Keywords

1 Introduction

1.1 Background

“The World Needs a New Curriculum” - with these words chosen to be the title of his book, Prensky (2014) wanted to summarise the whole story by stating that “few today get the best education the world can offer, because most of today’s education is for a context that no longer exits” (p.1). In this sense, educational and curriculum stakeholders are called to help students achieve new goals, explore new content, and therefore attain new skills.

Driven by the need to fulfill skill and employability demands, educational authorities in the UAE inaugurated a national project where efforts were concentrated on the re-imagination and reform of the national school curricula. The UAE educational authorities hoped that these new approaches would signal a radical revolutionary shift away from the conventional and classical memorization-based learning towards what they hoped to be a skills-based education whose outcomes would be students well prepared for living and working in the 21st century (Ridge, Kippels and Farah (2017a, b).

1.2 Problem Statement and Questions

From a UAE school’s perspective, there has been a tendency to move away from the conventional way of what and how children are taught, into helping them how to think creatively. This notion looks fascinating, but its implementation looks quite challenging. Curriculum should be organised around student-centred world themes and problems. Many educators have now started to realize that focus on the classical subject-centred curriculum would not help children become better, even more competent, players of the world. However, while moving to the skills-based education would seem to be a positive move in the right direction, it lacks a very basic and essential element: none of it is “real” (Prensky 2014, p. 60).

Very few studies have been conducted with regards to the subject of skills-based curriculum reform in the UAE educational and schooling contexts in recent years. Most of these studies, such as (Suliman 2000), Farah and Ridge (2009), Ridge, Kippels and Farah (2017a, b), etc. focused their attention on a brief history of curriculum development in the UAE in general with mere references to the need for a more advanced skills-based curriculum reform. In this study, the researcher highlighted this issue in the sense of examining the achievability of intentions made in the UAE to move towards the skills-based curriculum since most problems and activities that the existing curricula try to tackle are just “made up” and not real problems.

1.3 Questions

The questions which the researcher answered through this paper are as follows:

  • Q1: What is the end target or purpose of moving from the content or subject-centred curriculum into the skills-based?

  • Q2: What is really needed to achieve the positive move from the content-centred into the skills-centred learning and therefore curriculum?

  • Q3: More importantly, does this transformation from the subject-based into the skills-based, if feasible, necessarily lead to real curriculum reform?

2 Conceptual Analysis and Literature Review

2.1 Conceptual Analysis – What is Meant by Curriculum?

Defining the word “curriculum”, a thorough review of the field would show different and varying interpretations of the term. More than 120 definitions of the word “curriculum” were found just by Portelli (1987). These definitions were cited by Marsh and Willis (2003, p. 7). Ridge, Kippels and Farah (2017a, b) define the term “curriculum” as an umbrella inclusive of all the concepts, underlying educational theories and philosophies, objectives, content, and functions of the “instructional program” in the classroom, as well as written and other materials needed to support the educational system (p. 1). Richards (2012) defines a curriculum in a schooling context as referring to the complete set of knowledge obtained and acquired by students.

In the view of Van den Akker (2003, 2010), curriculum can be seen as a concept which can be dissected into three major components: intended curriculum, implemented curriculum, and attained curriculum. The intended curriculum ideally consists of the guiding documents which, in the UAE context, are developed and sustained to dictate what should be taught in schools. The implemented curriculum describes the activities that actually happen in the classroom. Finally, the attained curriculum is related to the learning process and assessment activities themselves as conceived by students in their classroom. It is concerned with the skills and values students attain as well as what content they absorb and retain.

Essential 21st Century Skills Needed by Today’s Students

There has been a recent call by educators and educational experts that students need improved 21st century skills (Ridge, Kippels and Farah (2017a, b). Without these skills, researchers and experts now believe that students will not be effective players in the world system and the global economy. Without such skills, their preparation and qualification for both academic and professional careers will be inadequate.

To the question “what exactly are these 21st century skills?”, many current researchers and organisations have attempted to provide answers. In a report published by Hanover Research Center (2019), participant researchers shed light on the subject defining those skills as major computer and technology related 21st century skills. They also include related skills which go beyond the technological expertise, and refer to literacies and proficiencies which will prepare students to face risks, challenges, and opportunities.

2.2 Review of Relevant Literature

Curriculum Reform in the view of the Glamour of a Dead-Living Shark Artwork and Originality of Saber-Tooth Tiger Curriculum:

On the notion of curriculum change and reform, Granville (2014) considered the impossibility of curriculum change in the mind of the educated drawing upon some of the most famous historical curriculum studies: Damien Hirst’s Shark artwork (1991) and the classically most famous old fable-based Sabre-Tooth Curriculum theory, recounted in the form of an extended essay book by Benjamin (1939). Granville (2014) drew on a very interesting simile to the famous artwork of the English artist Damien Hirst: ‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991)’ (Brooks 2005). The author believes that reform stakeholders must be aware of how significantly challenging curriculum reform is. He then uses the simile of the famous Abner Peddiwell’s Saber-Tooth Tiger Curriculum that is summarised by the fact that according to the “rulers of the tribe”, the essence of education is timeless and therefore even though the saber-tooth tiger had long time ago gone extinct, the curriculum centered around protecting humans from its dangers is still valid and applicable. However, while it is true there is always a pressing need for fundamental curriculum reform, Granville (2014) adds, there are also certain areas and aspects of the curriculum that are always proof to change.

