Sunday, November 2, 2008

Philosophies of Education in Morocco and America

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST WILL BE MOST INTERESTING TO THOSE IN THE EDUCATION FIELD.

Mohamed Melouk, a professor at University Mohamed V in Rabat spoke to our group about the ideal of education in Morocco. He outlined the following objectives for Moroccan Education:

• provide and knowledge and skills so Moroccans can access science and technology
• instill values: tolerance, human rights, democracy, and the culture of dialogue
• equip future generations with competencies and skills for job market- actively participate in development of country
• focus on the intellectual, moral, and developmental needs of the students

After looking at these standards, I was embarrassed that I didn’t even know the formal objectives of the U.S Department of education. So, I headed over to their website to check them out…

  • Equal access to equal education for all students
  • Support state and local school systems
  • Encourage public and parental involvement in education
  • Improve the usefulness of American education


I think these list of objectives effective illustrate the main difference between the American and Moroccan education systems: Morocco has a centrally controlled system of education; the U.S. has a federalist education system (Hey Shismaref students! Do you know what federalist means? If not, you must have a bad social studies teacher. :) Or, you haven’t finished Level 7 US yet…). Main control of education in America rests with the states.

Just for fun, I looked up the mission of Shishmaref School: to involve parents, teachers, the community, and students in helping students become responsible citizens.

That sounds more like the Moroccan Department of Education’s mission. Again, I think it’s because Shishmaref School controls the every day process for educating students, just like the Moroccan Department of Ecucation. The U.S. Department of Education does not control daily activities (at least, not directly), they support states and schools in their individual missions.

2 comments:

Missy said...

That is very interesting. I would love to study how every country sets up their education system, because it is so fascinating to see different ideas about how to teach and what is important. Finland's system (for example) is one of the world's best... but it is also a very homogenous population and being a more socialist country there isn't much of a gap between rich and poor, so most kids come from middle class families.
Education is such a nebulous and complex issue. So what is your student population like? I'm excited to hear more!

Dorese @ Dorese's Pieces said...

Interesting analysis. I like Ben and Missy's thoughts, too. I hope you're having fun so far!