Job Discussion Forums

773 · Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 213

I read on previous postings about UAEU's "High School Program" and was wondering, is this the nickname for its Foundation Program? I was under the impression that the Foundation program is for students who have already graduated from high school, and so I am hoping that someone out there can help clear up my confusion as to whether these are the same or different programs. Thanks much!

like2answer · Joined: 21 Sep 2006 Posts: 154

WD40 · Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 104

I heard that the PI is building a High School and that it may affect the size of its foundation program.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

773

Your confusion is because UAE is making an attempt to decrease the size of their university foundation programs by starting to teach the basic skills needed in high school.

No 'nickname's involved. The universities will still have foundation programs for some years to come. But, the secondary schools will be adding classes and teachers in an attempt to alleviate the problems of the huge numbers of students who seem to spend too many years in Foundations at UAEU.

So far, it has pretty much been chaos for the first people getting into the high school programs. Avoid them if you can...

VS

773 · Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 213

Thanks much to all of you, your feedback was really helpful. I am not at all interested in teaching high school, and that's why I was asking...I will be interviewed soon for a position teaching in the foundation program, and when doing research, I kept coming across negative posts about the high school teaching program. That's why I needed to make sure they weren't referring to the same thing.

Thanks a lot again, you have all set my mind at rest!!! Very Happy

willynilly · Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 14

Sheikh Mo of Dubai has just made some very critical and derogatory comments about the low quality of school education Vs the amount of money that has been thrown at it, in the recent UAE government/rulers bigwigs meeting. Changes are being made to improve the quality of schools education but the effects will probably take a generation or more to be noticed. For sure the rulers would like high schools to prepare students for tertiary education, to be less reliant on memorisation and rote learning and more reliant on enquiry/research based learning, however here we get into cultures of learning and critical thinking vs accepting a 'truth' exists and not wanting to challenge it, while this latter 'culture of learning' exists, in a monotheistic society, educational change will prove to be extremely difficult to implement IMHO.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Not to mention the obvious fact that you need to start in the first year of primary school... not the last couple years of high school!! Especially as to language education...

VS

Iamherebecause · Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 10:10 am Post subject:

Actually a few years ago there was a big flapdoodle about new materials for ELT being introduced in Kindergarten-Primary school. Longman materials I think. This would have been in 2002?? So 5 years on the kids who were the first to get the new approach and new materials for KG etc are stuck with the old approach and old materials in grade 5 or 6....