Emirate of Dubai
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EMIRATE OF DUBAI Linda Garner Laurie Sealy Fatima Buali Luke Naismith Mariam Al Ali Mohammed Mazheruddin Knowledge and Human Development Authority Language and Literacy The national language in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is Arabic. Standard Arabic is used for printed matter and for official and formal purposes, although English and several Asian languages also are used widely, particularly in commerce. Statistics from 2015 estimate the population of Dubai at 2.44 million with an annual growth rate of more than 5 percent.1 National Emirati citizens account for approximately 10 percent of the population, with the remainder originating from the rest of the Arab world, the Indian subcontinent, the Far East, Europe, and elsewhere. In public schools, mathematics and science are taught in Arabic; in private schools, these subjects are taught in the school’s language of instruction, which primarily is English. The multicultural nature of Dubai means that students in some international schools will be taught in English, though more than 50 languages serve as students’ first languages. In 2007 to 2008, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, an independent educational board, launched the first phase of its My Language My Identity project to encourage the habit of reading in Arabic among elementary school students. Every public elementary school was issued a library of approximately 40 book titles. A group of Arab education specialists, Arabic language teachers, and Arabic language supervisors translated into Arabic selected books that have since been approved by education ministries in numerous Arab countries. The project was aimed at reviving the culture of reading in Arabic among students. Events such as the Dubai Literary Festival, the Million Book Challenge, and the Year of Reading in 2015–2016 also promote a culture of reading among students in public and private schools. While overall literacy rates in Dubai are comparable to the average of those of developed countries, literacy rates of the emirate’s citizens—more specifically, of boys—still are a priority. The Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau reported that students in public and private schools in Dubai have weaker skills in Arabic reading and writing than in speaking and listening. This was corroborated by the performance of 15-year-old students in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2009 and 2012.2 Most students in public schools scored below those in private schools in reading, PIRLS 2016 ENCYCLOPEDIA EMIRATE OF DUBAI 1 and well below the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average. Private schools, including Indian and United Kingdom curriculum schools, showed an improvement in the average reading score from 2012 to 2015.3 Girls outperformed boys in reading in almost all curricular schools. Overview of the Education System The Emirate of Dubai has a unique education landscape, offering a complete education system for boys and girls from kindergarten through higher education that is free for residents of Dubai through public schools, colleges, and universities. Education from primary to upper middle school is universal and compulsory. The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education provides services for public schools and policies and regulations for public and private schools. For public schools, the Ministry is solely responsible for school administration structure, staff recruitment and compensation, curriculum design and improvement, and the availability of resources.4 The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), an independent educational board, was established in 2007 to develop the knowledge and human resources sectors in the emirate. KHDA identifies and implements evidenced-based strategies that are tailored to Dubai. These strategies, in addition to the qualitative data collected through school inspections, enable KHDA to elevate evidence-based policymaking with private schools in Dubai. This authority regulates the private schools in Dubai in alliance with the general policy of the Ministry. KHDA’s goals are to raise the quality of education to the highest international standard, ensure the continuous development of the education sector, and improve the quality and outcomes of education at all stages.5 In 2008, the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau was launched to define and measure education quality in order to support the improvement of education and inform improvement planning at the school and policy levels. Since 2009, significant reform has taken place at the school level, including the implementation of annual school inspections for private schools. Inspections have been driven by the same performance standards for the academic achievement of students, their personal development and support, the quality of education, and the effectiveness with which schools are led and managed. This consistency has allowed valid comparisons to be made across the seven year period.6 Overall enrollment of students in Dubai schools is continuing to grow, with a 6.5 percent increase in the number of students per year from 2010 to 2015. The number of students in Dubai’s public schools has increased at an annual rate of 2 percent over the past five years. Dubai also has an extensive private education sector, with 72 of its 185 private schools opening in the last 10 years. Currently, 90 percent of students in Dubai attend private schools, while 58 percent of Emirati students are educated in this sector. In private schools that have been inspected, 61 percent of students are educated in schools rated “good” or higher.7 More students attend private schools in the lower grade levels than in the upper grade levels. PIRLS 2016 ENCYCLOPEDIA EMIRATE OF DUBAI 2 Some key features of the educational landscape in Dubai include: • A large, increasing proportion of expatriate students (81 percent of all students) • An increasing proportion of Emirati national students educated in private schools (58 percent) • The availability of 17 curricula across the school system, including the United Kingdom curriculum (31 percent of private schools), the Indian curriculum (30 percent of private schools), and the United States curriculum (21 percent of private schools) • The most branch campus universities in the world8,9 Language/Reading Curriculum in the Fourth Grade Reading Policy The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education’s national charter outlines the national literacy standards and expectations for all grades starting in kindergarten, including expectations regarding appropriate educational standards. The charter includes skill levels, distributions of curricular standards, and assessment criteria. It also provides teachers with guidance regarding teaching strategies and the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in teaching Arabic language. Summary of National Curriculum Dubai public schools use the UAE national Arabic language curriculum. Private schools use different curricula based on their own curriculum standards for the large proportion of students attending private schools. • United Kingdom schools—The reading program for Year 4 (Key Stage 2) in private schools using the UK curriculum includes knowledge, skills, and understanding in the following areas: reading with fluency, accuracy, understanding, and enjoyment; developing phonemic awareness and phonic knowledge to decode and encode words; using grammatical understanding and knowledge of the content and context of texts; reading for information; reading texts with greater accuracy, understanding, and familiarity with the characteristics of different types of text; developing understanding of a wide range of literary genres; and reading nonfiction and other nonliterary texts, including print and ICT-based informational texts, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference materials.10 • International Baccalaureate schools—Expectations for achievement in reading at International Baccalaureate (IB) private schools consider the range of language learning situations that exist in IB Primary Years Programme schools, which include Grade 4.11 The reading strand of the language curriculum is summarized through a list of overall expectations comprising generic statements that broadly encapsulate the expected learning. Like the other strands, reading is considered from both the receptive aspect (receiving and constructing meaning) and the expressive aspect (creating and sharing meaning). PIRLS 2016 ENCYCLOPEDIA EMIRATE OF DUBAI 3 • United States schools—Based on the English Language Arts (ELA) standards of the state of California, the Grade 4 reading program for US private schools focuses on the following areas: word analysis, fluency, and systematic vocabulary development; reading comprehension; and literacy response and analysis.12 Schools in Dubai following a US curriculum may use the standards of a state other than California, but each school uses the same core reading competencies. Many schools in Dubai still base their reading curricula on selected textbooks rather than on specific and defined state reading standards. • Indian schools—The reading program for Grade 4 in Indian private schools aims to develop students’ communication skills and improve their command of language. In addition to classes in English (language and literature), students also may study Arabic, French, and Hindi. The curriculum, considered both from a receptive and an expressive aspect, focuses on the following areas: word analysis, fluency, and systematic vocabulary development;