ABU DHABI // Public school principals and teachers have welcomed changes to the secondary school curriculum that puts more emphasis on science subjects.
However, they are concerned that schools will not have enough time to prepare for the reforms – due to be implemented in the next academic year.
The Abu Dhabi Education Council recently announced that pupils entering Grade 11 in August will no longer be given the option of choosing between a science or humanities stream. Instead, they will study the same unified curriculum.
This new model ensures that each pupil will spend 21 out of 45 periods a week studying science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) subjects. These subjects will make up 55 per cent of their final grade, giving more weight to Stem classes.
The reform aims to equip youngsters with the skills and knowledge needed to enter federal universities, without having to go through a foundation year. It also focuses on preparing them for the job market.
“The plan is to really do something on the ground to help those students before they graduate and join universities,” said Dr Alaaeldin Aly, Adec’s knowledge management division manager.
He said: “The whole world lacks Stem (graduates), not just us. So the gap is huge.”
Hassan Youssef, principal of Hamdan bin Mohammed Secondary School in Abu Dhabi, said the revised curriculum would offer pupils a choice of elective subjects – something they have not previously been able to do with their preset schedules of 11 compulsory classes under the track system.
“Now the students will have a lot of choices,” said Mr Youssef. “They get a chance to choose the subjects that will align with their future career. They might think, ‘I’d like to be in engineering,’ or something like that, so they might choose classes suited to that profession.”
Although all children will be required to take maths and physics, they will have to sign up for elective Stem classes.
Ghada Fahad, a principal in Al Ain, said the revised curriculum “looks good”, but questioned whether staff will be prepared in time to deliver it.
“There is the willingness, but to what extent are the teachers really ready, and is that time frame enough? That is the question,” said Mrs Fahad.
“Are the teachers really qualified? Will they be developed for these skills, with all these high expectations?”
Adec said teachers will receive training in advance of the new curriculum, but it has not released details of how or when that training will take place. It has said, however, that the revised curriculum will be implemented over five years.
Judith Finnemore, managing consultant with Focal Point Educational Consultancy, said she hoped Adec had a pool of qualified teachers and that it would “not just put a general science teacher in place and do a bit of ‘massaging’”.
“Teachers of the sciences and physics – good ones that interest children and bring the subject alive versus those who would read and explain the textbook – are in extremely short supply globally,” said Mrs Finnemore.
rpennington@thenational.ae