Pedagogy of the oppressed within the Arab Spring era. (c2015)

Abstract

Like all great upheavals, the Arab spring was caused by various intertwined causes. In their analysis, academics focused mainly on the economic and political factors to explain the reasons behind the uprisings. However, education played an essential role in instilling the Arab youth to revolt against the authoritarian regimes within their countries. The lack of “adequate access” to “relevant quality education” was at the core of the latter upheavals. This thesis takes the cases of Egypt and Tunisia, the first being the most populated country in the Arab world and the second being the origin of this unrest cascade. It thus examines the role of education and the educated youth in the initiation of the Arab Spring within these countries in specific and the other Arab countries in general.