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In their efforts to meet academic standards, students often rely on supplementary resources such as private tutoring. This study investigates the relationship between private tutoring and academic performance in mathematics and science among primary school students in the Gulf States. Using data from the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), we apply both Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) techniques to account for student background characteristics and assess the differential effects of tutoring across performance levels. Results reveal a U-shaped pattern of effectiveness, with students in the lowest and highest achievement quartiles appearing to benefit the most from tutoring. These findings underscore the importance of targeted educational support and caution against interpreting the impact of private tutoring as uniformly beneficial.

In their efforts to meet academic standards, students often rely on supplementary resources such as private tutoring. This study investigates the relationship between private tutoring and academic performance in mathematics and science among primary school students in the Gulf States. Using data from the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), we apply both Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) techniques to account for student background characteristics and assess the differential effects of tutoring across performance levels. Results reveal a U-shaped pattern of effectiveness, with students in the lowest and highest achievement quartiles appearing to benefit the most from tutoring. These findings underscore the importance of targeted educational support and caution against interpreting the impact of private tutoring as uniformly beneficial. Keywords: private tutoring, academic achievement, mathematics, science, Gulf States, propensity score technique, TIMSS 2019.

The need for school belonging is crucial for adolescents and affects academic performance (Goodenow, 1993). School belonging refers to the extent to which students feel accepted, valued, and included in their school environment. It encompasses a sense of connectedness to peers, teachers, and the broader school community, contributing to students' emotional and social well-being (Allen et al., 2021). Using selected data from the International Institute of Islamic Thought (2019-2020) and Item Response Theory (IRT), we derived a measure for school sense of belonging across Muslim countries/regions. Three main discriminative items were identified: pride in school, respect from teachers, and community integration. Additionally, the scores of school belonging revealed that students in Tatarstan showed higher levels of belonging, while those in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Sudan, and Tanzania reported lower levels. We conducted a regression analysis to gain insight into the relationship between school belonging and the country's GDP. The results showed a significant association between school belonging and GDP per capita, indicating that students in wealthier countries tend to have a stronger sense of belonging. These findings have practical implications for educators, researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders in the field of education and social wellbeing. They underscore the need for schools to focus on pride, teacher respect, and being part of a school community to foster belonging to make a positive impact on students' well-being and academic performance.

Due to increase in population and agricultural activities, the Sfax coastal aquifer is under tremendous stress and seawater intrusion becomes a serious concern. This situation needs an assessment of aquifer vulnerability and seawater intrusion risk. A new approach for vulnerability mapping using GALDIT, groundwater quality index for seawater intrusion (GQI SWI ), geostatistics, the Ghyben–Herzberg model and GIS was developed. The model is used to determine the trend of groundwater contamination by seawater intrusion in the coastal aquifer in Sfax basin (Tunisia). Vulnerability assessment method is recognized through assessing weight and ratings of the GALDIT relevant parameter. A second vulnerability map was realized based upon the groundwater quality index for seawater intrusion integrating the water quality parameters for delineating seawater intrusion in the aquifer. The validation of GQI SWI and GALDIT vulnerability maps was undertaken through comparison of areas of high Jones Ratio, chloride and TDS concentration and their relative vulnerability index. The Ghyben–Herzberg model has been used to predict the actual seawater intrusion extend and evaluate the freshwater–saltwater dynamics. The results reveal that the coastal area is currently undergoing seawater intrusion and its northern part is the most affected one by this contamination.

We suggest a generalized collective model of consumption that extends Browning, Chiappori, Lewbel (2013) to couples with children. Economies of scale are defined using a general form of Barten scales. We identify resource sharing between household members and, originally, the contribution of each parent to the expenditure on children. We provide a tractable estimation approach based on a simple demand system for male and female clothing, i.e. two exclusive goods commonly available in standard surveys. We illustrate the method on thirty years of expenditure data for the UK. We relax the independence of the sharing rule on total expenditure and actually find that women's shares increase with living standards. This, and progress in education levels, explain most of the reduction in intrahousehold inequality over the period.

