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[nomad soul]

Nationwide teacher licensing scheme delayed
By Nadeem Hanif, The National | February 22, 2016
Source: http://www.thenational.ae/uae/education/nationwide-teacher-licensing-scheme-delayed

DUBAI // The introduction of a nationwide licensing scheme for teachers is being delayed, says the head of Dubai’s education regulator. The scheme aims to create a standardised system to improve the quality of teaching. Initially slated to be introduced last year, the scheme would nevertheless be rolled out in time to meet the goals of the National Agenda 2021, said the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).

“We are working with the National Qualification Authority to develop the criteria for the licence, but the aim is for everybody to have this qualification before they will be allowed to teach in class,” said Abdulla Al Karam, KHDA’s director general. He was speaking on Monday on the sidelines of a KHDA conference.

Principals and teachers welcomed having the licensing scheme, although the KHDA did not say when it would be introduced. “In Germany you have to spend five years at university before you are even allowed into a kindergarten to teach,” said Ludger Bar, head of kindergarten at the German International School Dubai. “In other countries it may be two or three years, so there needs to be some way to bring about a standard that will be applicable to everyone.”

One possible solution was to have a system that requires teachers to meet a central standard that demands varying degrees of extra training depending on teachers’ experience and qualifications, said Mr Bar. There are 157 schools in Dubai that provide early years education to 55,034 pupils, who make up 22 per cent of the total pupil population. “There needs to be discipline in learning and, more importantly, early years educators have to build trust with the children in their classrooms,” said Bogusia Matusiak Varley, an early years educator from Britain. “It is in early years that we set the foundations for learning.”

Presently, teachers are expected to have at least a bachelor’s degree or an equivalent university degree. The licensing scheme will require expatriate and Emirati teachers in public and private schools to register for a course and successfully complete a test before being given a licence. An estimated 60,000 teachers will have to do that when the licensing scheme takes effect.

Stephen Chynoweth, principal of Gems Wellington Primary School in Dubai, said great strides had been made in the past five years to lift teaching standards in the emirate. “I would like to see the criteria for the licences to at least include a high standard in the core curriculum like maths, English and Arabic, as well as newer things [such as] digital literacy,” he said.

However, academic qualifications should not be the sole focus for the teaching licence to be awarded, Mr Chynoweth said. “I’ve seen cases where people have amazing qualifications from the top universities but they are simply not cut out to be teachers,” he said. “At the same time, there are people with degrees and diplomas from less well-known universities but due to their life experiences are fantastic teachers.”

(End of article)

[dragonpiwo]

More certification because that's obviously the problem innit?

[nomad soul]

[dragonpiwo]

Meaning most of the problems you see in education here stem from management, planning, having Egyptian etc teachers and poor behavioural skills. You could be the greatest teacher in the world here with a car full of certificates and still get no better results than a new guy off the Adveti/Adec boat. The solutions here always seem to involve turning the screw on educators or getting a trendy new approach/method from some self-proclaimed guru. No point in any of it if the students are asleep/absent/constantly sick/passed by management etc etc. The fixes involve LLN and behaviour from an early age not uber-qualified teachers.

[Gulezar]

[nomad soul]

[dragonpiwo]

Hope it all works.

The elephant's still in the room tho'.

[canadianUAE]

[nomad soul]

The latest...

UAE-wide teacher licensing scheme to begin in 2017, minister says
By Roberta Pennington, The National | May 1, 2016
Source: http://www.thenational.ae/uae/uae-wide-teacher-licensing-scheme-to-begin-in-2017-minister-says

ABU DHABI // The pilot phase of a proposed professional licensing scheme for teachers is expected to be introduced next year and fully implemented by 2021.

“The new system will be implemented over five years such that all teachers will be licensed by 2021, in line with the requirements of the UAE National Agenda," said Dr Thani Al Mehairi, director general of National Qualifications Authority (NQA), which is coordinating the effort along with the Ministry of Education, the Abu Dhabi Education Council, Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), Abu Dhabi Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, and the Institute of Applied Technology.

Under the proposals, schoolteachers, vice-principals, principals and cluster managers working in public and private schools will be subject to licensing, and teachers will have to pass a national examination and show a “portfolio of evidence," said Dr Al Mehairi.

Minister of Education Hussain Al Hammadi said licensing will be phased in to give “an opportunity for teachers to prepare themselves". “We are working with universities to make sure there is a training programme that will be available for teachers when we implement the full licence."

The six-month pilot project expected to be introduced next year will involve about 750 teachers, about one per cent of the nation’s teacher, according to the NQA. “As soon as the pilot committee approves the process, selected teachers and schools will go through," said Dr Al Mehairi. “An evaluation will be conducted to adjust any shortcomings and narrow the gaps that can affect the final licensing process. After that, all teachers will commence mandatory licensing."

Currently, the minimum qualifications for prospective teachers vary across the country. In Abu Dhabi, for example, those standards are set by ADEC. In Dubai and the Northern Emirates, the ministry outlines the basic credentials teachers must hold to work in public schools. Private schools in Dubai are regulated by the KHDA. The entry requirements for teachers under the new system will be a minimum of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience and qualification, according to the NQA. Other requirements will be announced at a later date by the licensing committee members.

