The New York Times calls the adoption of the Common Core State Standards “the most far-reaching experiment in American educational history.” The initiative, which has been implemented in forty-five states, the District of Columbia, and four US territories, promises to be “the first step in providing our young people with a high-quality education” by setting clear standards in mathematics and English language arts.  However, this project carries many of the same promises, ideas, and goals of previous attempts at reform. Is it just another set of standardized tests that schools are being forced to apply to students?

News and stories with a focus on the publishing industry, education, and technology from across the Arab world.


Tadween Publishing brings you the latest news and analysis from the publishing and academic worlds that relate to pedagogy and knowledge production.

Tadween Publishing brings you the latest news and analysis from the publishing and academic worlds that relate to pedagogy and knowledge production.

Technology continues to transform education all over the world. We have previously covered the issue of MOOCs, the use of technology in the classroom, and other issues of education and technology. But now we can see technology and education interact in quite an unlikely place: Twitter. The 140 character limit to tweets seems to conflict with the unending process of education. However, there are some signs that the Twitterverse is beginning to have an influence on pedagogy.

News and stories with a focus on the publishing industry, education, and technology from across the Arab world.


Tadween Publishing brings you the latest news and analysis from the publishing and academic worlds that relate to pedagogy and knowledge production.

By Ursula Lindsey

CAIRO–In an oft-cited reference, the UN-sponsored Arab Human Development Report painted a bleak picture in 2003 of the Arab cultural and academic landscape here. It described translation in Arab countries as “chaotic and static” and noted that  “the aggregate total of translated books [into Arabic] from the Al-Ma’moon era to the present day amounts to 10,000 books – equivalent to what Spain translates in a single year.”

News and stories with a focus on the publishing industry, education, and technology from across the Arab world.


Tadween Publishing has compiled a list of blogs and websites that feature news and analysis on education. Whether you are looking for news on how technology is being integrated into the educational system, new innovative styles of teaching, or updates on the battle for academic freedom, the following list should be your guide. 

By Steven Gertz

I now know what it is like to be profiled. 

As an American white male of German descent, this is not something to which I am accustomed. For years, I have flown internationally with very little problem going through passport control (though Israel has been wary of my travels in the West Bank of Palestine). I have stood in numerous lines, smiled at customs officers, answered a few perfunctory questions (that I would wager tell customs officers very little about the passenger actually traveling) and been waived through with the desired stamp. 

While online education has existed for a while, teaching classes online is taking the world of higher education by storm due in part to the rise of MOOCs. MOOCs (massive open online course) are courses based on lecture videos and online interaction that can, seemingly, be taken by anyone with an internet connection. They represent a new form of “open” education that meets virtually, in a non-physical space. The restrictive size and space of a college classroom does not apply in MOOCs, opening the doors for thousands to enroll in the course. Courses include quizzes, homework, exercises, and exams.

Tadween Publishing brings you the latest news and analysis from the publishing and academic worlds that relate to pedagogy and knowledge production.

News and stories with a focus on the publishing industry, education, and technology from across the Arab world.

by Sarah Lynch

CAIRO – Images of burns shaped like handprints on bare women’s bodies didn’t last long at an art exhibit about sexual harassment last semester at the American University in Cairo. Outraged over the provocative prints, students demanded they be torn down. 

The controversy was part of the point: To shock viewers into thinking about sexual harassment in this part of the world where the offense is often endemic.

“Sexual harassment is in the public sphere. It’s everywhere,” said Heba Hesham, co-founder of Heya, a student-founded women’s rights initiative that helped organize the exhibit.