Abstract
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) considers education to be an important tool in achieving the social and economic development goals necessary for a sustainable knowledge economy and society. It aims to establish and sustain an environment of enhanced rules and practices necessary for attaining a successful economy (Cristea and Matei, 2011). Though underpinned by global policy discourse, the meaning of the Emirati knowledge society is different from the western model because of its Arab and Islamic social and cultural dimensions. To achieve these goals, the UAE has invested highly in education, introducing waves of reform that aim to develop the system’s outcomes. The challenges of these reforms, including the pace of change and their alignment with the purpose of education, suggest the need to reframe educational goals with a focus on sustainability, meaning to maintain change and improvement over time.The purpose of this study is to critically examine the role of K-12 education in creating a sustainable knowledge society in the UAE from the perspective of educators. It considers policy and schooling practices in Emirati public schools, as well as the social and cultural dimensions of Emirati society that are integral to understanding the unique case of the UAE. The research employed a qualitative interview methodology (Edwards and Holland, 2013), which involved an in-depth investigation into the perspectives of 25 teachers and school leaders from three public schools in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi who were interviewed individually.
The main findings were that there are significant efforts and opportunities underway in UAE schools to achieve the reform goals, particularly in relation to developing the quality of pedagogy. However, there were also related concerns about assessment policy and culture, which are not aligned with the reforms and seriously affect the achievement of these goals. Furthermore, top-down policy approaches impacted significantly on the proper enactment of the reform plans, and there was insufficient transformational leadership to streamline change and sustain improvements. The findings inform an understanding of the role of education in creating an Emirati knowledge society by clarifying the purpose of education associated with these reforms, and a distinctive model of the Emirati knowledge society is developed. The study contributes to research on the status of leadership for learning and school learning culture in Emirati public schools. A new conceptualisation of sustainability in education is offered; and challenges and strategies towards sustainability are explored.
| Date of Award | 11 Sept 2024 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Shona McIntosh (Supervisor) & Andrea Abbas (Supervisor) |