A Study of Success and Failure Patterns in - Sharjah Women's ...

S U M M A R Y R E P O R T
A Study of Success and Failure Patterns in the
Public High Schools of the Emirate of Sharjah
in the United Arab Emirates
Report prepared under the auspices of the UNESCO Chair Program in the Center
of Applied Studies in Education (CASE) at
Sharjah Women’s Higher College of Technology
December, 2005.

A Study of Success and Failure Patterns in the
Public High Schools of the Emirate of Sharjah
in the United Arab Emirates
Report prepared under the auspices of the UNESCO Chair Program in the
Center of Applied Studies in Education (CASE) at
Sharjah Women’s Higher College of Technology,
December 2005.

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S UMMARY R EPORT
A Study of Success and Failure Patterns in the Public High
Schools of the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates
TERMS OF REFERENCE, METHODOLOGY,
AND SAMPLE DESCRIPTION
This research project was undertaken under the UNESCO Chair Program of the Center for
Applied Studies in Education (CASE) at Sharjah Women’s Higher College of Technology
during the period January to July, 2005. It was conducted by Prof. Elia Zureik1 , the first
holder of the UNESCO Chair.
The initial purpose of the research was to study patterns of student attrition (absenteeism,
drop-out, and failure) in selected schools of the Emirate of Sharjah during the high-school
cycle by exploring the attitudes of students, teachers and other school officials about
school, teaching methods, role of counsellors, and the impact of — home, school and
peer-groups — on students’ career choices, and academic motivation. Their views were
solicited through focus group interviews and written questionnaires. Additional information
was obtained from relevant government and private source statistics.
It quickly became evident, however, that the study of attrition is but one manifestation of
the study of patterns of student success and failure in the school. The primary focus of the
study, therefore, became patterns of student success and failure as largely, but not
exclusively, expressed in student attrition.
A total of 416 students from seven boys’ and seven girls’ Sharjah schools were interviewed.
The students were split randomly into two groups of 212 and 214 students. This report
analyzes the data collected from the former group. The latter group of 214 students was
surveyed about their attitudes towards computers and the internet; the results will be
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presented in a separate report. In addition to the high-school students, 80 students were
interviewed in six focus groups from the Men’s and Women’s Higher Colleges of
Technology in Sharjah.
In addition, 120 teachers were interviewed, and 14 principals and 20 school counsellors
completed questionnaires designed specifically to solicit their views on student success
and failure. Interviews with the teachers solicited their views on classroom experiences
with students, their perceptions of the educational process, and their interaction with
school officials and parents.
The principals’ questionnaire sought information about student enrolment, the students’
age distribution, flow of students from grade 10 to grade 12, size of the teaching staff, their
nationality and qualifications, assessment of the socio-economic background of the dropout
students, methods that the school followed in coping with school drop-out and student
failure, involvement of parents in the academic affairs of their children, teaching methods,
and the main problems that troubled students.
Finally, a short questionnaire was administered to counsellors in the 14 schools. The
questions dealt with the qualifications and specialization of the counsellors; their attitude
towards the Ministry of Education; perception of counsellors by various stakeholders,
including students; assessment of behavioural and other problem areas in the school;
frequency in detecting and responding to personal problems among students and the
degree to which this may be a predictor of student failure; and, finally, environmental
factors that may affect student failure, including the home.
* * *
A Study of Success and Failure Patterns in the Public High
Schools of the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates
RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
School success and failure are multi-dimensional phenomena that involve a number of
factors including family; individual and societal goals and committments; the attributes,
goals, and commitment of teachers and administrators; the physical environment of the
schools; and, the individual social and academic characteristics of the learner. In his
seminal research on attrition in tertiary institutions, Tinto2 argued that all these factors
contribute to the social and academic integration of the student. The student who is more
likely to succeed or persist is one who is well integrated into the school’s social and
academic systems, one who ‘feels more at home’ in the school. Below is a table that
incorporates features of the Tinto model adapted to reflect the context and approach taken
in the study. Refer to the chart on the next page
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A Study of Success and Failure Patterns in the Public High
Schools of the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates
Although there is no general agreement on what factors are most important in determining
why attrition occurs in schools and the best way to reduce it, there is a growing consensus
among researchers that the degree to which a student is socially and academically
‘connected’ and ‘engaged’ in the school – endogenic factors - does have a great bearing
on the student’s persistence and academic success. The social dimension is determined by
factors such as type and frequency of individual contact with teachers; relationship with
peer group; goals and commitment of the school’s staff; participation in extra-curricular
activities; involvement of the family; societal values and commitments; and, the physical
environment of the school. The academic dimension is determined by such factors as
student-teacher relationship; teacher attitudes, goals and commitment; style of
teaching/learning; nature of the curriculum; academic support systems, and academic
success. And whereas it is generally recognized that exogenic factors such as family, social
values, social and economic status, structure of the economy, rate of change, and the
history of the community/country also have an impact on what occurs within the school.
