Problematising PBL in Higher Education in GGC Countries: The Case of Qatar

Abstract

In this chapter, we use Foucault’s problematisation approach to analyse the ways in which the concept of Problem- and Project-based Learning (PBL) is constructed and contested within the GCC higher education context, with a particular focus on the Qatari case. The discussion centres on how the discourse around PBL has been shaped in the particular historical, social, and political context, and the ways in which it has been framed as a solution to certain educational problems. Along these lines, three main themes are illustrated, namely (1) false universalism and pedagogic hegemony, (2) from fidelity of implementation to systems-thinking perspectives, and (3) going beyond the individual and into the institutional space. By analysing the ways in which PBL may become problematic within the Qatari HE context, this chapter concludes with suggestions for understanding the limitations and challenges in implementing a PBL approach in a non-Western context, and finding local solutions to local problems that build on indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing.