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Investigation of positive education implementation and its impact on students' wellbeing and academic self-efficacy in K-12 private schools in Dubai
No full textPositive Education is underpinned by positive psychology and infuses happiness lessons within the traditional taught curriculum. Wellbeing refers to life satisfaction and happiness. Academic self-efficacy discusses the level of an individual’s confidence and their perception of how they successfully accomplish their activities. Schools are progressively more concerned with the use of positive education for the holistic development of the whole child through an increased focus on ‘social emotional wellbeing’ (SEWB) and academic self-efficacy. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the implementation of positive education and the impact of positive education implementation on students’ SEWB and academic self-efficacy within Dubai’s K-12 private schools. Guided by theories and perspectives of world culture theory, institutional theory, Seligman’s PERMA model, Ryff’s six-factor model of psychological wellbeing, Diener’s tripartite model of subjective wellbeing, Brofenbrenner eco-biological theory, social constructionism theory, self determination theory and social-cognitive learning theory. A convergent parallel mixed method research design was used in the study. Document analysis of key policy documents and initiatives, lesson plans, strategic plans, KHDA reports, schools’ vision/mission and values statements, Dubai Student Wellbeing School Census (DSWC) reports and Pupil Attitudes to Self and School (PASS) reports, teachers’, parents’ and students’ questionnaires, and interviews and focus groups of school leaders, teachers, parents, and students were administered. The PASS results from 1006 students were used. The DSWC results from 702 and 1202 students were used. The questionnaire’s participants included 43 teachers, 277 parents, and 480 students. The interviews and focus groups participants included 12 school leaders, 17 teachers, 10 parents, and 15 students. The findings revealed the following: 1) in recent years there has been increasing positive education implementation grounding in the recent international, national, local, and educational authority policies and initiatives. 2) absence of standardised local and school policy related to positive education implementation has led to the need for adaptability of positive education implementation across school. 3) there has been strong engagement of the internal school community (teachers, school leaders and students) with external school community (parents). 4) significant changes in the overall level DSWC indicators associated with social emotional wellbeing, life satisfaction, perseverance, feeling safe, and belonging to school. 5) insignificant changes associated with DSWC indicators associated with emotional regulation, happiness, optimism, academic self-concept, cognitive engagement, engagement (flow), peer belonging and school climate. 6) PASS assessment factors show increase in wellbeing, motivation and self-efficacy for regulation and decrease in academic self-efficacy. 7) significant increase in emotional, social wellbeing and academic self-efficacy among students due to positive education implementation as perceived by teachers, parents, and students
The effectiveness of task-based instruction on third-year secondary students’ English speaking performance
No full textThis study intended to investigate the impact of task-based instruction (TBI) as a communicative teaching strategy on secondary students’ oral production of more fluent, lexically sophisticated, lexically diverse and syntactically complex language as well as exploring teachers’ perceptions and opinions towards the possibility of effective and successful use of this strategy to improve secondary students’ speaking abilities in the Egyptian classroom context. The underlying hypothesis was the ability of TBI to bring about the necessary outcome in terms of fluency, lexical sophistication, lexical diversity and syntactic complexity as a result of the communicative environment created and the mental process enhanced by TBI.
The mixed-methods research approach was embraced to glean the research data from two different samples using two main research tools: pre-post tests to collect the quantitative data and semi-structured interviews to gather the qualitative data. Five other research tools were utilized in the current research including an Oxford quick placement test to ensure the homogeneity of the research sample in terms of language proficiency level prior to the experiment and four automatic computer-based tools (Praat, TAALES, TAALED and L2SCA) to accurately and objectively score and assess students’ oral performance on four fluency measures, three lexical sophistication measures, three lexical diversity measures and four syntactic complexity measures. The quantitative data was deductively collected from ninety two second language students equally and randomly divided into two intact groups, while the qualitative data was inductively gleaned from eight language teachers.
The results from the quantitative data exhibited the positive impact of TBI on students’ speaking performance for some of the measures examined, despite the short treatment period which lasted for eleven weeks. Moreover, the results from the qualitative data revealed the conflicting beliefs of teachers towards TBI; namely, the ability of TBI to improve secondary students’ speaking skills but with some challenges against its implementation in the Egyptian classroom settings. Based on these results, some pedagogical implications were provided to be considered by language teachers, syllabus designers, administrative officials and researchers in the second language acquisition (SLA) domain and some other recommendations for future potential readers and researchers were made
Design Liability in the UAE Construction Industry
No full textThis dissertation explores design liability in the UAE construction industry. First and foremost, design liability in the UAE is a matter of contract between the parties to a construction contract, however, the terms and conditions if the contract are also subject to the laws of the UAE.
In addition to discussing the current outlook for the UAE construction industry, this dissertation will examine the principles governing the formation and performance of a construction contract and the level of design liability that the parties normally assume. This will be examined in accordance with the laws of the UAE governing contracts.
Not only do parties execute construction contracts in accordance with contract law, but the parties are also subject to laws governing delict and the provisions of delict will be examined with respect to the parties’ design liabilities and the risks and remedies that whilst not always provided for under a contract are important considerations.