Conversely, Prensky (2014) believes the world needs a new curriculum. However, in his book he defends the notion that even though skills and standards are crucial to the learning process, we must focus on “accomplishment-based education” (p. 5). Only when move from the subject-based education we can have better players, more effective thinkers, communicators, and doers in the world. In this sense, he concluded that the world needs a new curriculum. The curricular scheme proposed by Prensky (2014) is unique and based on four key pillars: Effective Thinking, Effective Action, Effective Relationships and Effective Accomplishment. Prensky’s theory goes beyond the promises defended by “21st century skills.”

Curriculum Development Activities of the UAE Ministry of Education

Shortly after the UAE union in 1972, the MoE faced the major challenge of having a variety of different curricula with varying standards, tailored to suit the influx of different people and cultures coming to the country. In 1979, the MoE finally launched its “National Curriculum Project” with the aim of creating a single UAE national curriculum, which was only implemented nationally in 1985 (Ridge 2009).

According to Nanney (2004), “Student-centered learning environments have a heightened advantage over the traditional teacher- centered, subject-centered environment in that they provide complimentary activities, interactive in nature, enabling individuals to […] move forward into increasingly complex levels of content to further their understanding and appreciate subject matter” (p.1). In this sense, changes in textbooks are driven by what is known as the intended curriculum. These changes would lead to changes in the way teachers deliver the curriculum in what is known as the implemented curriculum. This is what the researcher defends in this study as being the attained curriculum. In a sense, the UAE current intended, implemented, and attained curriculum needs to be harmonized and brought into play together to enable policy makers and curriculum developers succeed in the achievement of skills-based curriculum.

Moving to the Skills-Based Curriculum in Abu Dhabi Schools

Based on the conceptual analysis the researcher made of the word “curriculum” and its relevance to the UAE context, the researcher adopts the “attained curriculum” category introduced by Van den Akker (2003, 2010).

In their Brief, Farah and Ridge (2009) states that the UAE government attempted at the time to adopt two new curriculum approaches on a tentative basis: the all new standards-based curriculum in Abu Dhabi schools and the new English-medium curriculum in selected government schools, or what is known as the Madares Al Ghad, or Schools of Tomorrow, throughout the UAE, launched in 2007 for the purpose of providing an up-to-date curriculum with English as the medium of instruction (Warner and Burton 2016). The main aim of UAE authorities at that time was to move away from the classical and archaic constraints of memorization-based school teaching methodology towards a more solid and advanced skills-based education which will produce students fully prepared to live in, work and cope with the 21st century (Ridge, Kippels and Farah 2017a, b).

2.3 Theoretical Underpinnings

The study of curriculum change, and reform, can be based on theories such as the curriculum evaluation theory defended by Clements (2007). It suits this study since it deals with the analysis of goals or objectives of the curriculum. This theory would drive into the direction of understanding individual interpretations about curriculum and learning experiences. Similarly, according to Clarke (1987), curriculum theories would fall under one of three major categories: Classical Humanism, Reconstructionism and Progressivism.

With the Classical Humanism and Reconstructionism being outdated and focusing on the standard old-fashioned memorization and subject centred learning processes, the researcher would adopt the Progressivist theory in this study since it “promotes a learner-centered approach to education which attempts to promote the learner’s development as an individual with intellectual and emotional needs and as a social being.” (Tzotzou 2013, p. 3).

3 Research Methodology

3.1 Research Approach and Design

Creswell (2013 & 2014) recommends that research follows one of the five traditions of qualitative research: narrative, phenomenology, ethnography, case study and grounded theory. In this study, the researcher opted for a mixture of the narrative and case study qualitative research design where the researcher investigated the theoretical and conceptual challenges of developing a skills-based curriculum in the UAE by re-telling the story of other studies: “narrative research employs re-storying the participants’ stories using structural devices, such as plot, setting, activities, climax, and denouement” (Creswell 2014, p. 196). This was the researcher’s major instrument of data collection and analysis (Merriam 2002).

The researcher chose to conduct a small-scale quantitatively based case study to support some of his findings throughout the study. This small-scale case study, involving two questionnaire surveys, was conducted with educational expert informants: one principal and two teachers from a private Abu Dhabi international school to seek their answers, interpretations, awareness, knowledge, and conceptions of the subject of this study and its major questions.

