated differently in Kuwait and in the United States. Kuwait saw its gender segregation laws approved in 2009, which state that private schools (and private universities) should segregate on the basis of gender (Rempel, 2010, p.38). In the United States, students of both genders study in the same classrooms, and gender discrimination, if it ever happens, in everyday life is heavily criticized.
Next, the issues of freedom of expression and role religion in education are different. In the United States, religion does not have impact on education, while in Kuwait it does. For example, gender segregation is a result of the impact of religion. As for the freedom of expression, in Kuwait there is a strong censorship policy. Teachers are provided with censorship guidelines, and textbooks are checked for consistency with the societal moral code (Rempel, 2010, p.39). In the United States, teachers have freedom to use teaching materials they think ar appropriate, and never have them censored.
In summary, the education systems of Kuwait and the United States are different in a number of aspects. This paper discussed the following differences: quality of teacher workforce, government’s attention to education, students’ access to education in private universities, gender segregation in education, censorship and role of religion in education.
- Al-Sharaf, A. (2006). New Perspectives on Teacher Education in Kuwait. Journal of Education
for Teaching, 32, 105-109. - Kuwait Times. (9 Sept. 2013). Kuwait and Education. Retrieved 19 December 2013 from
ProQuest database. - Rempel, M. Inshallah: Teaching in Kuwait. ATA Magazine, 90 (3), 38-39.