This is especially pronounced in the case of the UAE, where a young country formed no
more than 35 years ago, has moved from a very traditional, conservative and impoverished
tribal society into one, that because of its oil revenue, is able to afford all the amenities and
physical infrastructure of a modern society. In the process, the phenomenal rate of change
has left many in a state of ‘culture shock’. Traditional values, family structure, identity and
personality formation, social role and status, and religion have all been subjected to the
forces of change, leaving them in a state of confusion, ambiguity, and even
dysfunctionality.
For these reasons, exogenic factors turn out to be far more important in this study than they
might be for other countries. Unless they are taken into account, reform measures that
focus only on issues of pedagogy, teacher-training, and physical environment, will be
undermined.
* * *
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EDUCATIONAL MODELS
A school’s culture and climate are determined, in part, by the educational model that
governs its goals, processes, expectations, achieved outcomes, and the mind-set of the key
stakeholders (teachers, school officials, parents, etc.). Vibert and Shields3, using models
that have been developed for understanding business organizations, distinguish three
approaches to school culture and climate.
The first is the rational-technical model, which corresponds to the
mechanistic/bureaucratic organizational model found in some business organizations. The
school is seen to be essentially an agent of the ‘conservative’ elements in society, with the
responsibility of producing students who accept the dominant values of that society. Its
primary responsibility is to produce graduates who can thrive in the world of business and
successfully compete in the labour market. Curriculum is prescribed and fixed, with
teachers and students expected to cover it in a pre-determined amount of time. The
teacher is seen as ‘the sage on the stage’ who imparts the curriculum in a manner that
leaves the student as a passive learner. Student learning is measured by scores on
standardized tests. This model is described by the authors as follows:
By a “rational/technical” lens on education we are referring to that set of
beliefs and practices that approaches education as a largely technical
problem of most effectively transmitting a given, fixed, and taken-forgranted
curriculum most efficiently to the greatest number of students.
Through this lens, the primary purposes of education are preparation for
participation in the world, also a given, and successful competition in the
labour market (p. 226).
The second is the student-centered approach, where the development of the student is
given precedence above all else. The school, still an agent of society, is nevertheless
structured in a manner that allows students to grow and develop in accordance with their
own needs, interests and priorities. In this model, society’s interests are seen to be best
served by graduates who can think for themselves, learn independently, and use their
critical thinking to arrive at creative and innovative solutions. The teacher is ‘a guide on the
side’ who involves the student in the design of the curriculum and the form of assessments
that are to be used. Emphasis is placed on such learning
methodologies and assessment strategies as collaborative,
project-based, and integrated learning. The authors describe
this model as follows:
S U M M A R Y R E P O R T
An “interpretive/student-centred” lens encompasses those
sets of beliefs and practices that centre the student as an
individual. Through this lens, the purpose of education
becomes self-discovery and individual fulfilment, so that
students come to know their own strengths and build upon
them, recognize their own weaknesses and develop
strategies for accounting for them… From an interpretive,
student-centred perspective, engagement involves productive
students working autonomously and effectively on projects of
some particular interest to them and over which they have
some control (p. 226).
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The third approach is referred to as the critical/transformative model. While very similar to
the fundamental principles of the student-centered model, it is more radical in its aims.
Education, its promoters believe, must enable students not to just critically understand
society, but also to want to transform it so that social institutions and practices become
more just and democratic. In this perspective, understanding is not limited to just
questioning ‘safe zone’ issues – protection of the environment, for example - , but also
extends to more controversial ones – e.g. gender equality.
[a] “critical/transformative” lens encompasses those sets of beliefs
and practices through which education is imagined as a potentially
transformative process in the lives of individuals and communities…
Characteristic of a critical pedagogy is an explicit taking up of questions
and issues often deemed sensitive or controversial within schools, and a
view of curriculum as grounded in the lives and experiences of students
(p. 226).
