February 17, 2005

Hess helps Qatar in public education reform effort

G. Alfred Hess Jr., research professor of education and social policy, recently conducted training in Qatar as part of a larger school reform effort to upgrade the quality of public education in that Middle Eastern country.

As a consultant working with the National Opinion Research Corporation, Hess trained staff of Qatar’s School Evaluation Office in how to do classroom observation. Qatar has had a formal education system only since 1952. 

“The School Evaluation Office is using classroom observation as a way to help schools think about what they’re doing,” he noted. “What the schools are asking children to do and therefore what they are learning—that is the primary focus.” 

In December, the first phase of Hess’s involvement targeted training staff to use classroom data collection protocols. The process required both translating protocols into Arabic and adapting these protocols to the cultural realities of Qatar.

During a second phase, classroom observation was conducted in schools.

Hess, who has coordinated Northwestern’s Lighthouse Partnership with Evanston School District 65 and directed several evaluation projects for Chicago Public Schools, will provide expertise in analysis after the data gathering is complete. 

One goal of Qatar’s current reform effort is to advance increasing numbers of schools from the control of the Ministry of Education to an independent status, which builds on the notion of charter schools. Under this system students ultimately would have choice about which school to attend. 

The Qatari project reveals the importance of the U.S. role in educational reform internationally, according to Hess. “School reform is not simply an American issue. It’s an issue that’s international in scope.”