3.2 Data Collection Method

As mentioned earlier in this paper, aside from the data and findings the researcher drew from the detailed theoretical and conceptual analyses of this study, the researcher used a small-scale case study where the researcher initially planned to collect supporting data through semi-structured interviews. However, due to the limitations of time and resources, the researcher changed the data collection method into a survey of closed-ended questionnaires.

Creswell (2014) agrees with Merriam (1988) and Marshall and Rossman (1989) “that data collection and data analysis must be a simultaneous process in qualitative research” (p. 209). While doing analyses of the findings of the theoretical and conceptual frameworks of curriculum reform, the researcher used the major questions of the study to draft questions directed to a principal and two teachers, one of mathematics and one of English, at a private international Abu Dhabi school. Their answers were used for simultaneous crosschecking and as supporting evidence of conclusions inferred through the theoretical analysis.

3.3 Instrument Design

The small-scale case study was designed through the distribution of closed-ended questionnaires on a private school principal and two teachers, one of mathematics and one of English. The researcher used the Survey Monkey software tool to send the questions to one principal and two teachers, one of English and one of mathematics. The answers and data resulting from the surveys were then used for analysis against the major questions of the study.

4 Data Analysis, Results and Discussion

Focusing on the theoretical and conceptual analyses of curriculum development in the UAE, the results show that the UAE educational authorities have indeed managed to embrace the importance for the need of curriculum reform. However, speaking of the three major categories of curriculum identified in this study; the intended, the implemented, and the attained; studies show that in the UAE there still has been no synergy made among them.

The answers of the survey participants came to sustain this conclusion since the principal and teachers answered positively to the questions on their awareness of the need for creating a coherence between the three major categories of curriculum to achieve a real move towards the skills-based curriculum. The answers of the principal and teachers also show that to ensure a successful implementation of a new curriculum, there needs to be better training for both teachers as well as school administrators to understand what it means in practice to deliver a skills-based syllabus as opposed to the subject-based one. The answers also show that there must be a shift in teachers’ attitude regarding the way they deliver the objectives and standards set for their curricula from the beginning of the year. The answers of participants also showed that teachers need solid training to move away from a textbook-centered curriculum to a student-centered curriculum. Such training needs to sustain the fundamentals of teaching yet widen the scope of teaching process to include the practical and professional (real-world) skills beyond the typical pedagogical topics. As stated, more intensive training and familiarisation processes are required in this case, things that the current curricula system does not hold.

Ridge, Kippels and Farah (2017a, b) managed to highlight this issue of the absence of synergy among the three different categories of curriculum in the UAE. This issue would have its big disadvantages in the teaching and learning process where teachers refrain from the adoption of new student-centered approaches to teaching and would hinder the development and implementation of skills-based curricula. In a sense, the UAE current intended, implemented and attained curricula need to be harmonized and brought into play together so that policy makers and curriculum developers can succeed in their mission towards the achievement of skills-based curriculum.

5 Conclusion and Recommendations

5.1 Conclusion – Summary of Results

From the theoretical and conceptual analyses, the researcher made in this study, it was clearly observed that the adoption of a new revamped skills-based curriculum is a rigorous tool towards a solid and comprehensive educational reform within the UAE educational system. Based on the conceptual analysis the researcher made of the word “curriculum” and its relevance to the UAE context, the researcher conclude that educational authorities in the UAE should really place their focus on the “attained curriculum” category introduced by Van den Akker (2003, 2010) being the type of curriculum that helps all elements of the teaching and learning process to effectively implement a solid and enhanced model of skills-based curriculum. Since the attained curriculum is related to what students have learned, adding the factor of “skills” in this category is what really matters.

Curriculum reform and moving towards the skills-based seems not to be an easy task. According to Prensky (2014), “it involves not just “adding technology” or “adding some 21st century skills, but rather, I believe, that we learn to teach our young people Effective Thinking, Effective Action, Effective Relationships and Effective Accomplishment” (p. 1). The researcher’s clearest conclusion of this study is that the key for the attainment of these skills to be developed among learners are the teachers themselves in partnership with stakeholders: modified and enhanced curriculum alone will not do the job. Finally, as stated by Prensky (2014), “21st century skills” curriculum should not be based on made-up concepts, but rather on actual student accomplishments in the real world. What is then really needed is a learning process whose outcomes are of real significance and provide real improvements and solutions for real problems in the world. This should indeed be what a skills-based education, and as such curricula, be all about.

5.2 Recommendations for Further Research

This study was mainly intended to be a theoretical overview of the progress and implications of the implementation of skills-based curriculum in the UAE. The study was initially planned to be conducted through a set of interviews with one school administrator and two teachers. However, a survey was done instead with the answers and findings resulting from them covering only a small sample of informant participants. The researcher’s recommendation is that this same study could be piloted with a bigger-scale study that covers more UAE schools and more participants. This further research could be conducted to be mainly a case study covering the findings of this theoretical study.