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Teachers in Search of Their Identity: A View from Ismailia during Times of Change

  • Mohamed Elsayed (author)
  • Menna Ahmed (author)
Chapter of: Education 2.0: Chronicles of Technological and Cultural Change in Egypt(pp. 475–492)
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Title Teachers in Search of Their Identity
SubtitleA View from Ismailia during Times of Change
ContributorMohamed Elsayed (author)
Menna Ahmed (author)
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0489.27
Landing pagehttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0489/chapters/10.11647/obp.0489.27
Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
CopyrightMohamed Elsayed; Menna Ahmed;
PublisherOpen Book Publishers
Published on2025-11-17
Long abstract

In the early years of the Education 2.0 reforms, teachers were largely viewed by state actors as a ‘problem’. Through interviews with four teachers from urban and rural schools in the governorate of Ismailia, this chapter asks how teachers as individuals and a professional group, understand their relevance in Egyptian society. It focuses on three main themes: the discourse coming from the Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MOETE) and the Minister himself about the position of teachers in the ‘new education system’; digital transformation in relation to teachers; and how exams, grades, and education markets continue to drive the system. The authors argue for an approach to education reform in which teachers are viewed as active agents of change rather than obstacles to it and stress the need for a renewal of the human factor in the learning process, even as new technological tools and platforms saturate the education space.

Page rangepp. 475–492
Print length18 pages
LanguageEnglish (Original)
Locations
Landing PageFull text URLPlatform
PDFhttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0489/chapters/10.11647/obp.0489.27Landing pagehttps://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0489.27.pdfFull text URL
HTMLhttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0489/chapters/10.11647/obp.0489.27Landing pagehttps://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0489/ch27.xhtmlFull text URLPublisher Website
Contributors

Mohamed Elsayed

(author)

Mohamed Elsayed holds an M.A. in History from SOAS, University of

London. He is an independent history researcher and educator with

research interests that span labor, urban history, and social science

education in Egypt . He has worked on various projects in Egypt,

particularly in the Nile Delta and Suez Canal Zone, promoting public

history and humanities education.

Menna Ahmed

(author)

Menna Ahmed earned her Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Education

Studies from the University of Glasgow in 2020. Her research interests

include education, pedagogy, and culture. She has worked for over

fourteen years as an educator, researcher, and community development

practitioner in Egypt and has contributed to various local and

regional alternative education projects, particularly for marginalized

groups. Currently, she leads the SPARKS (Strengthening Pedagogical

Approaches for Relevant Knowledge and Skills) project in Egypt in

partnership with the Center for Education at the Brookings Institution.

References
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  3. Abdelrahman, Minatallah. 2022. ‘Tarek Shawki to the Teachers: Apart from the Salary, You Are the People Who Provide the Most Useful Work’, 8 August, Masrawy, https://tinyurl.com/ycytchv3
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  24. Sayed, Mohamed. 2024. ‘What We Know About Teachers’ Status in Egypt’, Education Programme, Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, https://eipr.org/sites/default/files/reports/pdf/what_we_know_about_teachers_status_in_egypt.pdf
  25. Sobh, Abdel Tayef. 2017. ‘The Minister of Education: We Have 1.2 Million Employees Who Consider Their Salaries As a Social Aid’, 9 May, Youm7, https://www.youm7.com/story/2017/5/9//3226483
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  29. Zakaria, Fatin. 2021. ‘The Minister of Education: We Provided Alternatives for Learning, Substituting the Less Qualified Teachers’, 15 November, Akhbar Alyoum, https://tinyurl.com/jbkxsa4b

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