Stakeholder Integration in Policymaking: The Public K-12 Policymaking Process within the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Qatar

Abstract

Stakeholder engagement is a cornerstone of effective public education policymaking, ensuring that policies developed are comprehensive, inclusive, and reflective of the community's diverse needs. The education system in Qatar has undergone a transformative journey since 2002, with a sector-wide reform that marked a systemic overhaul unprecedented in scale. This significant change has captured the attention of scholars and researchers, leading to an extensive body of literature examining various facets of the reform and its implications for stakeholders. However, a critical examination of the existing literature reveals a notable oversight: a lack of focus on the perspectives of policymakers within the MOEHE regarding stakeholder integration and the nature of their involvement in the policymaking process. The absence of policymakers' perspectives in the discourse on stakeholder engagement and integration within Qatar's educational reform presents an incomplete picture by overlooking potential insights, rationales, and challenges policymakers face when navigating stakeholder relationships and integrating their inputs into policymaking. This research addresses this gap by investigating the nature of stakeholder engagement in the public K-12 education policy process from the perspective of policymakers. To understand the nature of stakeholder engagement in the education policymaking process, this research applied a qualitative case study approach. The case under investigation is the education policymaking process within the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Qatar. Fourteen policymakers participated in this study and revealed insights on the nature of stakeholder engagement, the barriers to engagement, and the potential for effective engagement. A collaborative theoretical framework from the management literature, the public administration literature, and the policy literature was used to form the research questions and guide the analysis of findings. The study found that although the MOEHE actively engages stakeholders in the education policymaking process, the effectiveness of the engagement is questionable. The study proposes a framework to evaluate the effectiveness of stakeholder engagement in policymaking that looks into people, processes, purpose, and principles. Four policy recommendations - encourage and expand engagement networks, implement transparent feedback mechanisms, strengthen data-driven decision-making, and capacity building—are presented in the final chapter to improve and enhance the effectiveness of stakeholder engagement.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	HBKU College of Humanities and Social Science