Abu Dhabi: About 29,000 public school pupils in the emirate of Abu Dhabi will now receive an hour of career counselling every week, education officials announced in the capital today (August 29).
The aim is to have children in Grades 10 to 12 take responsibility for making the right career choices, said Dr Karima Al Mazroui, acting P-12 executive director at the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec).
“The goal is to familiarise pupils with the needs of the workforce, and ensure that they have the personal traits required to succeed. Psychology teachers have received special training on career guidance and its related textbooks. We hope to change the culture across schools, where pupils are given the responsibility alongside counsellors,” Dr Al Mazroui said.
She was speaking at a press conference in the capital held to announce curriculum changes for 2016-2017. The academic year began on Sunday.
In addition to career counselling, pupils in Grade 10 who have achieved high scores in maths and physics will now have a chance to study the two subjects at an advanced level.
There were also major changes for about 10,000 Grade 9 pupils, who will now learn maths and science in the English language. They join other public school pupils from kindergarten to Grade 8, who have been taught the core subjects in English after their grades began following the Abu Dhabi School Model.
The Model, which was introduced by the Adec in 2011, prioritises critical thinking and creativity, and it is now followed for all Cycle 1 (Grades 1 to 5) and Cycle 2 (Grades 6 to 9) public schools.
“Since its initiation, the model has provided hands-on learning to enable children to excel in higher education and also to prepare them for successful careers,” Dr Al Mazroui said.
A new subject that focuses on coding and computer skills, Digital Technology and Innovation, has also been added for Grade 9.
