United Arab Emirates

This study examined the perceived impact of active learning as a teaching strategy among 20 overseas Filipino teachers working in schools across the United Arab Emirates. Guided by the five Whole Child tenets and an Input-Process-Output framework, the study explored teachers’ experiences with active learning, their views on its classroom application, and its perceived contribution to student learning. A quantitative research design was employed using an adapted questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale. Responses were analyzed through frequency counts and mean scores to describe participants’ perceptions and reported practices. Findings indicated that most respondents regularly incorporated active learning strategies into their teaching and expressed favorable attitudes toward their implementation. Teachers perceived these approaches as encouraging student participation, strengthening the integration of learning, promoting classroom engagement, and supporting improvements in instructional practice. However, respondents also identified practical challenges that constrained implementation, including limited training and experience with active learning methodologies, inadequate funding for instructional materials, and classroom seating arrangements that were not conducive to interactive activities. The findings underscore the importance of institutional support in helping teachers translate favorable perceptions into effective classroom practices. The study recommends targeted professional development to strengthen teachers’ competence in active learning, revisions to departmental plans to facilitate the integration of these strategies, and improved consideration of classroom resources and learning environments. Further investigation from students’ perspectives is recommended to provide additional insight into how active learning is experienced and how it may contribute to learning outcomes in international school settings across the United Arab Emirates.

The transition from early childhood education to kindergarten is a critical developmental period for all children, and one that can be particularly demanding for those with special educational needs (SEN). This article presents findings from a mixed methods case study conducted in two private schools in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This study investigates how parental attitudes, teacher preparedness, communication gaps, and structural barriers influence school transitions. Findings reveal a consistent divergence in perspective: parents generally regarded transition difficulties as normal and time-limited, whereas teachers identified sustained, complex challenges related to emotional regulation, large class sizes, limited specialist training, and insufficient information about incoming children. Parental reluctance to accept a formal diagnosis was viewed as a significant barrier in both schools. Given the small and unevenly distributed sample, reported divergences are viewed as illustrative rather than generalisable. The study contributes to a growing body of research evidence on inclusive educational transitions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) context. Its originality lies in comparing perspectives within an under-researched educational and cultural context, revealing differences in how parents and teachers perceive transition difficulties. This context-specific evidence has implications for educational policy and practice.

Teacher development is essential for improving instructional quality and supporting sustainable school improvement. This study examined teacher development needs across educational stages in selected schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by focusing on three key domains: classroom practices, family engagement, and school support. Using a quantitative descriptive-comparative research design, data were collected through a structured survey administered to teachers representing the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), Primary, and Secondary levels. Descriptive statistics, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and rank-order analysis were employed to determine the levels of teacher development indicators, examine differences across educational stages, and identify priority areas for professional development. The findings revealed high levels of teacher development across all three domains, with classroom practices receiving the highest ratings, followed by family engagement and school support. No statistically significant differences were found in classroom practices, family engagement, or school support across educational stages, indicating that teachers shared similar professional experiences regardless of teaching level. However, item-level analysis identified important developmental priorities, including strengthening student motivation, enhancing family-school partnerships, improving student well-being monitoring, and expanding opportunities for teacher participation in school decision-making. Based on these findings, the Teacher Development Enhancement Framework (TDEF) was developed to provide stage-specific interventions for EYFS, Primary, and Secondary teachers. The framework offers school leaders and policymakers an evidence-based guide for designing targeted professional development initiatives that strengthen instructional practice, organizational support, and collaborative partnerships, ultimately contributing to sustainable teacher growth and improved educational quality in UAE schools.

Introduction Universities are cultural settings in which institutional arrangements and interpersonal recognition jointly condition participation and belonging. Methods This open-data secondary analysis examined how perceived supportive campus environment and relationship quality combined in relation to university belonging and sociocultural engagement among health-professions students at a culturally diverse university in the United Arab Emirates. The released dataset contained 683 records; 661 complete cases entered both polynomial models. Predictors were transformed to proportion-of-maximum-possible scores. Inference combined 2,000 bootstrap resamples, HC3 heteroskedasticity-robust standard errors, duplicate-record checks, and Cook's D influence sensitivity. Results The models explained 47.3% of belonging and 25.6% of sociocultural engagement. The joint-resource slope was positive for belonging [a1 = 3.159, 95% bootstrap CI (2.596, 3.602)] and sociocultural engagement [a1 = 1.721, CI (1.233, 2.133)]. Curvature, directional difference, and mismatch curvature were not consistently supported. Removing two exact duplicate records or 41 observations above Cook's D >4/ n retained the positive joint-resource pattern. Discussion Thus, stronger institutional support and relationships were jointly associated with both campus belonging and multicultural participation, without evidence for a unique matching effect. The cross-sectional measures do not directly observe identity co-construction, so the contribution is a bounded quantitative account of conditions associated with culturally situated participation and belonging.

