Curriculum Development and Educational Leadership Presentation

Introduction

• One of its latest developments is a novel curriculum where the cornerstones are represented by standards and outcomes, and the curriculum itself is not based on textbooks (Cullinan 2016).
• The new curriculum emphasises problem-solving skills and the students’ ability to apply critical thinking.
• The curriculum is implemented in all Abu Dhabi schools and in all the schools in UAE (Ibrahim 2015).

One of the latest developments of the Ministry of Education was a novel curriculum where the cornerstones were represented by standards and outcomes, and the curriculum itself was not based on textbooks (Cullinan 2016). This new curriculum in Abu Dhabi was developed for IT, Physical Education, and Sciences (K-9) and Math (K-12). The key objective of the new curriculum was to improve English language proficiency of the students so as not to lose time during the first year at the University. Numerous English-speaking teachers teach their students in compliance with the new comprehensive curriculum based on the standards (Ibrahim 2015). It is important to mention that this development of the Ministry of Education helped the teachers to move away from the textbooks in terms of transmitting the content to their students. Contrarily, the new curriculum emphasised problem-solving skills and the students’ ability to apply critical thinking. The curriculum was first tested at a number of schools. The testing process finished successfully, and the curriculum was be implemented in all Abu Dhabi schools and in all the schools in UAE (Ibrahim 2015).

Curriculum Development Trials and Recommendations

• There are numerous potential problems that should be carefully approached.
• The core issue is to expand the outlooks of the teachers and transform their approach to teaching practices.
• The curriculum reform will only be possible in the presence of expanded local facilities that will certify the sustainability of the educational environment.

Even though the development of the new curriculum based on the novel standards was a significant stage in the development of the educational sphere in UAE, there are numerous potential problems that should be carefully approached. The core issue is to expand the outlooks of the teachers and transform their approach to teaching practices (Cullinan 2016). They will have to elaborate assessment strategies that are adjusted to the postulates of the new curriculum. Nonetheless, the curriculum reform was only be possible in the presence of expanded local facilities that certified the sustainability of the educational environment.

Teaching Practices Renovation

• Teachers will have to develop the materials independently, and the process of transmitting knowledge will become more complex in terms of pedagogical eminence.
• Special managers should visit lessons and evaluate the quality of teaching displayed by the instructors (Ibrahim 2015).
• These managers are chosen by school principals on the basis of their ability to provide an accurate and unbiased report.
• The quality of teaching majorly depends on supervision.
• The current teaching practices are not student-centred (Cullinan 2016).

Successful implementation of the new curriculum presupposes a critical change in the mindset and development of novel approaches to teaching. Therefore, the decision to develop and implement the standard-based curriculum in practice requires teachers to move away from the textbooks and plan their lessons in compliance with several sources (Cullinan 2016). Most importantly, they will have to change their approaches to teaching fundamentally. They will have to develop the materials independently, and the process of transmitting knowledge will become more complex in terms of pedagogical eminence. The teachers will have to re-evaluate their practice and train more. The Ministry of Education supposes that special managers should visit lessons and evaluate the quality of teaching displayed by the instructors (Ibrahim 2015).

At the moment, these managers are chosen by school principals on the basis of their ability to provide an accurate and unbiased report. This approach is seen by the school administration as one of the approaches that positively influence student outcomes and their learning abilities. The quality of teaching majorly depends on supervision (when the latter is performed correctly). The situation in UAE shows that not a lot of teachers are able to (or are willing to) change their behaviour unless they are enforced to do so. Another critical aspect is that the current teaching practices are not student-centred and there is little chance this is going to change in the nearest future (Cullinan 2016).

Curriculum Content Development

• The current incentive of the Ministry of Education is aimed at developing curriculum content and providing better facilities in combination with more instruction hours.
• Nowadays, the Emirates emphasise the importance not only of math and languages (Ibrahim 2015).
• The teachers that operate in UAE are using information and communications technologies (ICT) more often.
• UAE schools provide the students with critical professional skills.
• The UAE curriculum became competitive and can now be compared to the curricula of the first-class countries.

Q: Are there any other possibilities to improve the existing curriculum development practices?

The current incentive of the Ministry of Education is aimed at developing curriculum content and providing better facilities in combination with more instruction hours. It should also be mentioned that such subjects as Art and Music have to be taken into consideration as well. This should be done due to the previous disregard toward these subjects. If we compare UAE to other countries, it will become evident that nowadays the Emirates emphasise the importance not only of math and languages (Ibrahim 2015). This tendency spreads all across the Middle Eastern countries and a number of African countries.

This means that the teachers that operate in UAE are now using information and communications technologies (ICT) more often and receive training that relies on real-life examples and demands. On a bigger scale, the UAE curriculum became competitive and can now be compared to the curricula of the first-class countries due to its widening and ability to cover a satisfactory number of subjects (Cullinan 2016). UAE schools provide the students with critical professional skills and offer the possibility to choose from a list of available subjects (including environmental science or business studies).