No school or educational system is driven by only one of these perspectives. In all
likelihood, all three are used, but it is the nature of the mixture that defines the type of
educational practice that becomes prevalent in a given society.
The schools covered by this study follow the rational/technical perspective for the most
part, while paying lip service to the student-centered model. Some principals and teachers
did show a genuine interest in transforming their school in the direction of studentcentered
learning but gave all kinds of reasons why their attempts have not been
successful.
* * *
FINDINGS OF THE STUDY
The findings of this study confirm the salient view that the reform of the school system in
the UAE, already underway, is a major challenge and ought to be accelerated at all levels.
Too many students are failing, dropping out of school, or are poorly prepared at the point
of graduation. Young people are supposed to acquire in school academic competencies
that prepare them for college and university studies, skills and habits that allow them to
live well, and the values and attitudes that enable them to compete in the labour market.
This is simply not happening. Nothing short of immediate and comprehensive reform will
do the job.
New teachers entering the system need to be better trained and practicing ones need to
receive retraining and upgrading. The low morale and motivation of teachers and other
school officials is a serious issue that warrants immediate redress through such measures as
improvement in the compensation package, workload, school environment, and improved
measures for maintaining student discipline. Teachers must be given the leadership and
support needed to shift to a student-centered approach that focuses on independentlearning,
critical and creative thinking, and moral development. A robust and creative
curricula reinforcing student-centeredness and utilizing the new educational technologies
must replace outdated and poorly-designed curricula and learning materials. Schools
should be better equipped (laboratories, computers, gyms, cafeteria), and better staffed
with school para-professionals (personal counsellors, career counsellors, librarians, and
information technology specialists). A much greater effort must be exerted in involving the
family and other community agencies in the life of the school. Most importantly, the
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school, family, and other community groups must consistently reinforce values that assist
students in appreciating the intrinsic value of education and resisting the temptations of
a consumerist and materialistic society. Students must be disabused of the harmful
attitude of entitlement and be encouraged to acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes
that allow them to thrive in the school and the labour market.
Finally, it must be recognized that the solution(s) to many of these challenges does not
simply lie in spending more on education, necessary as this may be. Better schools,
more trained teachers, and modern methods of teaching cannot alone undo the damage
that is caused by family breakdown (divorce, conflict, violence), nor can these compete
with counterproductive values that emerge in a society that has become affluent and
globalized so rapidly. Globalization, technology, and privatization are double-edged
swords that can either work for the betterment of society when operated under enabling
conditions, or become a threat to the very fabric of society when the requisite social and
value infrastructure is absent. Particular attention must, therefore, be paid to providing
social, legal, and psychological support and services to students and their families in the
schools and the community at large. At the public policy level, social, legal, and
economic arrangements should be introduced to strengthen the family, protect the rights
of children, and serve as an antidote to materialistic and individualistic values that
detract from a healthy appreciation of education.
SPECIFIC FINDINGS
The specific findings of this study are summarized below under the following headings:
Attrition
Attrition
Teachers and School Officials
The School
The Home
The World of Work
The Society
1. Close to 35% of males drop out between grades 10 and 12, compared to 25% for
females. This is a substantial rate of attrition if drop-outs in previous years of
schooling are included.
2. Causes of school drop-out include pull and push factors, and their modality differs
slightly between boys and girls. For boys, dropping out of high-school is motivated
by pull factors that are related to enticement of the labour market, the economic
need to support the family, parents’ wishes, and the influence of their peer group.
Sometimes, boys drop out of school due to family circumstances – say, absence or
illness of the father – that force them to become providers for the family at too early
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an age. For girls, who have lower rates of drop-out than males, the causes of
dropping out of school center mainly around marriage or the wishes of their
guardians. The factors that push students of both sexes away from the school are
many. They include boring experiences in the school, poorly designed curriculum,
obsolete teaching methods, inadequately equipped facilities, and an insufficient
appreciation of the value of education.
3. National students in the sample labour under alienating circumstances that draw
their origins from the home and a consumerist society at large, both of which seem
to be reinforced by negative experiences in the school. The traditional family
structure has become strained by the demands of a drastically transformed society
leading to family breakdown, a preoccupation with the accumulation of wealth,
insufficient attention paid by parents to children, and a ‘generation gap’ that, in
many cases, is too wide to bridge without professional intervention. When coupled
with a school environment that does little to make up for these deficiencies, the two
basic ingredients of emotional growth – family and school – instead of nurturing
emotional health become its enemy.
