Teaching of national identity at Abu Dhabi schools could be improved, survey finds

ABU DHABI // Most schools are good at delivering national identity and culture education in the emirate, but there is room for improvement, a survey has found.

By asking public and private schools to self-evaluate whether they effectively taught the concept of national identity, 78 per cent of the 227 respondents rated their teaching as “good or very good”.

Moreover, 90 per cent of respondents were able to accurately respond to what is “a good Emirati citizen,” which was described by schools as an individual with rights and obligations towards self, family, community, emirate, country, Islam and the world.

Adec also conducted field visits to five private and five public schools to look for best practices.

The results showed “there are no extreme differences between public and private schools in their attempts to implement Adec’s national identity guidelines,” said Hamad Al Dhaheri, Adec’s private schools executive director.

However, it did find there is a need to develop a framework to specify what Emirati children are learning and practising about their national identity.

The framework also highlights expectations for expatriate children, including being able to sing the national anthem in their own language and in Arabic, in addition to being familiar with the concept of citizenship and knowledgable about the nation’s values and visions.

The strategy also recommends that Emiratis and expatriates should have knowledge of environmental and biodiversity issues in the country, its past, present and future plans, its flag, national anthem and core ceremonies and have an appreciation for Arabic calligraphy, arts and crafts and traditional dress and customs.