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1974 MIDDLE EAST
PROGRAM: Discussion paper (page 2 of 2)
1.
Individual modernization
It would seem self-evident that the behavioral characteristics
required for successful adaptation to modern society differ rather
markedly from those required in traditional society. These changes
range all the way from skills and knowledge through character traits,
such as self-discipline, flexibility and initiative, to fundamental
values and world outlook. Our
highly specialized fields of modern scholarship have not given us a
comprehensive understanding of the individual behavioral changes
required of man to move from a traditional to a modern society, and this
lack is a great hindrance to the rational planning of development
programs.
Perhaps Gunner Myrdahl has done as well
as any in summing up what
he believes to be the roots of underdevelopment:
"Low levels of
work discipline, punctuality and orderliness; superstitious beliefs and
irrational outlooks; lack of alertness, adaptability, ambition, and
general readiness for change and experiment; submissiveness to authority
and exploitation; low aptitude for cooperation."
This rather damning and one-sided listing, stemming as it does
purely from the observations of
a developer, does no
credit to the system of values and traits prized most highly in
traditional society; but it does highlight some of the areas in which
change must occur as part of the development
process.
No one is quite sure just how all of these changes can be made in
individual human development, or for that matter what changes are most
desired and necessary. Child
development psychologists
are pointing increasingly
toward the first three years of
life as being much more formative
in terms of character and
personality than had been suspected. This period of individual human development has, however, been
virtually neglected by those interested in the development process. We believe it is of great importance to do what we can to focus
Arab intellectual skills on child development and on the cultural
environment of the home.
For the school age child another set of problems arises. The rote method of learning may have been well adapted to
traditional society, where individuals were meant to learn their place
and stick to it, but it does not generally produce the intellectual curiosity and
initiative required in modern
life. Schools need
increasingly to give students the ability to continue learning as adults.
In
our program we
concentrate on efforts to improve the quality of "tools"
courses such as language learning, science and mathematics. We are also seeking ways to change the environment of the school so
that teachers understand that their mission is to foster rationality.
In program terms, our work in child rearing and Arabic teaching
is breaking new ground and is thus more tentative and experimental than
our work in science, mathematics and English teaching, where we are
somewhat more confidently grounded in experience.
Given our inexperience, we would not be working in child rearing
and Arabic at all if others better equipped were addressing those
subjects. But despite the
importance accorded child rearing and first language learning in the
developed world they are neglected subjects
in the Arab states, casually
left to tradition. They are, of course, deeply cultural subjects; they
cover ground on which we must tread with care. Our efforts in this area must be directed primarily toward
training Arab professionals and helping to create a market for their
skills. Thus, in child
development psychology, psycholinguistics, and applied linguistics, we
expect to be more open than usual to using funds for advanced degree
training abroad when qualified individuals attached to appropriate
institutions are available. These
modern skills are in very short supply. In the meantime,
we will continue to
nurture the Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World (BUC), and
to seek experimental projects like the Oman study, the child care manual
project, the Arabic language teaching survey, and psycholinguistic
research at AUB, which draw attention to these fields.
In the more familiar
territory of Teaching
English as a Second Language (TESL)
and science teaching, Arab-run institutions have already been
established with Foundation assistance.
Here
we are encouraging innovation and research, and helping ELI and SMEC
extend their scope into other Arab countries. The technical performance of both institutions is good.
We are also exploring work in a new program field, the popularization
of science. For
scientific thought and
rationality to become part
of the culture and not something left in school,
it must catch the
interest and imagination of the
younger generation. This happens quite frequently in Lebanon, and Lebanon
has produced a number of first-rate scientists and mathematicians truly
remarkable for the size of its population. We are exploring opportunities for work with the science clubs
sponsored by Al-Ahram in Egypt and will look for other ways to enhance
the popularity of science.
2.
Institutional change
The second category -- the adaptation of Arab institutions to
modern technology -- consists of two program clusters:
- Social
Sciences (sociology, agricultural economics, economics, and law)
and
- Planning
and Management (management, statistics, economic planning, and
law).
The first cluster
consists of uses of intellectual technologies to
understand and mitigate the traumatic effects on people of the
rather severe changes in
their lives that are inherent to the development process.