4. Teachers seem to be well-aware of the reasons for student attrition and failure but
are unable to do much about them. In addition to economic hardship, teachers
grouped the causes of drop-out under lack of monitoring by parents, lack of interest
by the student, family break-up, cramming of seven periods per day, uncomfortable
classroom environment, and the fact that the school is not an inviting place. They
believed that the most apparent sign of school drop-out was absenteeism, followed
by academic failure, home life, and the non-caring attitudes of the students
themselves.
Teachers and School Officials
1. Of the 608 teachers in the studied schools, 71% are holders of bachelor’s degree in
education, 4% are holders of diplomas in education, and the remaining 22% are
holders of general degrees in arts and science. Five teachers of the latter are holders
of postgraduate degrees.
2. Of the 18 counsellors, less than half have specialization in social work. Three
counsellors have training in educational psychology, and the rest have general arts
degrees - mainly in sociology.
3. Overall, the teachers tended to blame the home and the student for failing or
dropping out of school. There was little acknowledgement that perhaps teaching and
educational policies have something to do with the problems faced by students.
4. Whether male or female, the teachers complained that they were overworked and
underpaid. The morale of the teachers, especially male teachers, was low.
5. The teachers are hard working and well-meaning, but they are locked into the old
authoritarian system of teaching which relies on disciplining and rote learning.
6. The teachers claimed that ‘spoon-feeding’ is used as a teaching method because of
the shortage of time and the need to cover a specified amount of material.
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A Study of Success and Failure Patterns in the Public High
Schools of the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates
7. Many expatriate teachers felt vulnerable and insecure in their jobs, leading them to
have low morale and be somewhat resentful of their students whom they
characterized as being affluent but lazy.
8. Some teachers indicated that there were implicit threats to having a high failure rate.
They indicated that where the failure rate exceeds a certain percentage, the teacher
has to give an explanation before the school principal.
9. Some of the male teachers viewed women pursuing education beyond high-school
level as problematic. With the gap widening between men’s and women’s
education, they pointed out that women will be less inclined to marry national men
whose educational level is lower than their own.
10. Both teachers and students complained about the limited opportunities for creativity
and innovation, blaming this on social values that reinforce materialism, conformity,
and a short-sighted view of learning.
11. Many principals made the claim that the Ministry of Education does not train
teachers properly, and where training does take place, it is superficial and depends
on the individual efforts of the teacher or the school.
12. In several cases teachers complained that the Ministry’s directive regarding student
discipline is hardly followed in schools, which, in their view, encourages
behavioural problems.
13. In a few cases teachers used action research to solve problems faced in the
classroom, but there was no enthusiasm for practicing action research. It was viewed
as an unnecessary, time-consuming activity. Their belief was that action research is
more relevant to lower grades than it is to the secondary phase.
The School
1. Although there is a wide margin of variability in teaching methods among the
various schools in the sample, when asked to identify the most frequent method of
teaching - memorization, student-teacher interaction, or group collaboration -,
students cite memorization most often, while teachers and principals cite a
combination of the other two methods. Students and teachers appear to be on two
different wave lengths when assessing the teaching methods. The reality lies more on
the side of the students, as verified through interviews with both teachers and
students. Although memorization is practiced in most of the schools, and is
sanctioned by teachers and school officials, it is more widespread in the arts stream
than the science stream in high-schools.
2. The curriculum emerged as a major culprit in the list of complaints voiced by
students and teachers. The textbooks are dense in volume, repetitive, outdated, and
do not encourage students to explore new topics. Criticism was made of relying on
translated text books from other countries for use in UAE schools, without paying
sufficient attention to local conditions. A test-driven curriculum was perceived to
take away from independent learning, and to reduce opportunities for creativity and
problem-solving.
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A Study of Success and Failure Patterns in the Public High
Schools of the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates
3. A battery of questions on school motivation administered to the sample showed that
female students scored higher on the motivation scale.
4. Male students, and to a lesser extent female students, view the educational system
in an instrumental fashion; that is, as a means to earn a certificate and secure a
better paying job upon entry into the labour force.
5. There is little enthusiasm for seeking knowledge for the sake of knowledge. For this
reason, it is pointed out by school officials and teachers, creativity is in short supply.
