Well-being census for Dubai schools gets underway

Dubai: Students and staff across Dubai’s private schools will take a closer look at their well-being as part of a census rolled out by Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) for the fourth consecutive year.

This year, around 100,000 students and 20,000 school staff are expected to take part in the Dubai Student Well-being Census and the Adults@School Wellbeing Survey – answering questions on topics related to their relationships at school and at home, their engagement with teaching and learning, and their feelings about the future. The census will also include new questions about COVID-19 and its impact on emotional and psychological well-being.

Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of KHDA, said, “We’ve always said that well-being-based education prepares students not for a life of tests, but for the tests of life. This year, life has thrown us one of the biggest tests we’ve ever faced. What has helped us to work through this test was not our academic performance, but our resilience, our optimism, and our relationships with others. Well-being has always been important, but in these past few months, we’ve realized just how important it really is.

“This year’s census and survey are especially important, because they’ll give students and school staff the time and space to think deeply about their own wellbeing, and they’ll provide every school with the data it needs to continue to improve the well-being of its community. We hope that schools will encourage their staff to take part in the survey, and that parents will encourage their children to talk about the Census and well-being in general.”

The Dubai Student Well-being Census is a five-year project conducted with the Department for Education in South Australia. The Adults@School Wellbeing Survey, held with the support of the Wellbeing Lab, helps school teachers and staff better understand and improve their own wellbeing. Each adult who completes the survey receives their own confidential in-depth report. The census and the survey are open to students and staff, including students studying through distance, blended and face-to-face learning.

This year’s census and survey will take place from November 1, 2020 to November 30, 2020.