Neoliberalism and English Language Education Policies in the Arabian Gulf

Over the past two decades, the Arabian Gulf countries have faced enormous social, political, economic, cultural, religious, ideological and epistemological upheaval. Including data collected from a wide range of sources, Neoliberalism and English Language Education Policies in the Arabian Gulf examines the impact of such disruption on education policies in the political and economic union consisting of six countries: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, through genealogical investigation.

As a consequence of disruptions in the region and the ensuing challenges, access to the English language has become a key concern for stakeholders in the Arabian Gulf countries and debates over English education policy have been framed by neoliberal capitalist perspectives, in which the view of English as linguistic, economic and cultural capital is primarily tied to employability and economic mobility. Yet the authorities’ enthusiasm to ensure that there is harmony between Islamic traditions, values and culture and Western neoliberal values and strategies has caused intensifying ideological debates in the region. Barnawi explores these debates and questions whether Islamic values and traditions have been successfully harmonised with neoliberal capitalist development strategies for nation building in the Arabian Gulf region.

There has been very little scholarly work that examines English education policy under the neoliberal economy in the Arabian Gulf countries from critical comparative perspectives. This book addresses this lacuna and should be of interest to academics, researchers and postgraduates working in the fields of language education and, more specifically, TESOL; applied linguistics; education policy and teacher education.

Osman Z. Barnawi is Director of the?English Language Institute, Royal Commission Yanbu Colleges and Institutes,?Saudi Arabia.