DUBAI// School principals have been urged to focus on educating children’s “hearts and brains” while pursuing high international standards.
More than 100 principals of private schools in Dubai on Tuesday gathered at the headquarters of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) to learn how fostering pupils’ happiness and well-being can improve their learning process.
The move was part of the education regulator’s efforts to help schools achieve the goals outlined in the UAE National Agenda Parameter.
“It is exciting to see so many principals come together with the purpose of collaborating and sharing knowledge,” said Abdulla Al Karam, the authority’s chairman and director general.
“Every school feels a sense of shared responsibility towards meeting the national agenda goals.”
Last year, the education regulator launched the Lighthouse initiative to encourage principals to research best practices abroad and see what could be applied at their own schools.
It was an opportunity for Dubai schools using different curricula to join hands to improve the quality of education that they offer.
For the authority’s next phase, schools will discover how 10 character traits – creativity, curiosity, courage, integrity, resilience, empathy, fairness cum tolerance, awe, gratitude and purpose – can help provide a positive education to children.
“Academic education has its place and is important, but by also working on these attributes we educate the heart and children leave school happier and better prepared for the world,” said Mr Al Karam.
School inspection reports from this year will include details on how schools are making progress in meeting the national targets.
“We have seen some good examples of schools who have used international assessment data by sharing it with students and parents, and this has helped in our journey towards achieving UAE National Agenda goals,” said Rabaa Al Sumaiti, KHDA’s director of international assessments.
All schools in Dubai must take part in international and external benchmarking annual assessments, as well the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa).
In 2014, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, launched the UAE National Agenda. It provides schools with targets to help measure their progress in achieving the aims of UAE Vision 2021.
The UAE aims to be among the top 15 countries for TIMSS and among the top 20 nations for Pisa by 2021.
The country is currently lagging behind the international average for both measures.
David Hicks, principal of Emirates International School Jumeirah, believes that it is crucial for schools to work together to achieve the targets.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to learn from one another and to see how things are done differently in other curriculum schools,” he said.
“But we should also look beyond these targets and aim to get children to have these kinds of attributes, as it will develop them as a whole.”
nhanif@thenational.ae
