Teachers, Teacher Education, and Professional Development
Teacher Education Specific to Mathematics and Science
The Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) stipulates that teachers must hold a bachelor’s degree in their specialty subject with a minimum grade of “Good,” as well as a relevant teaching qualification. In addition, non-nationals are required to have at least two years of teaching experience. All ADEC teacher applicants must be younger than 50, and are required to obtain the following International English Language Testing System (IELTS) certificates:
- English 6.5
- Mathematics and Information Technology 5.5
- Learning Recourse Center 0.4
Requirements for Ongoing Professional Development
The ADEC aims to empower educators and enhance their performance by providing professional development opportunities focused on helping school leaders and teachers achieve the ADEC’s Professional Standards, and supporting school leaders as they learn to lead more efficiently.
The ADEC has launched a program called Empowering Educators, which provides school leaders and teachers with appropriate professional development opportunities focused on improving professional performance in order to benefit student learning outcomes. These include workshops in the three regions of the Abu Dhabi Emirate—Abu Dhabi, Al-Ain, and Al-Gharbia—for principals, vice principals, and teaching staff.10 The program fits within the ADEC’s educational reform strategy, which aims to educate and enable UAE students to compete with their peers at the international level.
The ADEC’s Professional Development Division has developed a comprehensive action plan under which training programs are offered to facilitate the achievement of professional standards and the implementation of best pedagogy in the classroom. The plan is based on a Training Needs Analysis (TNA).11 The training programs consist of three levels of training: large group, small group, and school level coaching. Principals, vice principals, and teacher leaders are trained separately and have the opportunity to hold discussions, exchange ideas, and share experiences. School level coaching provides trainees with the opportunity to identify their own strengths and weaknesses as they work to achieve their professional development objectives. Teachers are provided with targeted training according to individual professional development plans, which also address site-based needs identified by school leaders through the school improvement planning process.12