The students themselves concur and point out that creativity and innovation do not
exist in Arab societies in general, and the UAE is no exception.
6. Students were queried on their reading habits outside of their school work. Both
males and females tended not to read as an extra-curricular activity; and if they did,
such as among females, the tendency was to read popular romance novels.
7. Prolonged school absenteeism was not a major problem that affected many
students, but when it did happen, it signalled a likely student drop-out. When asked
to name the class that they missed most, English headed the list, followed by
Physics, Arabic, and Physical Education. Overall, boys tended to miss classes more
frequently than girls.
8. In the absence of vocational counsellors in schools, some schools indicated that
they organize workshops for their students and arrange for them to visit
neighbouring colleges and universities to acquaint them with the offerings of postsecondary
education and the labour market.
9. While it was not common, at times national students act confrontationally when
interacting with their expatriate teachers. Lack of empathy towards expatriates spilled
over into the relationship between expatriate and national students. However, some
national students admitted that separating expatriate students has lowered the level
of class competition and removed an element of healthy diversity in the school.
10. The student-teacher ratio in the sampled schools did not appear to be above normal.
On the contrary, compared to other countries, the ratio is fairly low.
The Home
1. Family structure and traditional values have, and will continue, to experience the
‘onslaught’ of the social consequences of affluence, globalization, and
modernization. The ‘generation gap’ that exists in most societies is further aggravated
in the UAE by the rapidity with which social transformation is occurring, coupled
with the prevalence of dysfunctional traditional family values and practices. In a
society that has become more open with increased exposure to ideas and access to
information, the ill-effects of family breakdown - high rate of divorce, multiple
wives, role and identity ambiguity, the absent father - become far more pronounced.
Additionally, role reversal, where the more ‘modernized’ son or daughter have to
assume the responsibility of attending to the needs of their ‘uneducated’ parents,
places a heavy burden on children who may have to abandon their educational
aspirations to attend to the needs of their parents.
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2. Except for a few, parents do not seem to pay regular attention to the progress of
their children in school.
3. With almost half of the parents being either illiterate or at most having primary
school education, many lack the skills and awareness with which to monitor in a
regular fashion the education of their children.
4. The home environment is supportive of the students in a general way but lacks
specific strategies with which to enhance student performance, or identify signs of
impending school drop-out so as to offer or seek early remedies.
5. Boys in particular have a license to absent themselves from home after school
hours. Up to four hours an evening are spent visiting friends and in coffee houses.
The World of Work
A Study of Success and Failure Patterns in the Public High
Schools of the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates
1. There is a serious disconnect in the minds of male national students between merit
and the requirements of entry into the labour force. Work is viewed as an
entitlement, almost to the disregard of standards of performance and the business
norms of the workplace.
2. When asked to name jobs they wished to do in the future, very few chose teaching,
but a sizeable number chose the police and the army. One-quarter of the male
students wanted to be policemen and soldiers. Close to 30% named engineering
and medicine as possible future occupational choices. Among the female students,
45% chose medicine and engineering. None of the boys chose to be an Imam. This
is in spite of the fact that 90% of males and females ranked the role of Imam as very
important/important to society.
3. Students were asked to choose one of three alternatives after graduation from highschool:
work, marriage, or further education. Invariably, female students chose
furthering their education first, followed by work and then marriage. While boys
arranged their choices in a similar fashion, work had a stronger pull on their
rankings.
4. While national students realized that heavy dependence on outsiders to fill essential
jobs was not a healthy thing, and that they should gradually take the place of
expatriates in the labour force, very few were willing to replace foreign manual
workers, especially physically demanding jobs or domestic work. The antipathy
towards skilled manual work was almost universal among respondents.
The Society
1. Views on education, its purpose and benefits are largely shaped by the social and
economic values of society at large. The UAE is said to have a ‘rentier economy’;
i.e., an economy where government revenue is generated primarily through the
sale/rent of a natural commodity such as oil, and where citizens, instead of being
tax-payers, are recipients of privileges granted by the government. Thus education in
the UAE is offered free of charge to all nationals at all levels of education. While this
is good in many respects, there is a risk, however, that (a) the value of education
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may not be appreciated as it should be and (b), that the demand for quality may not
be as vociferous as it should be. This may explain the sense of complacency and
disempowerment that some students and school officials expressed in individual
interviews and focus group discussions.
