Table Of ContentA STUDY OF SELECTED CURRICULUM PRACTICES IN
AMERICAN SECONDARY EDUCATION WHICH MAY HAVE
SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE TAGHIZ SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
IN DAMASCUS, SYRIA
Marzia Kouatly
Submitted in P artial Fulfillm ent
of the Requirements for the Degree
of Doctor of Education of New York
University
Sponsoring Committee: Professor Walter Anderson, Chairman,
Professor G. Derwood Baker
Professor Emile Lengyel
( o ^
Final Poemmsnt
The student hereby guarantees that no part of the dissertation
which he has subm itted for publication has been heretofore published
and (or) copyrighted in the United States of America, except in the
case of passages quoted from other published sources; that he is the
sole author and proprietor of said dissertation; that the dissertation
contains no m atter which, if published, will be libelous or otherwise
in ju rio u s, or infringe in any way the copyright of any other party;
and th a t he wia! defend, indemnify md hold harmless Ne York University
ag \in st a ll su its and proceedings ..hich may be brought and agvinst'all
claim s which may be made against Sew York University by reason cf the
publication of said dissertation.
Marzia aflSdul-Hamid el-Kouatly
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
PREFACE
CHAPTER PAGE
I THE PROBLEM 1
General Statement 1
Delimitations 2
Definitions 2
Basic Assumptions 3
Significance of the Study 4
Procedures 6
II SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL CONDITIONS IN SYRIA 3
The Present Syrian Community- 3
Summary 19
III THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN SYRIA 21
Educational Conditions in Syria 21
The Present System of Education 23
Examinations 28
Textbooks 29
Religion 29
Teachers 30
Administration of Schools 33
The Inspectoral System 34
Committee on Education and Instruction 36
The Financial Organisation for Eduoation 37
School Buildings 37
The Taghiz School for Girls 33
Summary 46
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(cont.)
CHAPTER PAGE
IV THE NEEDS FOR IMPROVING THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SYRIA 48
General Statement 49
Principles of Education 49
The Democratic Way of Life 49
The Im plication of the Democratic Way of Life
for Syria 51
The School Community 53
Pupils and Needs 53
Other Studies on the Needs of Youth 58
Imperative Needs of Youth 62
Im plication of the Study of Needs for Secondary
Schools in Syria 73
Needs of Syrian Youth 75
Im plication of Needs for the Taghiz School for Girls 90
V SELECTED CURRICULUM PRACTICES IN AMERICAN SECONDARY
EDUCATION AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE IN MEETING THE NEEDS
OF STUDENTS IN THE TAGHIZ SCHOOL 91
The Core Curriculum 91
Meaning of the Core Curriculum 91
The Philosophy of the Core Curriculum 94
Administration of the Core 97
The Kind of Teachers Needed in the
Core Curriculum 98
The Core Curriculum in the Schools Visited 99
Implication of the Core Curriculum for the
Schools in Syria 100
Guidance in School 101
The Responsibility for Guidance 10?
Guidance in the Schools Visited 110
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(cont.)
CHAPTER PAGE
V Responsibility of Guidance Program 110
(cont.)
Parents and Their Relation to Guidance 117
Implication of Guidance for the Schools in
Elyria 119
Student Activities 120
Values of Student A ctivities 121
Student Participation in A ctivities and
School Citizenship 123
The Student Council 125
The School Assembly 126
Student Activities in Schools V isited 127
Implication of Student A ctivities fo r Syria 129
Democratic Living in School 130
Aspects of Democratic Living 131
Democratic Living in Schools V isited 133
Implication of Democratic Living to the
Secondary Schools in Syria 138
Implication of the Selected Practices fo r
the Taghiz School 139
VI SUPERVISORY PRACTICES IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS AND THEIR
SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE TAGHIZ SCHOOL 141
Meaning of Supervision 142
Responsibility of Supervision 143
Supervision as Leadership 144
Supervision in Human Relations 147
Supervision in Group Process 150
Supervision in Evaluation 151
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(cont.)
CHAPTER
VI Supervision in Schools Visited
(cont.)
Summary
Im plication of Supervision for the Schools in Syria
Im plication of Supervision for the Taghiz School
VII A PLAN FOR INTRODUCING AND ADAPTING SOME PRACTICES TO
THE TAGHIZ SCHOOL IN DAMASCUS
Problems of Education in Syria
General Recommendations for the Secondary Schools
in Syria
Program Improvement
Bureau of Publication and Research
School Administration
Tribal Education
Rural Education
City Education
Specific Proposals for the Taghiz School
for Girls
Conclusion
APPENDIX
BIBLIOGRAPHY
LIST OF TABLES
Page
E*.. Syria: Public School System 24
EI-. Distribution of Public Secondary School Population in 1945 26
III. Distribution of Courses in Education at the Higher
Teachers College. 331
IV. Syria: Adraininistrative Organization of the 2'Iinistry
of Education. 34
V. Distribution of the Taghiz Students in 1942-1943 40
Hr*. ,Distribution of Taghiz Students in 1949-50* 40
VII.- The New Program of Studies for Secondary Schools
in Syria. 43
VIII. The Curriculum in American City. 92
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author desires to acknowledge he indebtidness to Dr. W.A.
Anderson for his constance assistance and advice and encouragement
during the prosecution of the study. His teachings have and will
always be an inspiring source of guidance to the writer. She is
very grateful to Dr. Derwood Baker whose criticisms and suggestions
have been ever constructive. She also thankful to Dr. Haile Lengyel
whose advice on the Near East has been very consturudtive and to the
schools visited and whose practices have contributed to the completion
of the study.
PREFACE
This report is addressed to Syrian School administrators, teachers
and community members who are interested in improving the educational
program in secondary schools.
During recent years many social, p olitical and educational changes
have taken place in Syria. The educational program has been somewhat
modified to meet the needs of Syria's youth, but the gap between school
programs and society's challenge to education should be further closed*
Secondary schools in Syria are concerned primarily with, academic
learning rather than with functional experiences which are more meaning—
ful to youth. What is needed is to meet social and environmental changes
in society by providing educational experiences whereby the students become
active participants in school and community life .
The aim of the writer here is to assist in changing the Syrian
secondary school from a listening school to an activity school where
children and youth may live as members of a purposeful cooperative
community. The school proposed is one which is in effect a small community
i n actionn a community where the students, teachers, supervisors and
parents work together to achieve a program well adjusted to the a b ilitie sr
needs and interests of youth, as well as to the needs of the community#
Marzia Kouatly
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM
General Statement
The purpose of th is study is to select curriculum practices in Ameri
can secondary education which may have significance for improving the edu
cational program in The Taghiz School for Girls. A further purpose is to
develop a plan for adapting and introducing into Syrian secondary education
certain practices found to be effective in American secondary schools.
SnT^-prnhlftmf*
The five aspects of the study are as follows:
1. To determine the need for improving the curriculum in The Taghiz
School for G irls, In Damascus, Syria.
2. To study selected secondary school curriculum practices in Ameri
can schools which may have significance for The Taghiz School.
3. To determine secondary school curriculum practices which have
significance fo r The Taghiz School.
J+. To study democratic supervisory practices in American education
th at may have significance for The Taghiz School.
5. To develop a supervisory plan for adapting and Introducing in
The Taghiz School selected curriculum practices from American
education.
