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2007 Symposium

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  Keynote Speaker
  Featured Speaker

2006 Symposium

Featured Speaker: Dr. Louay Constant

Associate Policy Researcher for RAND

Louay Constant (Ph.D., Public Policy and Administration, University of
Kentucky) has utilized his policy analysis and background in Arabic while at RAND to focus much of his research and analysis on education and social policy issues facing the Middle East. When the government of Qatar invited RAND in the Summer of 2001 to study and propose comprehensive reform to the K-12 education system, he was a member of the multi-disciplinary team that visited schools, conducted extensive interviews, and analyzed the data that led up to the proposed changes. He was also involved in the large-scale effort to implement the proposed changes. He has also participated in follow-on studies to evaluate the progress of the reforms, which include an assessment of the progress of the schools in achieving reform goals and an examination of associated resource allocation and cost issues.
Constant was also part of the team that conducted a study of the link
between skills supply and demand in Qatar, which included an assessment of the types of postsecondary education and training options available to Qatari youth. The study provided recommendations to address the gap between available skills in labor supply and the demand for skills in the high growth-potential sectors of the economy. This study involved several unique primary data gathering efforts including collecting rich qualitative data from different stakeholders in the government and private economic sectors, as well survey data of attitudes and aspirations of Qatari youth towards postsecondary study and work.

Constant’s research has also included an examination of human capital and education reform issues in nations other than Qatar. He and colleagues conducted a study of human capital issues facing four Arab nations, including the United Arab Emirates, and the efforts the nations have exerted to address these needs through education reform initiatives. This project, funded by RAND, utilized data available from local as well as international sources to analyze economic development and labor market trends, and assess whether current education initiatives would be able to meet the needs of the growing economic sectors. Constant conducted meetings with officials in the government and private sectors to collect the qualitative data used inthis study.

While at RAND, Constant has also conducted research on student attitudes towards their learning environment across nations using an international health behavior dataset for a study on U.S. middle schools. This study examined the intersection between psychosocial factors, behavior, and academic achievement with school environment, home environment, and peer relationships of young adolescents, and resulted in a widely circulated and referenced RAND publication on the topic.

To examine one of the more recent reports that Dr. Louay Constant has coauthored about education in Qatar, go to
http://www.rand.org/news/press.07/04.12.html