2. Both male and female students acknowledged that consumerism and materialism
have become main features of UAE society. Preoccupation with fancy homes,
gadgets and expensive cars was highlighted. If this was not defined as a negative
value, it was nevertheless singled out as draining personal incomes. Several male
students from the Men’s Higher College of Technology in Sharjah gave examples of
how their brothers and friends go into perpetual debt in order to buy the latest
expensive car or a bigger home.
3. When exploring societal issues such as the role of women in society, female
students appeared to be more aware of the need to study and work hard to become
productive members of society. Male students took their dominant position in
society for granted.
4. Male students were willing to concede limited rights to women. They support fully
women’s social rights - the right to work, to head a company, to enjoy inheritance -
but not so when it comes to politics and to issues of national importance. On more
than one occasion, students expressed the view that UAE men are opposed to
having women in political leadership positions.
* * *
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. While it is true that reforming the school system requires additional financial
resources to ‘rehabilitate’ buildings, curriculum, resources, and teacher training, it is
also true that sufficient attention must be paid to the values and motivation of
students that are shaped by the family and society at large. Unless students come to
see the value of education to them as individuals and as members of society, all the
money in the world will not buy them academic and personal success.
It is recommended that all those involved in the schooling process be
involved in creating opportunities and programs that reinforce the
value of learning as a means for personal - not just career- success, the
adoption of non-materialistic values and behaviours that promote
fulfillment through personal growth and service to others, a life-long
interest in learning, and a positive attitude towards life.
2. Three major factors account for the drop-out rates in the schools system. These are:
home and community, the school environment, and student perceptions of their
post-graduation prospects.
It is recommended, that school reform include strategies for
addressing all three areas so that more and more students come to
appreciate the value of schooling. It is further recommended that a
comprehensive career guidance and personal counselling program,
staffed by qualified professionals, be instituted at all levels of the
schooling process.
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3. Given the socio-economic poverty of its past prior to its formation as a country
coupled with phenomenal social and economic changes, the UAE suffers from a
‘generational deficit’ that results in many parents being unable to provide conditions
within the home that are conducive to healthy emotional and intellectual
development. This is caused by lack of education on the part of the parents, a high
rate of divorce, multiple wives, mixed marriages, and the ‘absent father’.
It is, therefore, recommended that society counters these negative
effects of early childhood by instituting and financing community
early childhood centers, properly equipped and staffed, and
introducing pre-kindergarten classes in the schools .
A Study of Success and Failure Patterns in the Public High
Schools of the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates
4. While there seems to be a general awareness of the relationship between the home
and the school, there is also the perception that such a relationship is not working
in assisting either the student or the teacher succeed.
It is recommended that processes and programs be instituted and
monitored by qualified staff that focus on ‘educating’ the family
about its role in the academic success of its children, establishing
more individualized connections with ‘high-risk’ families with
children ‘at risk’, and getting other social and community agencies
involved in the ‘corrective’ process.
5. The school’s ‘hardware’ and ‘software’ are important determinants of academic and
personal success for both student and teacher. Hardware includes the physical
environment of the school, availability of laboratories and equipment, curriculum
resources, furniture, landscaping, etc.
It is recommended that the MoE establish guidelines for school
‘hardware’ that ensure that (1) the school provides a welcoming,
clean, and aesthetically attractive environment; (2) the school has the
needed laboratories, a well-equipped library, and recreational
facilities.
6. School ‘software’ refers to such things as teacher qualifications, values and attitudes,
and motivation; curriculum content and design; teaching methodologies; and
personal interactions. While there is a growing awareness of the challenges that
beset the school system and perhaps even the measures that need to be taken for
improving the climate of fear, uncertainty, and ambiguity that currently exists among
teachers and school officials mitigates against creating a healthy environment for
students to succeed.
It is recommended that a clearer vision and a plan of action need to
be articulated so that there is a smoother transition to the desired
state of affairs.
7. There is a dire need to empower and engage both the student and the teacher.
Passive learning leads to boredom, and boredom can lead to academic and personal
failure. The student’s analytic, problem-solving and creative faculties should be better
engaged through an emphasis on learning rather than teaching, a well-developed
and integrated curriculum that is supported by scientifically and creatively written
learning resources, an intelligent use of educational technology, and the use of
modern methodologies of teaching.
