Moral Education: Development and Implementation of a National Program in the United Arab Emirates

• In Event: Current International Practices and Challenges in Social and Emotional Learning Intervention Programs

Abstract

The United Arab Emirates Moral Education Curriculum, an initiative of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, exemplifies the belief in the importance of social and emotional learning and aims to instill universal principles and values that reflect the shared experiences of humanity in youth from all nationalities in the UAE.

In this four pillared Moral Education curriculum, students are taught to develop the language, understanding, and skills of moral thinking and reasoning (Character and Morality); look at how this moral thinking can be developed in the context of local communities (Individual and Community); develop character and moral thinking in the context of civic duty and responsibility (Civic Studies); and apply this moral thinking and reasoning to an understanding of inherited past and the shaping of the future (Cultural Studies). Figures 1 to 3 show details on the program.

Underpinning the foundation of the curriculum is a focus to impact the knowledge, attitude and ultimately behavior of young people across the UAE, regardless of context, background or religion. To ensure the successful implementation, progress, and impact of such an ambitious program, there were several requirements to put in place and a number of key elements to consider.

Leadership buy-in - Leadership buy-in is crucial to ensure the program’s smooth integration into every school’s required academic offerings; thus, pilot programming involving school leaders, teachers, parents, and students to help inform national decision-making was a critical first step.

The federal requirement for all schools to implement this curriculum for 36 hours per grade through grades 1 to 12 had a significant impact on the planning and organization of all schools whether public, private or following any of the international curricula utilized by UAE schools.

Professional development - Given the novelty and national scale of this program, there were no existing cadre of teachers for it. A program of initial training was locally delivered over 5 days to over 1500 newly appointed coordinators and teachers from public and private schools across the nation. As teachers begin to go beyond the technical understanding of the program, more robust subject-specific and pedagogically-driven training is required, future development efforts will focus on this.

Resources – With a limited pool of resources, such a program required an initial batch of teaching materials (student books and teacher guides) to support the early years of ‘curriculum coverage’ and ‘subject understanding’. This was coupled with holding multiple forums for principals to share best practices and creative approached to resource development on a national scale.

Parent and community engagement - There is a strong national belief that this program will only succeed with the full support and engagement of parents. Initial program resources included suggested activities, which parents may partake in with their children, but early indicators show that more is needed, particularly in terms of reinforcing the national message. Key stakeholders for parents' engagement have been identified, from prominent Emirati figures and social media influencers to other related national programs, government groups, and NGOs.



Figure 1: Program Pillars

Figure 2: Values Tree




Figure 3: Achievements to Date

Author

• Ahmed Fikri, Crown Prince Court