“Adec, KHDA and the Ministry of Education already have strong requirements for allowing teachers to practise," said Dr Al Mehairi. “However, the teacher standards framework provides rigorous and common measures and indicators against which teachers and leaders can be recruited, licensed and incentivised." Dr Al Mehairi said the framework will also allow for “mobility of teachers within the UAE". “Given that the UAE employs a large number of teachers from other countries, there is a critical need for a unified system to ensure minimum entry requirements are met," said Dr Al Mehairi.

Mr Al Hammadi said a requirement for teachers to hold a professional licence will raise the standard of education across the country. “We have licences for nurses, licences for doctors, licences for lawyers, and teachers are very important professionals," said Mr Al Hammadi. “You have to make sure that people who are working in and delivering education for kids should be qualified."

Lee Dabagia, head of school at Elite Private School in Abu Dhabi, said a unified licensing system would help set a much-needed benchmark for qualifications. “The licensing system is definitely needed here," said Mr Dabagia, who has also worked in the emirate’s public schools. “It’s a good kind of baseline when we start with new people, so it would be nice for us all to understand exactly what the expectations are for teachers." Mr Dabagia said many applicants had outdated teaching skills and the new licensing system may prompt them to polish their qualifications, leading to a better qualified pool of candidates for schools.

Eoin Bolger, business development manager for the UAE-based teacher recruiting firm Teach and Explore, questioned how the system would affect expatriate teachers who are licensed overseas.
“Teachers that we work with, from Ireland or the UK, Canada or America, they all have a bachelor of education already, they all have a minimum of three years’ experience, they’re all fully qualified. They all have recent experience and we have all the reference letters, everything backing up their experience and qualifications," said Mr Bolger. “I don’t know whether teachers would be 100 per cent happy with having to do it if they are coming over here with their degree and qualifications."

(End of article)

[canadianinuae]

[nomad soul]

Teacher licensing and balancing investment are key challenges for UAE education sector
By Nadeem Hanif, The National | July 12, 2016
Source: http://www.thenational.ae/uae/teacher-licensing-and-balancing-investment-are-key-challenges-for-uae-education-sector

DUBAI // Getting every teacher through the UAE’s licensing system and maintaining a clearer balance between investment in schools and profits will be key challenges facing the education sector into the next decade, experts say.

Although the overall quality of education provided at schools was getting better, in some areas of the country there was little improvement. “[We need] possibly, and hopefully, an amalgamation of those overseeing education so that everyone sings from the same hymn sheet and in-country disparities are eliminated," said Judith Finnemore, an education adviser with Focal Point Management Consultancy. But longer-running issues would continue owing to continued economic uncertainty, especially the scarcity of good-quality teachers, particularly in Arabic lessons, she said.

This wider global uncertainty led to job cuts and salaries stagnating, meaning some well-paid expatriates who could normally afford high school fees were being forced to rethink their finances. “Owners will face the need to realise that schools are not really profitmaking concerns," Ms Finnemore said. “Schools always need high levels of investment because improvement costs money."

As well as making sure every teacher has completed the licensing, it was essential that those vetting teachers were also high-quality educators. The National Qualifications Authority (NQA), which is coordinating the teacher-licensing project with the Ministry of Education and other organisations including education regulators, said it would be introduced next year. The project is expected to be fully implemented by 2021.

“The various bodies must sit together and decide this without delay," Ms Finnemore said. “Then, once teachers all have the same standards, there needs to be a UAE salary scale that applies to all schools. “This happens elsewhere in the world, so why not here?" The longer-term quality of schools could be improved by giving the highest ratings only to schools that have had B ratings for at least three inspections, she said.

Emirati teachers should be more involved in writing textbooks for the UAE National Curriculum and the examination system for Ministry of Education schools should also be as robust as those in the UK and elsewhere. “We need more involvement of industry in schools by linking business mentors with schools," Ms Finnemore said.

But despite the strides made in education, more needed to be done to prepare children for higher education and work. “Where is the vocational input to schools?" she said. “There are UK qualifications called Btecs and these are perfectly worthwhile, yet they are not recognised as fit for schools here. Many schools are still highly textbook-driven and we hear too often how parents want this and that. It is not about what is good for children."

Natasha Ridge, the executive director of the Ras Al Khaimah based education think tank Al Qasimi Foundation, said small for-profit schools could be worst hit in an economic downturn. “Larger groups such as Gems have economies of scale, so they would be fine," she said. “Long-established, non-profit schools with good reputations would be fine because there is always demand for these schools." She called for a more diverse education sector with a wider range of non-profit schools. Ms Ridge said the UAE’s stability in a tumultuous region would continue to attract investment and pupils from other Arab countries and South Asia.

Kimberly Taylor, academic adviser at the new American curriculum Clarion School in Dubai, said schools should focus on building the ability to “communicate and collaborate". She said, “By teaching children how to better communicate and work with one another, better prepares them for the wider world. By developing these skills, along with problem solving, children could more readily apply what they learnt to the real world."

(End of article)