Our approach to the social sciences is discussed in more detail
in the draft request for a delegated authority project that you will
receive. Placing
the program in a category relating to changing Arab institutions
emphasizes our decision to focus on improving the usefulness of the
social sciences to Arab society, rather than on promoting individual
excellence by international standards. We try to do this
by selecting problems of importance to the country, and strengthening
the effective demand for social scientists to employ their talents to
analyze them.
In rural Egypt, such problem areas include those relating to
large populations that have been forced to change their life styles and
productive efforts because of technological or legal innovation. The land reform
has been one such case. Mechanization
and new cropping patterns are
expected in the near future.
Rural
electrification may have
also effects that need to be anticipated. In the cities, in-migrants experience difficulty in adjusting to
urban life and thus most deserve our
attentions.
The second cluster, planning and management, deals with intellectual technology for regulating the speed and
direction of development.
(Law and
economics fall into both clusters reflecting different ways of using the
disciplines.)
In planning and management, we are groping to find the extent to
which western methods of manipulating men, machinery and money for
productive purposes apply in Arab society. Our main efforts are directed toward strengthening the INP as an
Egyptian think-tank for planning and management problems; working
directly with service institutions like ministries of education where
performance feed-back is available; and helping to build a foreign
investment review process in Egypt which will be sensitive to the social
effects of investment decisions as well as to economic profitability. The ISSR, a major
grantee, remains poised between the peak of greater international renown
on the right and the heights of Egyptian
agricultural statistics on the left. We are seeking to nudge it leftwards despite efforts of our
long-time consultants to push right.
3.
Technological adaptation
As we reach the third of our program themes, the adaptation of
imported technology, it is clear that we have already been dealing with
the subject. Childrearing,
first language teaching, social sciences, planning and management: none
of these subjects will find the same expression in Arab culture as
it has in the West.
In academic life,
the focus of research is
bound to be broader in the
Arab countries because the scholar can't count on others to broaden the
trail if he leaps forward along a narrow path. Secondly, methodologies must be adapted to the feasibility of
meeting data requirements. Third,
the market for scholarly work is underdeveloped, so that an academic
must spend his time in ways differently from those in which he was
trained. His
teaching load may
be onerous, his research may be unrewarded, his salary may be so low as to force him
to supplement it with semi-professional activities, his peers may demand an ideological commitment. Hence, in Arab society the process of working in these fields
involves the adaptation of the modern scholarly disciplines that are our
stock in trade.
The largest single effort we make to adapt technology to local
conditions is, of course, in the field of agriculture. Here the initial task is to adapt the plants and practices of the
tropical cereals that were successful in the Green Revolution to the
agro-climate of the Middle East. This
is a task we approach with some confidence because we currently have the
program leadership, scientific staff, and methodology that will bring
results for the irrigated areas; and there is promise
of the necessary funds through the international centers mechanism.
The longer-run task of improving farming systems in the
non-irrigated, semi-arid region is less certain of results.
However, the world food situation provides strong
justification for a concerted attack on this set of problems, and the
critical mass of scientists required seems most likely to be available
under an international center. Irrigation
imposes an external discipline not automatically present in rainfed
lands, so closer links with the social sciences will be desirable there.
We are consequently striving to find a pattern of cooperation
between social scientists and ALAD now, while both are part of the same
organization.
This rather sketchy outline of the main program themes may be
rendered somewhat more meaningful by the attached chart, which categorizes
the substantive fields and sub-fields into the three major program
themes.
CHART:
Major Development Themes
I)
The
individual and
modernization: Activities
designed to help prepare the
child for modern life
i)
Child rearing
ii)
Population (family planning)
iii)
Psycholinguistics
iv)
Science & mathematics teaching
v)
Popularization of science
vi)
Arabic teaching
vii)
English teaching
II)
Technology
and social systems:
Activities designed to enhance the responsiveness of Middle
Eastern institutions to the requirements of modern technology
i)
Agricultural economics research
ii)
Economic research
iii)
Social research
iv)
Legal research
v)
Environmental research
vi)
Socio-linguistic research
vii)
Management
viii)
Population
(management and reproductive biology)
III)
Technological
adaptation:
Activities designed to improve the relevance of modern technology
to the Middle East
i)
ALAD
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