Alsaad, Ali Khalifa Alsaad; (2025) Sustainability of Education Reforms from a Political Economy Perspective: A Case Study of the Kingdom of Bahrain, 2015 - 2024. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Over the past two decades, all Arab Gulf States (AGS) have initiated quality education reforms as part of their broader visions, aiming to achieve diversification and transition towards knowledge-based economies. Despite similarities in their reform agendas and policy environments, the unfolding of these reforms varied significantly across the region. This study examines the political economy of implementing and sustaining quality education reforms in Bahrain between 2015 to 2024. In comparison to other AGS countries and the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Bahrain presents a compelling case due to its relative progress in both reform implementation and educational outcomes, set against an evolving and increasingly challenging political and economic policy landscape. These conditions have tested the sustainability of the examined reforms, namely, the 2008 National Education Reform Project (NERP) and the School Improvement Programme (SIP). While politics and economics are acknowledged as factors influencing the reform process, their implications and roles remain underexplored, particularly in the AGS context. This study contributes to filling this gap by advancing the literature on education reform sustainability, the political economy of education reform, and the underexamined context of the AGS, with a specific focus on Bahrain. This study employs a multi-method qualitative approach, integrating Political Economy Analysis (PEA) and qualitative thematic analysis to examine education reforms in Bahrain. A PEA framework, focusing on structures, institutions, and actors, alongside themes drawn from the literature, was initially used to inform and guide the research. The research’s themes were subsequently developed through grounded thematic analysis of 174 international and local reports and policy documents, as well as 13 semi-structured interviews with consultants and policymakers. The study finds that education reforms are nonlinear, long-term processes that extend beyond the implementation phase and require continuous adaptation to challenges to ensure lasting positive impact on the education system. It identifies five key factors that influence the implementation and sustainability of education reforms: internal power dynamics and stakeholder interests, formal and informal institutions, the evolving policy environment, educational indicators, internal power dynamics and stakeholder interests, and external influences. Crucially, the study explores how these factors interact to shape the trajectory of education reforms in Bahrain, providing new insights into the complexities of reform sustainability within the AGS region.

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