An important facet of the law which is commonly overlooked in contracts in the UAE concerning design liability is decennial liability and this will be examined in detail and the risks, liabilities, and remedies available under the provisions of the law will be discussed.
The model form of contract most widely used in the UAE will be reviewed in relation to contract law, liability for delict and decennial liability. The model form of contract will be discussed to determine if the provisions of the law are well considered and if any inconsistencies can be identified
Investigating the Performance of Dynamic MONOCRYSTALLINE SILICON PVs to Energy and Visual Comfort Case Study of an Existing office building in Dubai
No full textThe facades are a major factor in the energy consumption of the buildings, as the large glass facades are a great source of energy consumption, especially in hot climates. The UAE is one of the countries that contribute to spreading awareness and applying the use of alternative energy as a means to dispense with coal sources due to their impact on the environment. In addition, buildings equipped with solar panels have a promising future in terms of focusing on smart and adaptive aspects.
The effect of vertical dynamic solar panels for an office building in Dubai was studied during the dynamic Rhino\DIVA program. This is to delve into the extent of the impact of the angles of the panels in terms of energy and visual comfort for the interior of the buildings, as the number of angles for three scenarios reached 314 angles during the year. Three scenarios for the panels were studied based on tracking the movement of the sun's angles, in addition to changing the type of window glass.
The visual comfort of the second and third scenarios has been achieved within the required range. As for the southwest office, it achieved a reduction of 81.75% in the lighting energy and 72% in the cooling energy compared to the base case when using the third scenario with EC tinted glass. The scenarios were compared in a final step, and the absolute scenario was identified and compared with the actual bills for the entire building, in addition to the energy generated for the scenario panels. The results indicated that it is possible to reduce the energy consumption of the entire building by 43% compared to the actual bills of the building when using semi-dynamic and fixed panels during the year. In addition to the highest scenario for generating energy during the year, especially the southern office
Financial Technology, Customer Experience, Behaviour and Banks Financial Performance: The Case of United Arab Emirates
No full textThe primary aim of this study is to investigate the influence of the experiences of users towards Fintech on the banks' financial performance, testing the intermediation role of confirmation, familiarity and customer satisfaction, in light of Expectation Confirmation Theory. In the study, a quantitative approach is used to study the hypothetical associations on the conceptual framework. This thesis collected data from primary and secondary sources, utilizing surveys and bank financial reports. The data was collected from 590 valid surveys and 11 banks' financial reports during Covid-19 pandemic.
The research shows how Fintech enhances banks’ profitability. The results reveal that economic, perceived service quality, security risk, operational risk, financial risk are the main factors that met customer expectations after Fintech was experienced. Furthermore, confirmation also has a positive effect on customer satisfaction – moderated by familiarity - and customer satisfaction has a significant relationship with customer intentions and loyalty. In addition, customer loyalty has a positive relationship with a bank’s financial performance. This research identifies the key factors based on customer evaluation of Fintech services in the banking sector and the moderating effect of user familiarity with Fintech. The results advance the area of knowledge on understanding customer perception of Fintech based on actual usage, which also has practical contributions and theoretical implications.
The results reveal that economic benefit and service quality are together positively associated with confirmation, while security, operational and financial risks are significantly associated with confirmation. Both convenience and seamless transaction processing results show that they are not significantly associated with confirmation. The positive effect that confirmation leads further to user satisfaction, loyalty and continuous intention to use Fintech are confirmed, and user’s familiarity is found to be a significant moderator in the relationship between confirmation and satisfaction. There is a significant relationship between confirmation, satisfaction and loyalty, which is related to bank financial performance.
