Shortcomings of Arab Education in Achieving Social Economic Development

The aim of this study is to assess the role played by education in achieving economic and social development in the Arab world. Emphasis is laid on two major areas that bear great influence of educa-tion on development namely: individual behavior and trained labor force. The study shows that development is a sophisticated process which inVol.ves deep changes in economic, social, political and cultural aspects of the society. The study also reveals that education provides power motive in achieving development because of its vital role in increasing social mobility; its participation in directing the mode of behavior to cope with develop-ment and its major role in preparing highly skilled manpower resources. The study reaches the conclusion that although the Arab countries give more attention to education, the educational systems are still far behind what is needed to achieve a sound degree of socio-economic development. The study suggests that education in the Arab world needs a com-prehensive restructuring to fulfill the requirements of developmen