96% of Dubai parents happy with school contracts: KHDA

Collected from more than 70,000 students, parents, teachers and principals from private schools in Dubai, results from the annual Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) survey are used to inform education policy and guide community-building activities.

From parental anxiety over children's development and identity, to tackling bullying among the student population, to helping teachers chalk out good models and deal with stress, the survey comes in handy to design the perfect solutions.

It also helps in creating awareness and adopting new techniques that make education more fun, and inclusive.

Judging by the positive impact, the 2013 survey had, this year too the KHDA will send out send around 220,000 surveys. The first batch has now been issued to more than 110,000 people, including over 7,500 teachers, around 90,000 parents, 67 principals and more than 15,000 students.

“We have been able to introduce new concepts and ideas based on your feedback from last year’s surveys,” said Hind Al Mualla, Chief of Engagement. “In time this positive engagement will lead to further improvements in Dubai’s education sector, giving more students access to high-quality teaching and learning.”

 For parents anxious about retaining their Emirati identity in an educational environment that's British, was solved after they started the ‘Parent Safaris’. These are informal meetings at KHDA, designed to exchange opinions between parents and the education regulatory body. As part of the process, the KHDA team also visit schools weekly to meet and talk to principals, teachers and parents.

The parent-school contract, introduced to give parents and schools clear guidelines of their rights and responsibilities, has reduced grievances between the two parties. The results of the KHDA survey show that 96 per cent of parents agreed that a legal, detailed contract between them and the school was important.

The contract also obliges schools to have a clear anti-bullying and student conduct policies, both of which have proven effective in reducing instances of bullying and inappropriate behaviour. The majority of students aged 15 and above – 80 per cent – agreed that their schools dealt well with bullying; 81 per cent said they were treated fairly in their schools, and 93 per cent agreed that they were safe and well-looked after at school.

Good teaching practices are shared among teachers from across Dubai’s schools. In the survey, 65 per cent of teachers said they were given enough time to prepare lessons and mark students’ work. To help teachers manage their workday, the latest What Works events will each include sessions on teacher wellbeing, stress management, and happiness.

The majority of principals surveyed – 97 per cent – said they were satisfied with the quality of education offered in Dubai. To improve this further, KHDA established the Principals’ Playground, a regular networking event at which Dubai’s school principals meet to share ideas.

A special session in June saw 101 principals from across Dubai’s private schools in attendance, to share the education targets of the UAE National Agenda for 2021 and discuss how schools can work together to make sure these goals are achieved.

[Image via Shutterstock]

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