Purpose This article provides an overview of how childhood curriculum in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is designed to serve cultural values. Design/Approach/Methods The framework of kindergarten curriculum adopts the uniqueness of children laying the foundation for their cultural identity. This paper provides a description of how this is achieved through a case study of the kindergarten curriculum in the UAE. Findings The core elements of Emirati culture are delivered in the early childhood education (ECE) curriculum, which is influenced by global practices. Islamic studies is a key component in the Emirati kindergarten curriculum, which is designed to help children practice principles of religion, with the main Islamic values of gratitude and charity as aspects that are deeply embedded. Similarly, through social studies, children learn about Emirati heritage and culture. In addition to exposure to world communities, the learning experience engages children in authentic stories that relate to their personal lives, families, and community to build national awareness. Originality/Value This paper sheds light on ECE in the UAE. Although the topic is of interest to UAE policymakers and educators and the global audience interested in UAE education, there is no study to the researcher's best knowledge that has examined the influence of the UAE culture on ECE curriculum.
Reading in Arabic is a vital skill for academic success and progress in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) elementary schools and beyond. However, there is substantial evidence to suggest that a significant number of UAE children in lower elementary grades experience difficulties in reading school-related materials. Research in reading has clearly documented that the lack of phonological awareness skills is a major contributor to reading difficulties. The aims of the present study were to (a) identify phonological awareness deficits among UAE’s struggling first-grade readers, (b) provide intervention in the area of phonological awareness deficits through direct training, (c) determine whether phonological awareness direct training significantly increases phonological awareness abilities, and (d) determine the effect of gender on the reading intervention. The results of this study indicate that a direct training intervention program in the UAE positively impacted struggling first-grade readers’ phonological awareness abilities.
The purpose of this study was four-fold: to identify factors teachers perceive to contribute to their referral of students with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); to examine management strategies elementary teachers in the UAE use; to examine the effect years of teaching experience, domain (general versus special education teachers) and experience teaching children with ADHD have on their use of referral and management strategies, and; to explore the relationship between teachers' use of referral and management strategies. The ADHD Referral Scale and the ADHD Management Strategies Questionnaire (AMSQ) were completed by 52 elementary special and general education teachers. The results of the study revealed that inattention/distractibility was perceived by both the special and general education teachers to be a contributing factor for referring students with ADHD to special education services. The general education teachers also noted hyperactivity to be a contributing factor. The findings further revealed that while special and general education teachers employed behaviour and academic intervention strategies, special education teachers frequently used home/parent intervention strategies. Finally, the MANOVA analyses showed a significant main effect of teaching experience and teachers' experience with ADHD.
Nature of science (NOS) is a global conception of the infrastructure of science and, therefore, forms the foundation for teaching and learning science, especially for preservice teachers who are expected to have the proper understanding of NOS to thoughtfully emphasize NOS within their instruction to students. However, studies investigating UAE science preservice teachers’ views of NOS through the macro-lens of the Reconceptualized Family Resemblance Approach to Nature of Science (RFN) are limited. This study, therefore, aims to determine the current state of UAE preservice teachers’ (N = 130) understanding of the NOS and NOS instruction. Results obtained from the RFN 70-item questionnaire demonstrate that teachers were mostly informed about issues pertaining to the social-institutional aspects compared to aspects related to the cognitive-epistemic nature of science. Although teachers appeared to hold informed perceptions on certain aspects of NOS across the RFN scales and subscales, they had mixed views, as well as misconceptions on other particular aspects of NOS (i.e., the role of bias, gender, and politics on scientific knowledge, the existence of a universal scientific method, and the distinction between laws and theories). Practical and pedagogical implications for teaching and an agenda for further research are discussed.
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