Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Dhofar University, Oman
2 Soltan Qaboos University, Oman
Abstract
Neoliberal ideas on education are reflected in the discourses of educational philosophies worldwide. This article attempts to analyze the corpus of the Philosophy of Education in the Sultanate of Oman to find out the extent to which the document is influenced by the neoliberal agenda on education. This question is answered by using (i) the Bakhtinian concept of words as ideological signs and (ii) the methodology of corpus-based analysis. The concordances and collocations of the selected high-frequency words are identified and analyzed in the corpus with the help of WordSmith Tools. The analysis shows that the neoliberal agenda is present in how Oman is presented to the international community as a modern, neoliberal state but is absent in the conceptualization of the principles and goals of education that emphasize the integrated growth of learners whose identities are rooted in the Islamic tradition, and the Omani heritage and culture. The results have important implications for policy-makers, administrators, and practitioners.
Keywords
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