Dubai: Private Schools in Dubai are not doing enough to guide students to right career paths, according to a recent study.
The study jointly conducted under the aegis of Dubai School of Government by Hanan Al Fardan, a masters in education student at British University in Dubai (BUiD), and Fatma Belrehif, Chief of Dubai School Inspection Bureau.
Titled ‘Making Higher Education Choices in Dubai,’ the study highlights key factors that influence the choice of students, and the role of counselling in school.
“Role of counsellors in schools is key. It was found that the students aren’t provided with as much information about the options available as they would like. It is specially important for counsellors to make students aware that all the academic choices are not linked to career choices because the job markets keep changing,” said Hanan Al Fardan, who presented the study recently at a forum in BUiD.
Interestingly, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has recognised counselling as an important feature of a school.
KHDA’s latest school inspection results show thatthe level of career guidance is closely related to the rating of the school. Where school is rated outstanding, parents and students agree that the career counseling is also at an outstanding level.
This seems to be the case throughout the different rating levels: the better the DSIB rating, the higher the level of counselling.
“Only some private schools in Dubai have full-time counsellors who are able to guide students to make right career choices, while in majority of schools teachers or some staff members double as counsellors,” added Al Fardan.
Rema Menon, a consultant counsellor who has been working with several schools over the last two decades, agrees that there is lack of quality counselling in schools, but insists the trend is changing.
“Schools are slowly realising the importance of proper counselling for students making career choice, but there is hardly a conscious effort by schools to guide students through their high school years. Counselling is not something which could be done in a few sessions, it is a journey rather than a destination. It should be part and parcel of school life,” says Menon.
Agreeing with the findings of the study she adds that students are either influenced by market demand, latest trends, parental pressure, peers etc.
“In a few cases teachers in schools play a role but mostly parents influence students in taking careers which are considered lucrative, as a result, students make wrong choices, which lead to increasing rate of drop-outs.” opined Menon.
The forum discussed various influences that push students to opt only a few subjects and also highlighted a vast number of other opportunities available.
“Basically we are tyring to examine different factors that are influencing career choices. Students need to be made aware of various options available, nobody should try to influence their decisions but rather they should be allowed to make their own reasonable and practical choice,” said Dr. Clifton Chadwick, Senior Lecturer in International Education Management and Policy Development, who was also part of the forum.
The forum agreed that one of the reason for lack of counselling in schools is the unavailability of many professional counsellors in the market, neither there are programmes in UAE universities for students to take up counselling as a career.
Even worse, not much is being done either to train or encourage individuals to take up careers as counsellors.
