The Ministry of Education has taken major steps to raise the quality of education to international standards. The new curriculum announced yesterday is unmistakably one such step.
The ministry has announced 14 projects that should help achieve this goal, if they are successfully implemented and continuously evaluated. The most important of these new projects is the establishment of clear curriculum standards to guide schools, teachers, parents and pupils in what is to be learnt and how.
Students will gain academic, practical and technological skills that will help prepare them for further, tertiary education and participation in the knowledge economy.
The ministry has adopted its own curriculum standards in Islamic and national education, Arabic language and social studies, which should help ensure respect for and protection of national culture and values.
The ministry has further embraced standards in English language, science, mathematics and extra-curricular activities for kindergarten through grade nine that have been developed by the Abu Dhabi Education Council. Together these standards will provide a national curriculum for all schools to follow and from which all pupils should benefit.
Throughout much of the modern history of education in this nation the curriculum has been a patchwork of disarticulated subjects that emphasised rote memorisation of a large amount of general information to be regurgitated by the pupils at the end of each term or year. Little attention was given to how the information related to the real lives of the pupils, how they could use it to solve practical problems and even less to why and how they might learn to be logical, critical and creative thinkers.
Pupils frequently complained about the emphasis on memorisation and how the approach did not prepare them for university education. The lack of adequate preparation has become the main problem facing the university system.
To help disseminate the new curriculum standards and the accompanying concept of curricular accountability, the ministry will provide support to teachers by supplying relevant materials, developing a website devoted to standards. It will also hold orientation sessions for parents and community institutions and workshops for principals, teachers and supervisors.
This part of the effort will be quite difficult and challenging, but also crucial. Without it, the “accountability mentality” will not be achieved.
Extensive training is to be given to help teachers adopt the standards and improve their teaching methodologies. But the information provided yesterday leaves one worried that the total amount of training will fall far short of what is required to bring about such a significant improvement.
To provoke a shift from syllabus-driven rote memorisation to participatory learning for logical and critical thinking and problem-solving is a major challenge that will require much time, effort and support.
The second important project in this group is the change in how student achievement is to be evaluated. The ministry says the new secondary school assessment system eliminates rote memorisation, increases independent learning and reduces the fear of examinations. Now that is to be extended to all levels of achievement evaluation. Pupils will adapt to the new modern techniques of education with less memorisation and hopefully gain critical thinking and analytical skills. That is, if the evaluation system is successfully implemented.
An area which I find promising is that the ministry is also considering the possibility of developing national examinations and having pupils participate in international benchmark tests. This can be a very important contribution as it will help illuminate how UAE students compare with regional and international ones, which can serve as a noteworthy stimulus for continuing improvement of the education system.
I have highlighted what appears to be the most significant innovations. The 14 projects will, I hope, create a “system” for change that is certainly needed. But keeping all the projects co-ordinated will be a very big challenge.
Dr Clifton Chadwick is a senior lecturer in international education management and policy development at the British University in Dubai.