Education in East of Jordan during Ottoman Era (1516 – 1918AD)

Abstract

The study deals with education in East of Jordan in the Ottoman era during the period from 1516-1918 AD. The Trans-Jordan region is the southern region of the Levant (Sham) extending from Yarmouk River in the north to Tabuk region in the south. This period was marked by the fact that the state neglected education and left the opening of schools and supervision over them to the activities of the population themselves. As a result, education did not witness a satisfactory lecel of progress as schools did not appear in eastern Jordan until the late nineteenth century AD. Education relied on writers whose role was limited to teaching reading and writing and, simple principles in arithmetic as well as the teaching of the Holy Qur’an. Although schools appeared in the late Ottoman period in major cities, Jordan 's higher education system was not known. Al-Rashidi schools represented the highest levels of education in the country. Hence the importance of the study resides in highlighting the image of education and its development, and the educational patterns that have spread in the Trans-Jordan region during the Ottoman era.