Major Disadvantages of the New Curriculum

• Some teachers are afraid that curriculum change will lead to a series of events that will negatively influence the educational experience (Cullinan 2016).
• These teachers are not ready to transfer their practice onto the new platform and consider the old curriculum to be more advantageous than the new one.
• The transition is very stressful even for the most performant teachers and students.
• A number of teachers are disappointed with the changes in the curriculum.
• Another reason for a decline in performance is the unfamiliarity with the contents of the lessons (Ibrahim 2015).
• The teachers have to improvise or conduct their own research.
• An inability to learn the new subjects in a calm and collected manner (Ibrahim 2015).
• The new curriculum generated a great deal of variability among the students which cannot be seen on a national level.
• Despite its overall positive influence, the teachers and school administrations turned out to be not ready for the change (Ibrahim 2015).
• Another problem is the cost of its employment and the impact it has on the costs of education in general.
• A vast number of parents chose to educate their children at home instead of sending them to school (Cullinan 2016).
• Parents do not want to expose their children to the complexity of the implemented curriculum and a number of unknown disciplines.
• Home-schooling can be characterised as affordable and flexible.
• Some of the parents also consider that school environment can be distracting and their children may not be able to concentrate (Ibrahim 2015).
• The curriculum still has to be adjusted so as to provide affordable and fair education to all of the UAE residents.

Q: Are there any other disadvantages that can be identified in the current UAE curriculum?

Even though the results of the implementation of the new curriculum are fascinating, a lot of teachers are afraid that this change will lead to a series of events that will negatively influence the educational experience of both teachers and students (Cullinan 2016). This level of awareness can be explained by the lack of readiness among the teachers and the unwillingness of the students to comply with the new norms. A big number of teachers claims that they are still not ready to transfer their practice onto the new platform and consider the old curriculum to be more advantageous than the new one. They also suppose that the transition is very stressful even for the most performant teachers and students due to its complexity and different directionality (Ibrahim 2015).

A survey showed that a number of teachers are disappointed with the changes in the curriculum, even though these changes are expected to generate positive outcomes. The new curriculum was implemented in a hasty manner, and the majority of the conformist teachers are afraid that the students’ performance will diminish and they will become apathetic. Another reason for a decline in performance is the unfamiliarity with the contents of the lessons (Ibrahim 2015). Regardless of the novel curriculum, both teachers and students are new to the recently acknowledged subjects. In a number of cases, the teachers have to improvise or conduct their own research just because the information in the curriculum was not studied before by anyone else.

Even though the schools tend to adjust to the new curriculum, it seems to put the students at a disadvantage of an inability to learn the new subjects in a calm and collected manner (Ibrahim 2015). The new curriculum generated a great deal of variability among the students which cannot be seen on a national level. Some of the students stand the test of studying at a fast pace, and the remaining students tend to fall off and drop out. As a result, the implementation of the new curriculum led to the transformation of the learning process which has its positive aspects, but for the most part, the teachers and school administrations turned out to be not ready for the change (Ibrahim 2015).

This approach can be characterised as affordable and flexible. Parents are also able to eradicate non-academic activities and allow their children to spend their spare time how they want it instead of forcing them to study all the time. Some of the parents also consider that school environment can be distracting and their children may not be able to concentrate (Ibrahim 2015). Also, as the parents claim, there is no social disadvantage in the home-schooling approach. The children are frequently invited to attend interesting events and exhibitions and travel to various fascinating locations. Overall, the current curriculum is limited by several disadvantages, but the majority of the parents enrol their children to regular schools. Nonetheless, the curriculum still has to be adjusted so as to provide affordable and fair education to all of the UAE residents.

Questions and Answers

Q: Are there any other possibilities to improve the existing curriculum development practices?

A: First of all, it is important to take into consideration the needs of the students and their willingness to study new subjects. Currently, they can choose from a number of subjects (including even business studies), and it is critical to provide the students with an opportunity to develop partnerships with their colleagues and motivate them to learn. Second, the Ministry of Education should take into consideration the impact of globalisation and educational leadership practices which very often oppose the development of UAE curriculum. Therefore, the curriculum should be individualised and adjusted to the diversity of UAE teachers.

Q: Are there any other disadvantages that can be identified in the current UAE curriculum?

A: The current curriculum employed by the UAE’s Ministry of Education is not yet well-adjusted to the realities of the local education. It has to be carefully tweaked so as to be in concurrence with the needs of all students and teachers. We have to take into account the fact that numerous instructors and students cannot keep up with the pace of learning according to the norms of the new curriculum and this leads to decreased educational performance. Therefore, the key disadvantage of the existing curriculum is a variety of shortcomings reflected by its inflexibility and clumsiness which have to be eliminated in the nearest future.

References

Cullinan, M 2016, ‘Critical review of ESL curriculum: Practical application to the UAE context’, Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 62-70.

Ibrahim, D 2015, ‘Sustainability within interior design curriculum in UAE & impact on design mindset’, Journal of Curriculum Studies, vol. 3, no. 11, pp. 34-41.