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The green shoots of a new term are apparent everywhere, from the endless holiday postmortems, to the wide-eyed freshers roaming the university’s corridors, everything speaks of autumn. This is a new academic year and for many students, Zayed University is new too. But the idea of academic institutions is centuries old, and this new term at Zayed University is simply a continuation of this venerable tradition.
The idea of “the university” came into being in the 9th century, when sisters Fatima and Miriam Al Fihri left Qayrawan in Tunisia to settle in the newly founded city of Fez in Morocco. Upon the death of their wealthy father, the daughters used their large inheritance to undertake major works of philanthropy. One of their projects, Al Qarawiyyin Mosque, ultimately led to the establishment of a university that is considered to have been in continuous operation for longer than any other academic institution in the world.
The construction of Al Qarawiyyin Mosque was just one of the sisters’ many philanthropic projects. Founded in 859AD, the mosque developed into a degree-granting university around 200 years earlier than the University of Bologna, Europe’s oldest existing university. Of course, much has changed since these early degree-awarding bodies emerged, but much has also remained the same.
One such educational legacy is the summer holiday. This practice has its roots in the pre-industrial era, when most people still had connections to the land. During this time it made sense to let young people have a summer break so they could help prepare for the harvest. However, the closest most of today’s young people will get to farmwork during the summer months is rummaging around in a box of wheat-based breakfast cereal to hunt for a promotional toy. We’ve moved on, yet still we cling to this excessive summer recess for no other reason than “this is what we’ve always done”.
As enjoyable and relaxing as it can be, there is no evidence that taking a break for six to eight weeks helps improve academic performance. On the contrary, there is actually a substantial body of evidence supporting the benefits of a shorter break.
For instance, those countries that ranked highest on comparison tests – mostly east Asian countries – also tend to have longer academic years (as measured by days at school). There are also certain institutions in the US that have greatly reduced the duration of the summer break, and those institutions tend to report substantial improvements in academic performance.
Furthermore, one study undertaken at the London School of Economics, found that a short-lived policy to reduce the academic year in Germany actually resulted in a 25 per cent increase in grade repetition (people failing, and needing to repeat a course). One interpretation of these findings is that less academically gifted students suffered from the increased pace (ie, the same content crammed into fewer weeks).
Beyond the duration, another important issue related to this educational legacy is its timing, especially in the Arabian Gulf region. Consider this: when do people most enjoy their free time? Answer: when the weather is good. The Australians have got it right. They have their summer holiday in December when their weather is optimum and they can combine Christmas, summer and New Year in one neat bundle. In the UAE it seems to me that we have it horribly wrong, breaking during the hottest and most unbearable months of the year, sometimes for as long as 10 weeks.
Shortening the summer holiday and moving it to December would greatly improve things. Alternatively, we could get back to the essential meaning of holiday (holy day), and synchronise the break with Ramadan.
A longer academic year would arguably improve the UAE’s educational standing, contributing to the development of a knowledge-based economy. It might also help close the gap between the strongest and poorest academic performers making pedagogy and classroom management far more effective.
For universities to thrive and survive for another 1,000 years, they must evolve and embrace their era. Introducing mobile learning devices and social media are all well and good, however, technology is not always the answer, and sometimes it’s about letting go of outdated traditions.
Justin Thomas is an associate professor of psychology at Zayed University and author of Psychological Well- Being in the Gulf States
On Twitter: @jaytee156
