Introduction
The future of the world is highly dependent on what we teach children from the very moment they start learning. A child is expected to copy not only what he or she is told, but also what he or she sees. In this regard, the education system in any country plays a crucial role in determining the future citizenry. Consequently, what our children are taught in school is very vital.
Moreover, when religion comes into the question, there is need to ensure that all factors are taken into consideration. So, the question of whether to restrict the images and suggestions in the content of books used in class especially for children between the ages of 1 to 5 has been a subject of discussion for long.
Situational Analysis
First of all, it should be stated that the quality of education, that children receive at their early ages, effects not only the way they learn, but also their future activities. The strength of a child’s brain depends on the quality of education that the child receives in his or her childhood.
Moreover, emotional and psychological development of a child is greatly affected by the educational content that the child gets. On the same note, early education prepares one for the challenges that may come later in life. Given the low concentrations capacity of children, research has shown that images are very important in increasing concentration (Gaad, 2010).
The education that children receive in their early years is therefore crucial. Arguably, it is affected by the images that children see and the environment children grow up in. It has been proved that images have a long lasting effect compared to other modes of teaching. Furthermore, the books that children between the age of one year and five years use contain a lot of pictures.
As a result, these images are bound to have a greater effect in their lives. Research has shown that cognitive development of children below the age of two can controlled by the images that they see (Gaad, 2010).
However, well developed images can positively affect children. In the United Arab Emirates, where the culture and religion are considered significant, the illustrations that children access must be in conformity with the religious guidelines.
It is at the age of one to five that children learn to apply what they observe to different scenarios. Cognitive and academic development of prekindergarten children can either be enhanced or derailed by visual patterns and educational content.
Reasons for Oversight
It should be noted that the UAE is a strict religious country where almost everybody follows religious requirements to the letter. This is different from the majority of the countries where the government is separated from religion, and thus the education system can somehow be differentiated from it.
While in most countries the rules and regulations are formed putting religion at the periphery, in the United Arab Emirates it is the ultimate determinant of what decisions will be adopted by the government (Gaad, 2010).
Keeping this fact in mind, oversight of images and interpretations of the educational content is crucial. Children need to be taught the religious content in their early years as this will form the basis for their knowledge.
In addition, while in the rest of the world people mingle freely and have the freedom of actions, there is a restriction on socialization especially on women according to the Islamic culture. Although this inequality has been eliminated at a certain degree, women are restricted to work alongside men (Gaad, 2010).
It is important, therefore, for the content that children are taught to reflect this culture. On the same note, images with contradictory information, which might go against the Muslim culture, should be removed to avoid ambiguity.
As a consequence, the elementary education that any child is supposed to get is the religious one. This is done in order to maintain the culture of the United Arab Emirates’ population who are predominantly Muslims (Gaad, 2010).
All children should closely follow the code of conduct that is regarded as being correct according to the Islamic laws. It is important to note that children do most of their learning when they are between the age of one to five years.
Theories
In monitoring educational content, various theories can be applied. According to the duty-based theory, one has to do the right thing without thinking about the outcomes. It is expected that people always do what is morally right. Even when the results of doing the right thing are more harmful compared to doing the wrong thing, the duty-based theory still demands that one does the right thing.
Most religious doctrines are built on this theory (Gaad, 2010). Being a religiously inclined society, it is expected that this theory will be applied more often in the UAE. Therefore, some pictures might not be allowed no matter what good they might bear.
According to virtue ethics, the difference in human beings requires decisions made to be specific to each child. Thus, the proponents of this theory disallow wholesome monitoring of images and instead advocate for the individual case analysis.
On the other hand, there are some images that affect young children negatively. There is no possibility that the effects will change no matter what the conditions may be. As a result, these pictures should not be shown to children at all, which is highlighted by the consequence based theory (Gaad, 2010). As this theory outlines, the results of any given action are used in determining whether the action can be allowed or not.
Notably, while other images may be encouraged, some illustrations have to be regulated. This is the most applicable theory to be used given the fact that it is not possible to determine how each individual child will interpret the given image.
So, all images that are known to negatively affect children should be removed from the use. Past experiences are crucial in making decisions regarding what image to include in or eliminate from the content for children
Conclusion
Society will need responsible and well-mannered people no matter in what environment they grew up. That is why images have an influential impact on the learning process of any child. However, for a reserved cultural society like the UAE, caution must be taken to ensure that children get the right teachings.
Case to case consideration is not possible and therefore religious doctrines have to prevail. If some images or suggestions are considered wrong by the religion, they must be removed from the studying curriculum. So, it goes without saying that oversight of images and suggestions in books is inevitable.
Reference
Gaad, E. (2010). Inclusive Education in the Middle East. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.