"It's useless, they're Emirati."
Moneer Moukaddem has heard this belief expressed far too often from private school teachers when discussing Emirati students' lack of academic attainment. While it's true that Emirati students in private school attain less than their expatriate schoolmates, the reasons particular to this context are multifaceted and complex.
"It's useless, they're Emirati." examines why such students have low academic attainment in their own country and presents a Cultural Competency Framework as a tool for teachers, school leaders, and government bodies to understand and reverse this trend.
Beginning with a brief history of UAE education, Moukaddem explores current attitudes among teachers towards Emirati students, outlines his mixed-method research strategies, interprets data gathered from focus groups and questionnaires, and applies that data to cultural competencies. His research seeks to answer three questions:
- Are Emirati students somehow predisposed to underachievement?
- What role do teachers play in Emirati student achievement?
- What, if any, is the influence of parents, school leadership, and government bodies?
Moukaddem's conclusions reveal the need for change among all educational actors involved in UAE private schools if Emirati students are to return to their proper place at the center of educational policies and practices.
About the Author: Moneer Moukaddem holds a senior leadership position at a private Abu Dhabi school. A member of the National Advisory Council for the College of Education at Zayed University, he has experience in both academic research and education across the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and Jordon.
Moukaddem's academic qualifications include a master's degree in educational leadership and management from the University of Nottingham. He also holds a project management professional certification from the Project Management Institute.
Moukaddem specializes in project-based change management and advocates for action research and critical leadership. He is especially invested in research concerning cultural competency, school leadership, gamification, and nonviolent communication in school settings.
