UAE principals to discuss moral education at round-table
Local and visiting experts will take stock of nationwide programme this week
Abu Dhabi: The UAE Moral Education Programme will hold its ‘Principals’ Roundtable’ on January 15 in Dubai and January 16 in Abu Dhabi.
Moral Education is an initiative launched under the directive of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
The programme was launched to promote “universal values”, including the culture of UAE.
More than 200 leading educators from private and public schools across the UAE will attend the programme, during which they will take part in workshops and seminars, including addresses by world-renowned education experts.
Supported by the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court, the event is one of the Education Affairs Office’s initiatives to increase engagement with school principals. The events are aimed at actively engaging school leadership in discussions concerning the effective delivery of moral education. To that end, participants will identify opportunities and challenges and celebrate successes thus far. The gatherings are also intended to foster a strategic partnership between schools nationwide and the programme.
Held on two consecutive days, in Dubai and in Abu Dhabi, the agenda features presentations by senior representatives of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court, who developed the programme and oversaw its launch and continued implementation across the UAE, to present their observations, and report on the programme’s accomplishments and challenges in its first year.
Furthermore, guest speakers include two international experts in the fields of moral education and pedagogy. Dr Marvin W. Berkowitz, Professor of Character Education and Co-Director of the Centre for Character and Citizenship at the University of Missouri-St. Louis; and the New York-based educator Aretha R. Miller, Founder and CEO of The Venn Group, a leading educational consulting group in the US, will present keynotes.
Attending principals will take part in workshops, and exchange experiences and success stories, address the challenges they have faced rolling out the curriculum, and brainstorm opportunities to further improve the delivery of moral education in schools across the nation.
Ahead of the round-table, Mohammad Nuaimi, Director of the Office of Educational Affairs at the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court, said: “This gathering, the first in a series of events focused on engaging UAE school principals, is part of our ambition to gradually develop a national platform for the strategic collaboration between CPC and school leaders.” Moral education, which was first launched in 2016, aims to nurture young people with core moral values that are rooted in local culture yet acknowledge shared universal human values. Delivered as a holistic curriculum for all ages and nationalities, the programme was fully rolled out in all public and private schools across the UAE, covering Grades 1 to 9 in September 2017 and extended to Grades 10 to 12 in September 2018.