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COVID-19 has “taught” universities worldwide that using digital technologies to support purely online or blended learning is a survival strategy. This lesson plus the inclusion of technology in continental, national, and university policies and strategic plans implicate significant technology integration, especially blended learning, in higher education in the post-pandemic era. However, there lacks sound theoretical frameworks to adequately explain success indicators and success factors in blended learning. Existing frameworks provided particulars about the impacts of blended learning within certain contexts; none provided a comprehensive analysis of the significant factors that transcend specific application contexts. Moreover, the frameworks did not offer clear conceptions of knowledge, teaching, learning, and technology and its role in learning. To better inform successful blended learning adoption, this study problematizes success indicators and success factors based on a configurative review of existing frameworks and emerging theoretical perspectives in higher education. A holistic conceptual framework that transcends context specificity is proposed to better inform policy making, instructional design, and teaching and learning. Conceptions of adaptive policy, policy as learning design, and policy as practice are found relevant for blended learning policy making and analysis in higher education.

The chair position is essential for implementing progressive changes in higher education institutions. However, the position has been unattractive to many faculties due to its ambiguity and the limited training chairs receive prior to assuming the office. Chairs must balance the dual responsibilities of managing faculty and student affairs who they support and evaluate as they implement the mandates from higher administration. Similarly, they shuttle between their managerial roles and faculty roles while balancing work-life demands. Hence, the purpose of this paper was to explore the managerial approaches of chairs in the USA who were serving in departments in the field of educational leadership to learn how they balance their various responsibilities. Fifteen chairs who are members of the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) were interviewed for this study. The theory of liminality was used to understand how chairs serve and manage multiple dimensions of their role and beyond. Overall, the performance of chairs in the study was enhanced by four themes including (a) managing the molecule, (b) people work vs. paperwork, (c) leadership qualities enhance performance, and (d) possessing academic seniority. Based on the findings, we recommend three major support areas for chairs that include providing mentorship opportunities for chairs, advancing leadership role models for chairs, and initiating formal trainings for leadership development.

This chapter highlights the importance of diversity, provides an overview of the historical plight that minorities suffered during the formation of the American history, describes the policies that aim at expanding educational opportunities for socially and economically disadvantaged groups, and presents a conceptual framework that guides educational leaders towards creating inclusive campuses. Also, it reports the findings of an empirical investigation that elicited minority students' views regarding the factors that enhance their persistence. Findings from this study could be of primary importance for university administrators and policymakers trying to enhance diversity on campus. The chapter ends with conclusions and recommendations for research and future practice.

The globalization of education has increased large-scale education reforms worldwide. Over the past 15 years, Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC) have invested significant resources in reforming their education systems. This has led to extensive borrowing of pedagogical approaches to initiate and implement educational change. This article evokes several cultural learning scripts to identify the challenges that arise when pedagogical approaches are adopted and implemented. Specifically, problem-based learning (PBL) is examined against the backdrop of these cultural scripts to examine the cultural complexities of PBL in a GCC context. Discussion is provided that addresses several fundamental concerns that should be considered in order to reduce the cultural challenges and improve the implementation of PBL in GCC contexts. trends towards collaborative tools, while also describing opportunities and challenges with digital literacy. Finally, teachers described strategic approaches to assessment in light of the ill-structured problems posed by PBL. Implications for practice and theory are discussed.

Technology integration into higher education is considered essential in terms of achieving accountability performance measures that qualify institutions to receive federal grants. The policy presented in this chapter focuses on technology integration into curricula and instruction as a means to enhance student outcomes. This chapter describes the problems that prevent higher education institutions from integrating technology effectively into their educational systems, tracks the implementation of America's Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, and measures the progress of Section 204, Part G of the law. The chapter also proposes key solutions in an effort to better integrate technology into higher education classrooms.

Building on a previous study that elicited Syrian refugee students' perceptions regarding the sources of social support needed for academic success, this qualitative, phenomenological study was designed to explore teachers' perceptions of the social support they need to meet Syrian refugee students' academic needs at school. Semi-structured interviews with 10 male teachers were conducted at a single-sex public middle school in Lebanon. Study participants recommended acknowledging teachers’ efforts, offering adequate teacher development programs, and providing on time administrative and peer support as a means to improve teaching and learning for refugee students.

Regional Intergovernmental Organizations (RIGOs) play unclear roles in education policy making and transfer. Much comparative education scholarship on the topic focuses on exploring the interplay between global and local/national actors in education policy, overlooking regional dimensions. To deepen our understanding, we analyzed the strategic plans of four RIGOs in Africa, the Arab and Islamic worlds, and Southeast Asia. Qualitative policy analysis is employed to reveal the roles RIGOs aspire to play in educational development. Of the what, how, and why dimensions of policy, this study focuses on the last two, as they reveal the rationales the RIGOs provided to justify their organizational positioning, their strategies to contribute to education policy, and their mediations with the national and the global. Our analysis has showed that RIGOs position themselves as significant actors in educational development in their respective regions, playing several complementary and sometimes conflicting roles. Analysis via institutional theory of the interplay of national, regional, and global contexts has revealed organizational isomorphism, decoupling between policy and practice, expansive structuration, otherhood engagements, and scientization and rationalization of organizational work. The RIGOs view themselves as elaborators of global models and, simultaneously, promoters of regionalism. Implications for education policy and research are identified.

This paper provides an overview of Qatar’s educational system. Specifically, it focuses on the national educational reform that has been unfolding since 2003, tracks its progress, and examines the implementation of educational technology within Qatar’s cultural context of education. The paper ends with recommendations for practice and future research.