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The Emirates’ Ministry of Education is on track to achieve its goal of raising school leadership standards in the UAE, with 142 educators graduating from the School Leadership Programme (SLP).
The graduating class made up the second cohort of educators taking part in the internationally accredited programme, which is being run jointly by the Ministry and Pearson. The programme forms part of the UAE Government’s wider education reforms aimed at fostering a highly diversified, knowledge-based economy.
Organisers of the SLP have been impressed by the dedication of the participants, who achieved an overall attendance rate of over 97 percent, with no participants falling below the required attendance rate of 85 percent. 58 participants achieved 100 percent attendance for the programme, which is run over 400 hours.
Mrs Fawzia Bin Ghareeb, the Under Secretary Assistant at the UAE Ministry of Education extended her congratulations to the graduating group, noting the inspiring standard the 2014 cohort have established for future participants:
“The future of UAE learners looks bright, with our schools to be led by such a remarkable collection of educators and administrators. I commend the commitment and enthusiasm shown by the participants of the 2014 School Leaders Programme, and am confident that they will lead inspiring change in the country’s schools going forward. Given over 700 educators from across six Emirates will undertake this programme in total, the impact of the SLP on the overall education system will be significant”.
The programme includes a 50 hour internship placement at a high performing school, providing participants with an opportunity to learn from the country’s best performing schools. Pearson’s Professional Development Manager, Amanda Collins, says that it is this focus on real-world learning that is at the heart of the programme’s success:
“The internship is a fundamental part of the SLP, allowing participants to engage in professional dialogue with school leaders and colleagues, and consider ways in which their own leadership practice might change as a result of what they have learned. The internship also provides participants with practical behaviours and activities that they can go onto implement in their own schools, having a long-term positive impact on students and staff”.
Ms Collins says that while the programme has proven to be a great success, Pearson and the Ministry of Education are keen to ensure future participants benefit from ongoing improvements:
“A recent Review of the School Leadership Programme’ found that while overall the SLP had performed well against international standards, there were areas where improvements could be made. 2015 participants will therefore enjoy greater flexibility and choice in their learning, and have increased access to best-practice schools, with internship time extended. In addition, we are negotiating with local and foreign universities to have the SLP programme recognised as a pathway to a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership. Pearson and the Ministry are dedicated to making this programme as effective as possible given the importance of school leadership to creating a world-class education system in the UAE”.
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