Degrees of Dignity examines how global discourses and policy models are affecting and altering contemporary higher education systems in the Arab Middle East and North Africa.

Elizabeth Buckner is an assistant professor in the Department of Leadership, Higher, and Adult Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.

"Degrees of Dignity demonstrates how higher education has evolved in the Arab world and how the relation between government policy and public expectations has become inevitably dysfunctional. Elizabeth Buckner argues that the rhetoric of ‘failure’ and ‘crisis’ perpetuate the problems in higher education, rather than resolve them, and ends up undermining positive trends."

John Waterbury, Former President, American University of Beirut:

"Based on over fifteen years’ experience in several Arab countries, Degrees of Dignity provides an excellent overview of the educational challenges currently facing the Arab world. Elizabeth Buckner concludes that there is a lot that is going right in that domain while cautioning that western models, emerging from neo-liberal assumptions, are part of the problem rather than the solution. Buckner convincingly argues that other systems have much to learn from their Arab peers."

Natasha Ridge, Executive Director, Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research:

"Degrees of Dignity is a tour de force of a work on higher education in the Arab world. This book paints both a nuanced and sympathetic portrait of higher education, while Elizabeth Buckner’s attention to detail makes this a most engaging volume. I highly recommend it for policy makers and academics."