مقدمه: دانشگاه‌ها محیط‌های فرهنگی‌ای هستند که در آن‌ها ترتیبات نهادی و شناسایی بین‌فردی به طور مشترک مشارکت و تعلق را مشروط می‌کنند. روش‌ها: این تحلیل ثانویه داده‌های باز بررسی کرد که چگونه ادراک از محیط حمایتی دانشگاه و کیفیت روابط به طور ترکیبی با تعلق به دانشگاه و درگیری جامعه‌شناختی-فرهنگی در میان دانشجویان رشته‌های علوم سلامت در یک دانشگاه با تنوع فرهنگی در امارات متحده عربی مرتبط است. مجموعه داده منتشرشده شامل ۶۸۳ رکورد بود؛ ۶۶۱ مورد کامل وارد هر دو مدل چندجمله‌ای شدند. متغیرهای پیش‌بین به نمرات نسبت به حداکثر ممکن تبدیل شدند. استنتاج با ترکیب ۲۰۰۰ بازنمونه‌گیری بوت‌استرپ، خطاهای استاندارد مقاوم به ناهمسانی واریانس HC3، بررسی رکوردهای تکراری و حساسیت تأثیر Cook's D انجام شد. نتایج: مدل‌ها ۴۷/۳٪ از واریانس تعلق و ۲۵/۶٪ از واریانس درگیری جامعه‌شناختی-فرهنگی را تبیین کردند. شیب منبع مشترک برای تعلق [a1 = 3.159، فاصله اطمینان بوت‌استرپ ۹۵٪ (2.596، 3.602)] و درگیری جامعه‌شناختی-فرهنگی [a1 = 1.721، فاصله اطمینان (1.233، 2.133)] مثبت بود. انحنا، تفاوت جهت‌دار و انحنای عدم تطابق به طور مداوم تأیید نشدند. حذف دو رکورد کاملاً تکراری یا ۴۱ مشاهده با Cook's D >4/n الگوی مثبت منبع مشترک را حفظ کرد. بحث: بنابراین، حمایت نهادی قوی‌تر و روابط بهتر به طور مشترک با تعلق به دانشگاه و مشارکت چندفرهنگی مرتبط بودند، بدون شواهدی برای اثر تطابق منحصر به فرد. سنجه‌های مقطعی به طور مستقیم هم‌ساخت هویت را مشاهده نمی‌کنند، بنابراین این مطالعه یک گزارش کمی محدود از شرایط مرتبط با مشارکت و تعلق در بستر فرهنگی ارائه می‌دهد.

This paper examines the relationship between pupils’ peer relationships and subsequent school mobility. Using large-scale longitudinal data from The Engagement Platform (TEP), the study follows 48,146 pupils in Years 3 to 10 across 109 schools in England. We estimate logistic regression models with school fixed effects and rich controls for pupil demographics, attitudes to education, relationships with teachers, school climate and attendance. The results reveal a strong and robust association between poorer peer relationships and an increased likelihood of changing school. Pupils reporting poor peer relationships are around twice as likely to move school as those with very good peer relationships. This association is consistent across gender and across primary and secondary phases. The relationship appears broadly linear, although having exceptional rather than very good peer relationships offer little additional reduction in mobility risk. These findings are replicated using a smaller, independent sample from the United Arab Emirates. Overall, the study highlights peer relationships as a key predictor of school mobility, with important implications for early identification of peer difficulties, pastoral support and interventions aimed at improving peer dynamics.

این مقاله به بررسی رابطه بین روابط همسالان دانش‌آموزان و جابه‌جایی بعدی مدرسه می‌پردازد. با استفاده از داده‌های طولی در مقیاس وسیع از پلتفرم The Engagement Platform (TEP)، این مطالعه ۴۸٬۱۴۶ دانش‌آموز پایه‌های سوم تا دهم را در ۱۰۹ مدرسه در انگلستان دنبال می‌کند. ما مدل‌های رگرسیون لجستیک با اثرات ثابت مدرسه و کنترل‌های گسترده برای ویژگی‌های جمعیت‌شناختی دانش‌آموزان، نگرش به آموزش، روابط با معلمان، اقلیم مدرسه و حضور در مدرسه را برآورد می‌کنیم. نتایج نشان می‌دهد که بین روابط ضعیف‌تر همسالان و افزایش احتمال جابه‌جایی مدرسه، ارتباط قوی و پایداری وجود دارد. دانش‌آموزانی که روابط ضعیف با همسالان گزارش می‌کنند، تقریباً دو برابر بیشتر از کسانی که روابط بسیار خوبی دارند، احتمال جابه‌جایی مدرسه دارند. این ارتباط در میان جنسیت‌های مختلف و در مقاطع ابتدایی و متوسطه یکسان است. این رابطه عمدتاً خطی به نظر می‌رسد، اگرچه داشتن روابط استثنایی نسبت به روابط بسیار خوب، کاهش قابل توجهی در ریسک جابه‌جایی ایجاد نمی‌کند. این یافته‌ها با استفاده از نمونه‌ای کوچک‌تر و مستقل از امارات متحده عربی نیز تکرار شده‌اند. در مجموع، این مطالعه روابط همسالان را به عنوان یک پیش‌بینی‌کننده کلیدی جابه‌جایی مدرسه برجسته می‌کند و پیامدهای مهمی برای شناسایی زودهنگام مشکلات همسالان، حمایت‌های پرورشی و مداخلات با هدف بهبود پویایی همسالان دارد.