Abu Dhabi: A total of 50 private schools in the emirate of Abu Dhabi will soon implement a programme that aims to promote national identity and respect for the UAE culture among Emiratis and expat students.
In a statement sent on Sunday, Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec), which regulates education in the emirate, said the Hawayeti programme will also be extended to all other private schools during the current 2016-2017 academic year.
In preparation for its implementation, Adec recently conducted a forum in the capital for educators.
Speaking at the workshop, Dr Mariam Al Ali, manager for school development at Adec, said Hawayeti provides a curriculum framework for schools so that they can develop national identity among students.
“It will address topics like Emirati values, culture, history, citizenship and belonging, and will also be flexible enough for the diverse educational systems offered by [the multitude of] private schools,” she added.
There are currently 186 private schools in Abu Dhabi, and they offer about 15 different curricula between them, including UAE Ministry of Education, American, British, Indian and International Baccalaureate. A number of these schools already have strategies to encourage national identity, but educators who attended the forum said that Hawayeti will structure the related activities better.
A study conducted by Adec in 2014 found that most schools felt “the need for a clear and authoritative model of what national identity, culture and citizenship mean for children, be they Emirati, expatriate or more transient international students”. In addition, more than 60 per cent of the 104 private schools that participated in the survey did not have an identified budget for national identity teaching and promotion.
The report also found that some subjects such as Arabic, Islamic Education, Social Studies and UAE Social Studies placed a stronger focus on national identity than subjects like maths, science and ICT (information and communications technology).
“This suggests that there is room to develop relevant national identity and culture content in this latter group of subjects (maths, science, ICT),” the report recommended.
The private schools that will pilot Hawayeti have been selected based on the percentage of Emiratis in their student populations, as well as the curricula they offer and their most recent inspection rankings. The components of the programme will be integrated into each private school’s curricula and activities rather than forming a separate subject of their own, Adec clarified.
