Gulf Countries Educational Research Center: Committed to Providing a Shared Scientific Reference to Develop Educational Policies

Dr. Mohammed Al-Sharika, Director of the Arab Center for Educational Research and Development in the Gulf States, affirmed the center’s commitment to supporting educational integration among member states and providing a shared scientific reference to help develop educational policies based on evidence and comparative expertise.

This statement was made by Dr. Al-Sharika during his opening address at the educational workshop discussing the “Strategic Framework for General Education in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States,” organized by the center in Muscat. The event brought together officials and educational specialists in policy-making, strategic planning, and curriculum development from the ministries of education in member states, alongside a team of educational experts.

He noted that the program was built on an integrated scientific approach that combined the study of advanced global and regional models with an analysis of the current state of general education in GCC countries. He emphasized the importance of the workshop in involving representatives of member states in discussing and developing the framework, thereby enhancing its realism, applicability, and alignment with the national priorities of member states.

For his part, Hamad Al-Sarhani, Advisor to the Minister of Education of Oman and representative of the Omani Ministry of Education, stressed in a similar address the importance of joint Gulf efforts in developing general education systems, particularly in light of the rapid global transformations in the fields of the digital economy, artificial intelligence, and future skills. Al-Sarhani underscored the importance of building a Gulf strategic vision based on the commonalities among GCC states while leveraging their diverse national experiences to contribute to improving education quality and enhancing its capacity to respond to development priorities and future requirements.

The first session of the workshop addressed advanced global models in building general education frameworks. The program and its outputs were introduced, and several advanced global and regional models were reviewed. The session discussed the key lessons learned from these models and their adaptability to the Gulf context.

The second session was dedicated to discussing the current state of general education in GCC countries. The program team presented the main findings of the analytical study conducted in this field, highlighting common educational priorities and challenges among member states, and discussed the implications of these findings for developing the strategic framework.

The third session focused on the Strategic Framework for General Education in the GCC states. Its main components were presented, and the views and proposals of member state representatives regarding the framework and ways to develop it were solicited. The session also explored methods to enhance educational integration and coordination at the strategic level among GCC states.

The sessions featured discussions that enriched the framework with comments and suggestions from member state representatives, supporting its revision and development in its final form. This process aims to strengthen its potential as a shared strategic reference to help develop national educational policies and enhance integration and coordination among general education systems in the GCC states.

The workshop was organized as part of the implementation of the “Unified Strategic Framework for General Education in the GCC States” program, executed by the center in response to the decision of the Committee of Ministers of Education in Member States, issued on May 19, 2025, regarding the preparation of a unified strategic framework for general education in the GCC states.

The program yielded three main interconnected outcomes: an analytical study of advanced global models in building general education frameworks, an analytical study of the current state of general education in the GCC states, and the Strategic Framework for General Education in the GCC states.

The framework includes a vision, mission, values, governing principles, domains, strategic goals and objectives, reference indicators, and a structure for the educational ladder, alongside a model for governance, implementation, and monitoring.