Browsing by Author "Buchler-Eden, Hanna"

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    Business Leaders’ Perspectives on the Role of Education and the Skillset Required in United Arab Emirates’ Knowledge Economy
    (The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2019-08) Buchler-Eden, Hanna
    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is traditionally known for its vast oil reserves and associated wealth, however the Government has accentuated the necessity to transform into a knowledge economy. In order to do so it has reformed its education system with the objective of developing the requisite skills required in a knowledge economy during the formal education period. The purpose of this research is to obtain in-depth understanding of whether senior business leaders of large and medium companies operating in the UAE considered education to be a means of developing a knowledge economy skill set, and if education was important, how successful had it been in enhancing the availability of those skills in the UAE labour market. The initial stage of the thesis was to identify the components of the conceptual framework to answer the research questions, and to assess the progress that the UAE had made towards knowledge economy status, based on established studies and global institutional reports. Mixed methodology was employed to answer the research questions and accomplished by conducting semi-structured interviews with 15 UAE based business leaders, plus a quantitative survey answered by 138 multi-level managers and professionals employed in UAE. The qualitative data was analysed using content analysis, and the survey, was analysed by means of SPSS software. The major findings are that the skills needed for the UAE knowledge economy differed somewhat in ranking from those suggested by previous studies and that the current educational policies, although progress have been made, are not generating sufficient skills to meet labour market demands. The key limitations of the study included a lack of agreed definition of the knowledge economy and the challenge of acquiring robust data from local UAE sources. Several recommendations are made for further study including extending the education framework to embrace early childhood education and university research culture. Furthermore, the organization of a platform for business leaders and education leaders, researchers, policymakers and practitioners to share knowledge and practice, so that the output of skills levels from the education sector could be substantially enhanced.
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    The Implementation of the Inclusive New School Model in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi; a School’s Tale from a Teacher Perspective
    (The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2012-03) Buchler-Eden, Hanna
    In order to reduce the dependency on oil and to diversify its economy, the emirate of Abu Dhabi has identified education as one of the key enablers to achieve a transformation to a ‘knowledge based’ economy. At the centre of this transformation is the design and implementation of the New School Model (NSM) in the public schools. The purpose of this study is to explore the implementation, from a teacher perspective, of the New School Model in a public school in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The research aims to identify potential gaps between theory and practice as well as to explore challenges and formulate recommendations in implementing the New School Model in the daily routines and in the classrooms. This might provide a foundation for further research and contribute to additional knowledge about the implementation of the New School Model which could benefit teacher trainings and the gradual roll-out in further classes. In order to provide a profound perspective on the subject, this case study was mainly based on observations and interviews. Furthermore a document analysis was undertaken as well as a short questionnaire survey. As an outcome of this study the gaps identified between theory and practice in the implementation of the New School Model are specific to a number of elements but not to all of them. Teachers as implementers provide an in-depth perspective with overall challenges and tangible recommendations. Overall the empirical study indicates that the implementation is on track in the particular school.