We explore the impact of the language of instruction on academic performance ofArabic-speaking students who are expected to learn mathematics and science in and through a second language (L2). Using as a theoretical background Cummins's (1984) framework relating language proficiency to academic achievement, we provide some insights into the relationship between native language, second language proficiency, and academic achievement in mathematics and science among students whose \"mother tongue\" is Arabic. We employ a propensity score technique and use TIMSS 2019 standardized tests to explain the differences in achievement in mathematics and science between two groups of young children living in an Arabic dialect-dominated environment who get instruction in English and who receive instruction in classical Arabic. Our findings highlight that the language of instruction accounts for the variations in performance.

We explore the impact of the language of instruction on academic performance of Arabic-speaking students who are expected to learn mathematics and science in and through a second language (L2). Using as a theoretical background Cummins’s (1984) framework relating language proficiency to academic achievement, we provide some insights into the relationship between native language, second language proficiency, and academic achievement in mathematics and science among students whose “mother tongue” is Arabic. We employ a propensity score technique and use TIMSS 2019 standardized tests to explain the differences in achievement in mathematics and science between two groups of young children living in an Arabic dialect–dominated environment who get instruction in English and who receive instruction in classical Arabic. Our findings highlight that the language of instruction accounts for the variations in performance.

The need for school belonging is crucial for adolescents and affects academic performance (Goodenow, 1993). School belonging refers to the extent to which students feel accepted, valued, and included in their school environment. It encompasses a sense of connectedness to peers, teachers, and the broader school community, contributing to students' emotional and social well-being (Allen et al., 2021). Using selected data from the International Institute of Islamic Thought (2019–2020) and Item Response Theory (IRT), we derived a measure for school sense of belonging across Muslim countries/regions. Three main discriminative items were identified: pride in school, respect from teachers, and community integration. Additionally, the scores of school belonging revealed that students in Tatarstan showed higher levels of belonging, while those in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Sudan, and Tanzania reported lower levels. We conducted a regression analysis to gain insight into the relationship between school belonging and the country's GDP. The results showed a significant association between school belonging and GDP per capita, indicating that students in wealthier countries tend to have a stronger sense of belonging. These findings have practical implications for educators, researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders in the field of education and social well-being. They underscore the need for schools to focus on pride, teacher respect, and being part of a school community to foster belonging to make a positive impact on students' well-being and academic performance.

In this paper, the pattern of groundwater level fluctuations is investigated by statistical techniques for 24 monitoring wells located in an unconfined coastal aquifer in Sfax (Tunisia) for a time period from 1997 to 2006. Firstly, a geostatistical study is performed to characterize the temporal behaviors of data sets in terms of variograms and to make predictions about the value of the groundwater level at unsampled times. Secondly, multivariate statistical methods, i.e., principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) of time series of groundwater levels are used to classify groundwater hydrographs regard to identical fluctuation pattern. Three groundwater groups (A, B, and C) were identified. In group “A,” water level decreases continuously throughout the study periods with rapid annual cyclic variation, whereas in group “B,” the water level contains much less high-frequency variation. The wells of group “C” represents a steady and gradual increase of groundwater levels caused by the aquifer artificial recharge. Furthermore, a cross-correlation analysis is used to investigate the aquifer response to local rainfall and temperature records. The result revealed that the temperature is more affecting the variation of the groundwater level of group A wells than the rainfall. However, the second and the third groups are less affected by rainfall or temperature.

During the outbreak of the global SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, Tunisia, like many countries, prepared an emergency plan to shift to distance learning to salvage the academic year and ensure continuous learning. However, a shortage of digital materials coupled with the fact that many households did not have adequate Internet bandwidth made it virtually impossible to secure adequate digital learning. When in-person schooling was restarted in 2020/21, primary, pre-secondary, and secondary school pupils attended school on alternate days to avoid overcrowding. As a result of the pandemic, the curriculum has been lightened, and the fundamentals have been prioritized. Based on content analysis of the Ministry of Education documents and a survey conducted by the Ministry on remote learning, we shed light on the different measures taken to curb learning loss during the spread of the pandemic as well as the challenges facing Tunisian students and the government. The consequences of these measures are discussed along with future recommendations.