Teachers? emotions are not often well considered when schools and education systems start new changes. The purpose of this study is to explore teachers? emotions toward outcome-based curriculum change as enacted by the Abu Dhabi Educational Council (ADEC) in 2010 at the United Arab Emirates. The study is qualitative in nature where it used interviews with teachers in primary schools that cater for grades 1-5 in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain public schools. The study used Reio?s theoretical model of the influence of reform on teacher identity, emotions, risk taking and learning and development. The results indicated that educational reform could have a negative impact on teachers? emotions and professional identity. It is recommended that policymakers ensure that all teachers are prepared, trained, and knowledgeable about the changes implemented. In addition, teachers should be part of the change so they can be motivated and confident to implement it.
This case study explores the nature of the dyadic teacher-student relationship, and its impact on the development of adolescents? sense of school belonging. Bronfenbrenner?s (1979) ecological system theory was used to study the proximal and reciprocal interactions between students and teachers at the school microsystem. This theory describes the three characteristics of the relationship; the affect, power, and reciprocity. School observation and semi-structured interviews with eleven female students in grade 11 and six female teachers at one school in Al Ain city were conducted. NVivo software program was used to organize and code data. Findings revealed that the three dimensions of the relationship were on the negative side: cooperation or reciprocity was not clear; respect, care, and love were not prevalent; and power was problematic. It follows naturally that students hated the school and did not have a high sense of belonging. We are not blaming the teachers or holding them accountable, as students have had their share as well. In fact, we assume that the relationship could be immensely changed if the macrosystem was different. If the aim of education was to help students learn and develop rather than finish curriculum and pass exams, the relationship would have changed.
The qualitative case study investigated the effects of Analytical Music Therapy (AMT) sessions on improving the socio-emotional and academic skills of a 4th -grade student with Selective Mutism (SM), implementing Priestley?s Analytical Music Therapy Model, which uses music improvisation as the primary method of therapy within a psychoanalytic framework. The case study was conducted in three phases, i.e., pre-assessment; intervention; and post-assessment phases including secondary data, video-recorded analytical music therapy observations and field notes taken for five consecutive months. Each activity session lasted approximately 40 minutes and consisted of three different activities, e.g., improvisational music, drawing, and playing with toys and puppets. These activities were designed to improve the socio-emotional, communicative, and academic skills of the student. All data were qualitatively analyzed via manual thematic analysis and by using Nvivo 11 program. The findings suggested that the analytical music therapy sessions had an obvious effect on the student socioemotionally and a slight but noticeable effect on the academic performance in the regular classroom.
The Emirates Standardized Test (EmSAT) is a standardized computer-based test designed specifically for the United Arab Emirates? twelfth-grade students as a requirement for college admission. This paper focuses on analyzing the test specifications and content alignment of the EmSAT with the Ministry of Education (MOE) English standards and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) as international standard in comparison to an International English Language Testing System (IELTS). To achieve the research purpose, two conceptual models: Achieve Method and Mislevy, Almond and Lukas?s Test Specifications Model are adopted for content alignment and test specification comparison and analysis respectively.
This phenomenological study aims to explore how science teachers experience the integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) approach into their teaching in an attempt to shed light on current practices within the context of UAE. For this purpose, the study employs a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with open-ended question in order to explore the perceptions and lived experiences of three science teachers in cycle 2 who have infused STEM into their regular teaching for more than two years. Collected data were transcribed, coded, and then organized into discreet categories. Research findings show that science teachers generally have a positive attitude towards using STEM-based activities. Overall, analysis revealed that participants do implement integrated STEM into their teaching frequently and on a regular basis due to the focal attention it receives from the school. Results also indicated that the availability of adequate support in terms of STEM days, engaging STEM events, budget and training, all contributed to this smooth implementation.
Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing has been integrated as a single system to serve better spatial decisions. The UAE is situated in a seismically stable area without any indications on significant seismic events for the past 2000 years. Nonetheless, the occurrence of three major events in 2002 and 2007 and the active tectonic boundaries of the Arabian plate and the existing fault lines in Dibba zone raise questions on the seismicity and the ground surface displacement of the area. The lack of researches and field surveys on the neotectonics of the area has led to introduce Remote sensing as a powerful tool to measure ground surface displacement related to land instability using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR). This study aims to demonstrate the adequacy of InSAR multi-temporal imageries in detecting, monitoring and assessing very slow ground surface displacement of which the results will be mapped and delineated on a GIS platform to create a baseline for future studies.
This qualitative study aims to define the ethical decision-making processes employed by a select group of college deans in solving ethical dilemmas using the ethical paradigms proposed in the works of Starratt (Educ Adm Q27:185?202, 1991) and Shapiro and Stefkovich (Ethical leadership and decision- making in education: applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas, 2005) as frameworks for the analysis. Data was gathered using semi-structured interviews and field text was analyzed using deductive thematic analysis. The findings show the ethical frameworks of care, justice, and profession as the dominant paradigms applied by deans and their preference for adopting multiple ethical frameworks when making their decisions while the ethics of critique is rarely used. This paper intends to contribute to the current literature by expanding research to administrators working in the context of higher education in the UAE setting. The findings of this study could serve as a knowledge base in designing ethics courses to enhance educational leaders? ethical decision-making skills. The study also provides useful insights into ethical decisions and reasoning processes employed by academic administrators in resolving real-life ethical dilemmas that could be useful at the practical level for aspiring and practicing deans.
This study aims to identify the students? misconception about vectors. The study sample consists of 120 male students at the advanced 11th grade from X school in one of the cities in the UAE. To identify students? misconceptions towards ?vector quantities?, open-ended questions test is developed from Nguyen & Meltzer (2003) and Barniol & Zavala (2011). The test is organized to be suitable and comprehensible to students who have not previously studied vectors. The study reveals that there are several misconceptions that exist within students? cognition. These errors are concluded to be inherent in their knowledge structure since they have not changed despite of direct teaching. Three types of errors were commonly identified across the sample: a lack of students? understanding about vector graphically adding and direction representation, a lack of understanding (or distinction) between vectors and scalars and multiply vectors by number.
The Purpose of this study is to describe the current Family, School and Communities Partnerships? FSCEPs practices and participants suggestions to initiate, improve and sustain FSCEPs in the context of the UAE. The research employed the descriptive methodology using a questionnaire surveying 892 participants from school staff, parents and community members. The finding clarified that most of the partnerships? activities are moderately practiced. Moreover, there were statistically significant differences among the participants. Particularly, teachers reported higher agreement about the existence of FSCEPs activities than parents and community members. Furthermore, the finding indicates that the most important benefit of the current activities is ?they increase the confidence and effective communication between parents and schools?. Moreover, the study revealed that the most vital priority to steer the FSCEPs activities in schools as participants suggested is to increase the students? achievement level followed by prepare students for work and life.
This paper aims to investigate the gifted programs offered to identified students in private middle schools in Dubai and gauge its effectiveness across the learner?s cognitive and affective domains. Currently, we cannot estimate the number of gifted learners that go unidentified leading to individual needs being unrecognized. This disheartening situation is evidenced by the lack of UAE federal laws or policy framework governing the rights of gifted learners and no prior research across private schools in the local context. Following the pragmatic philosophy and sequential mixed-methods, the current investigation will use interview data with gifted educators and KHDA school inspection documentation analysis for gauging the gifted programs offered across multiple private schools. This qualitative data review will be followed by quantitative analysis of attainment data in terms of Math and English scores, ability scores using CAT4 data and Self-perception survey data of gifted students. The present investigation will use Pre-K-12 gifted programming standards by NAGC as the guiding rubrics. Based on the literature regarding the best practices in the field of gifted education, the findings of the research will be discussed and suggestions regarding the improvements in programs alongside recommendations for future research will be included in the thesis.
