One of the most concerning issues the Lebanese curriculum suffers from is the implementation of fair and equal assessment of the students’ skills. As stated by Awada and Diab, teachers are mainly interested in assessing skills that are tested in the Lebanese Official Examinations. For example, critical thinking and cultural awareness are two of the skills that are not practiced in public schools. Students are treated as machines that only receive information in order to be tested through exams. The majority of schools turn a blind eye on the importance of involving students in activities and introducing them to skills that can meet their targets in the future. In addition, Boujaoude believed the curriculum highlights the importance of teaching the knowledge of science and not “science as a way of knowing." In other words, students should memorize the outcome of science rather than using science to reveal the outcome. Another concerning issue presented by Akl is that the Lebanese curriculum lacks consistent and logical guidelines that could help the students deal with the cultural, political, and religious dilemma; thus, shaping the educational Lebanese system in a limited way. 

Student-Teacher Relationship

Abouchedid and his colleagues conducted an experiment that showed several barriers exist in the student-teacher interaction which creates many obstacles on different levels (educational, psychological, social…). Instructors’ behaviors in class show their unprofessional work and their lack of interest toward their students. In their study, Bahous and Nabhani discovered there is no clear relation between students and their teachers in public schools. For instance, teachers tend to treat their students in harsh ways and disrespect them, which may lead to tension between teachers and students. In addition, Bahous and Nabhani, along with Abouchedid and his colleagues, found out that students in public schools feel uncomfortable with their teachers because their teachers express low expectations towards them. This is opposed to the students’ expectations of themselves which are optimistic and fruitful. The lack of a good relationship between students and teachers leads to a lack of interest in a subject. A research study by Bacha, Bahous, and Nabhani, showed that students were not interested in language subjects since their teachers make them seem boring. To elaborate, Bacha, Bahous, and Nabhani revealed that teachers rarely include any motivational processes that will encourage the students. Rather, they choose to discuss topics they assume will interest the students. This can be considered as a disqualification for some teachers, since the teacher's role is not only to deliver material but also to have a unique and effective way to deliver it.

Online/ Distance Learning

One could start with the following question: should students with disabilities be included in regular classes? The literal meaning of inclusion from the Cambridge dictionary is “the action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure." However, in context to children with disabilities, Vaz et al’s findings defined inclusion as a “concept of social justice; wherein all students are entitled to equal access to all educational opportunities, irrespective of disability or any form of disadvantage." Vaz et al clarified that the vagueness about inclusive learning for students with disabilities is often due to the extent of its good implementation. A study conducted by Mngo showed that about 69% of the teachers in Ontario were unprepared to teach students with disabilities.  Mngo’s study is one of many studies done to check whether teachers and individuals support the concept of inclusion. It showed that about 65.2% of the teachers preferred the inclusive method claiming that their presence in class won’t make it harder for other students to learn and grasp the information easily. In Lebanon, the special education program is implemented in private schools more than in public ones, as stated in El Zein’s research. Lebanon previously separated regular education and special education and made them as independent of each other, El Zein added. Importantly, the parents of students with disabilities were the ones who highlighted the need for a proper special education program in Lebanon. El Zein clarified that a program for inclusion was initiated in the early 90s with the help of teachers, schools (private mainly), and parents in different regions in Lebanon but then stopped because the program came to a halt. Parents had a pleasing attitude towards including their children in regular schools and classes; they also insisted that their children should be included in all levels starting from nursery (or what’s called kindergarten 1 ‘kg1’ today) up till Grade 12, as referred by both Kustantini and El Zein. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        --->    Q&A with Nemer Frayha, Ph.d