Simply exquisite
The Ministry of Education, Oman are developing excellence in supervisory and inspection practices across the compulsory education continuum.
Educational supervision: an international two day conference
Alongside international and local (Prof Tony Townsend from the University of Glasgow) speakers, I too was fortunate enough to be invited by the Ministry of Education, Sultanate of Oman to present a lecture at the Educational Supervision Symposium. Having engaged in two HMIe inspection visits, I discussed the uniqueness of the Scottish education system, our qualifications framework, the ‘Curriculum for Excellence’, and inspection policies. Closing the presentation, I briefly outlined some local opportunities and implications of globalization, the advancement of knowledge and technology, local population growth, wealth distribution and educational change.
Further information is available upon request.
Meeting
A meeting at the Ministry of Health was also integrated into the visit and here we discussed the education and training of healthcare professionals:
- Organisational educational governance
- Facilities to support national knowledge management
- Leadership and management development
- Evaluation of programs and services
Picturesque Oman
Oman occupies an area of approximately 120,000 sq miles with a population of 3 million (includes approximately 577,000 expatriates). Exploring the capital city Muscat, I witnessed a blend of luxury shopping malls with traditional markets, which offered a pleasant perspective to the natural gas and oil rich country. In addition, the pleasant weather, the beautiful rugged natural scenery, the mountainous terrain and untouched beaches were just inspiring.
A chauffeured tour of Muscat
A welcoming disposition
I was thoroughly impressed by the genuine hospitality, friendliness and warmth of the Omani people.
References
A Curriculum for Excellence – Education Scotland (http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/thecurriculum/whatiscurriculumforexcellence/index.asp)
External quality arrangements for Scotland’s Colleges, HM Inspectorate of Education, September 2008 (http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/eqafsc._tcm4-712843.pdf)
Review of Education – Education Scotland (http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/inspectionandreview/index.asp)
Copyright
© Nancy El-Farargy, 2013.