Online Learning in the Arab World: A Shifting Landscape

10 pages•Published: February 12, 2020

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the engagement of learners in the Arab World with Edraak, a regional online learning platform, between 2015 and 2018. Our analysis investigates the changes in demographic characteristics of registration and engagement with online courses across the 4-year period. We also investigate correlations at the country level between engagement with online learning on Edraak and several human and technology development indices of the countries. The results show gradual but substantial shifts in demographic characteristics of engagement over the 4 year period, including noticeable drops in average registrant age and a shrinkage of the gender gaps in registration. The correlations of registration and engagement with human and technology development indices show that gender gaps in 2015 were positively correlated with the Arab countries’ gender inequality indices (GII), and that the shrinkage in gender gaps over the 4 years is negatively correlated with the GII. Our results also show that penetration of online learning is negatively correlated with the countries’ Information and Communication Technology (ICT) indices, but positively correlated with the digital skills ICT sub-index. We point out possible explanations for these correlations that could be further researched in the future to inform policy makers on how certain development conditions can promote or restrain the adoption of online learning at a national level.

Keyphrases: educational policy making, gender gaps in education, online learning in the mena region

In: Claudia Urrea (editor). Proceedings of the MIT LINC 2019 Conference, vol 3, pages 132-141.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/gD2S
	https://doi.org/10.29007/k5nk

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{LINC2019:Online_Learning_Arab_World,
  author    = {Sherif Halawa and Shireen Yacoub},
  title     = {Online Learning in the Arab World: A Shifting Landscape},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the MIT LINC 2019 Conference},
  editor    = {Claudia Urrea},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Education Science},
  volume    = {3},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2516-2306},
  url       = {/publications/paper/gD2S},
  doi       = {10.29007/k5nk},
  pages     = {132-141},
  year      = {2020}}

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