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A Study of Success and Failure Patterns in the Public High
Schools of the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates
It is recommended that (a) a coordinated and long-term professional
development program for practicing teachers be developed to ensure
exposure to the latest soft and hard educational technologies; (b) that
curriculum materials be thoroughly revised to emphasize such desired
outcomes as: scientific thinking, creativity, tolerance for diversity,
coping with change, and leadership; and (c), raising the image of the
teacher in the eyes of students and society by, among other things,
better compensation, improved work conditions, and increased job
security.
8. Students will come to appreciate the value of education much more if entry into the
labour force and promotion are made contingent on merit and qualifications and
not on entitlement. It is understandable that a country, whose native population is a
minority, should want to maintain control of its destiny and secure peace and
tranquility for itself, but this should not be accomplished at the expense of
equipping its youth with skills, competence, and appreciation of the work ethic.
It is recommended that students, from their early years in school,
should be initiated into a culture where rewards are based on merit
and achievement. Teachers and school officials must also be supported
in treating all students alike regardless of their socio-economic
background. The concept of ‘wasta’ - social influence and powershould
give way to clearly articulated rules about academic
progression and accepted behaviour at school.
9. There does not seem to be congruence between the ‘products’ of the educational
system and the manpower needs of the country. As a result, students are not
receiving the guidance needed to assist them in making good choices and decisions.
This is exacerbated by (a) the fact that many schools do not have a sufficient number
of qualified career guidance professionals; (b) students are not receiving any input
about careers at home; and (c) students see brothers and sisters who have graduated
from school or post-secondary education institutions but cannot find jobs. This leads
many of them - more males than females – to give up and abandon their education.
It is recommended (i) that relevant government agencies carry out a
quantitative study to assess the country’s manpower needs and relate
those to the type of education and skills required to meet the demands
of the labour market, for schools to share such information with
students and their families; (ii) that more qualified professionals in
career guidance be trained and employed by schools, coupled with the
preparation of suitable career guidance materials produced
professionally in a creative manner that catches the attention of young
people; (iii) that all teachers, as part of their training and/or
professional development be exposed to issues in career guidance so
that career education may permeate, and be reinforced throughout,
the curriculum. Finally, (iv) the government should implement
whatever measures are needed to ensure that national graduates can
be employed upon graduation.
10. The gender gap in educational attainment does not bode well for any society, but
particularly for a modernizing society such as the UAE. Should the current situation
continue, in less than a decade we will find a society with two streams: an educated
segment comprised mainly of women, and a lesser educated population comprised
mainly of men. The gender gap may be explained by the fact that female students
are more motivated due to socio-psychological factors such as the need to prove
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themselves, a more compliant upbringing, a greater appreciation of education as a
‘liberating’ experience, and a positive response to the country’s enlightened policies of
encouraging women to seek education. Male students, on the other hand, seem to have
developed a ‘culture of entitlement’, an underestimation of the value of education both in
their personal and professional development, and the ‘freedom’ that males, more so than
females, experience in a more materialistic and affluent society. Many seem to believe that
there are short-cuts to success.
It is recommended that schools become more involved in the ‘character
education’ of students inculcating in them good work habits and attitudes,
and assisting them in recognizing the value of education. This should be
reinforced in the curriculum and extra-curricular activities at all levels of
education.
11. Unless the problems faced by the educational system are addressed at their various levels,
public education will continue to suffer and migration of students to the private
educational sector, which is in evidence now, will accelerate in the future thus weakening
the public education sector.
It is recommended that public schools should be benchmarked against the
best schools – private or public - in the country and offer quality programs
and services that equal or exceed ones found in these schools.
NOTES
1 Prof. Elia Zureik is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Queen’s University, one of
Canada’s most prestigious universities. He is an internationally recognized authority in
social science research, with considerable knowledge of a variety of social, cultural and
educational issues in the Arab countries. He has undertaken major research projects for the
Canadian government and UNESCO in a number of areas. He has published widely on
various topics in the sociology of the Arab world.
2 Tinto, V. (1975). Dropouts from Higher Education: A Theoretical Synthesis of the Recent
Literature. Review of Educational Research, 45, 89-125.
3 Vibert, A. and Shields, C.M. Approaches to Student Engagement: Does Ideology Matter?
McGill Journal of Education; Spring 2003. 38(2), 221-240.
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Report prepared under the auspices of the UNESCO Chair
Program in the Center of Applied Studies in Education (CASE) at
Sharjah Women’s Higher College of Technology,
December 2005.