This study focuses on the United Arab Emirates bank customers which limit its generalisability to other banks globally, however, banks adopt common standards in the application of financial instruments. The empirical study contributes to advancing the understanding of the benefit and risk factors that have useful implications in users’ experience of Fintech. Based on the fact that bank managers, in general, can benefit from this study’s finding to capitalize on the positive factors, to improve Fintech platforms to meet user’s expectations and remove barriers arising from the risks that ultimately improve financial performance. The finding of not confirming convenience and seamless transaction processing as benefit factors on Fintech bank platform requires serious consideration by the bank managers to develop users’ friendly Fintech platforms in the banks. The results inform the bank managers to develop marketing strategies to consider customers’ level of familiarity with Fintech
A Structural Approach of Integrating Total Quality Management and Big Data Analytics in Supply Chain Management to Improve Business Performance in FMCG Industry
No full textThe Supply Chain Management inside the industry of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods is considered one of the most complex supply chains due to high uncertainties and complexities due to involvement of different supplier, transportation problems and lead time issues. Therefore, this study examines the ability of integrating the concept of Total Quality Management which is considered one of the vital philosophies which tends to improve organizations in terms of achieving customer satisfaction and maintain continuous improvement which is highly needed inside the Supply Chain Management, as well as the Data Analytics tools which became very vital in decision making with the ability to clean, examine and analyze data to predict for future supply and demand, lead times and provide flexibility inside the Supply chain cycles, in improving the Supply Chain Management performance providing the Supply Chain Managers with high ability to predict future issues, selection of supplier, improve relation with costumers which will improve overall performance. Therefore, this study is conducted to identify areas of improvements in Supply Chain Management which can be improved through integrating the Supply Chain Management Practices with Total Quality Management Practices and Data Analytics tools. The study is based on collecting the main practices of each variable and collect data through preparing a questionnaire provided to experienced Supply Chain Managers in the field of Food Moving Consumer Goods. Structured Equation Modelling is used to test and validate the correlations between the variables examined and to test for the hypotheses developed. Thus, this study is considered very beneficial in terms of investigating the importance of integrating of the philosophies and practices to lead to better business performance and prepare organization for continuous improvements in every measure of the supply chain cycle
Perception of students on provisions provided to cycle three students with mental illnesses (anxiety disorder and depression (in public schools in the United Arab Emirates: an expletory study
No full textAnxiety disorders and depression are the most common mental disorders among adolescents. It is well-established that both anxiety disorder and depression negatively impact adolescents’ academic performance, social life, and their general well-being. This study aimed to explore services provided for cycle three students (14-18 yo) in public schools in the United Arab Emirates in terms of mental health and what could be further offered to help in improving students’ mental well-being. Data was collected using a qualitative method in the form of Semi-structured interviews were conducted with current and former students in public schools to explore their perception of anxiety disorder and depression, to assess what is currently on offer for students who are dealing with anxiety disorder and depression, and to discuss what could public schools further offer to Improve their mental health. The results indicated that there is little to no systematic services offered to students with anxiety disorder and depression. Furthermore, the results also showed a few systematic measures that could be taken by public schools to improve students’ wellbeing such as a mental health professional in schools, longer breaks during the school day, allocated times for solitary activities, and more physical education classes
Effective Curriculum Implementation for Optimal Teaching and Learning Experience A study conducted in a private school in Dubai
No full textCurriculum reforms are planned to elevate the standard of education to benefit learners and educators. However, if the innovations and changes are not comprehended and internalized correctly, they often remain merely written documents to be implemented with incomplete practices. This calls for effective strategies to mitigate the problems and enhance proficiency in education by exerting prudential solutions. For this reason, the research area of this study is one of the private schools in Dubai, facing the same issue of implementing the reformed curriculum. The study aims to identify the barriers and provide remedies for effective curriculum implementation. While exploring the concept, the researcher came across literature discussing change models and approaches that facilitate curriculum reform. And the opinions of other researchers about the role and responsibilities of different stakeholders to make the process seamless. In order to take benefit from these studies, the researcher has included an overview of their findings. In relation to the structure of the study, the identified barriers from literature are divided into three categories: students, teachers, and management. An online survey was executed with 150 teachers of the same school to gain their insight on the subject. Besides, 15 heads were interviewed to see the similarities and dissimilarities in their opinions from teachers. For this reason, the study has adopted the mixed-method framework to trace the convergence and divergence in the findings. The online survey has helped gather quantitative data, which was further analyzed by statistical methods. In addition, Qualitative data was collected through interviews, and thematic analysis was executed to interpret their responses. Finally, the join display chart format is employed to check the similarity and dissimilarity in their opinions.
The findings inform that both stakeholders share the same philosophy for most of the construct except a few. It was identified that heads are giving substantial significance to the teachers' curriculum knowledge and need for professional development. Also, they want higher management to think in this line. In contrast, teachers have shown inconsistency in their responses for both constructs and highlighted the issue of workload. To this end, the study suggests higher-level management develop concrete and meaningful policies to overcome the barriers
PhD Thesis
No full textDespite its challenging nature, recent educational research has proven that the implementation of enterprise risk management (ERM) in higher education can be successful and effective in many countries around the world. Since the introduction of a risk-based assessment and accreditation system by United Arab Emirates (UAE) higher education licensure and accreditation authorities in 2001 (updated in 2011 and 2019), there have been few academic studies and little research to investigate the effectiveness of ERM implementation in UAE higher education institutions (HEIs). Moreover, even fewer studies have shed light on the major constructs of quality assurance and academic effectiveness in the context of ERM and risk management from the UAE higher education perspective. This research investigates the effectiveness of ERM implementation in HEIs, with specific focus on selected UAE HEIs. The purpose of this study is twofold: to investigate the perceptions surrounding the effectiveness of ERM (as an academic accreditation, assessment and evaluation tool) and its implementation in UAE HEIs, and to propose a set of workable guidelines for UAE HEIs in relation to effective ERM implementation strategies. The Theoretical Framework of this study is built on three major institutional theories: Institutional Organisational Theory, Legitimacy Theory and Organisational Change Theory. These theories were chosen by the researcher based on the premise that they would lead to improved understanding of the research findings by informing the conceptual analysis and deciding the type of literature to rely on. The justification for the choice of each such theory was based on the nature of each of the research questions, as well as the expected outcomes. In this sense, the findings related to the relationship between the factors leading to HEI adoption and the implementation of ERM would be best represented in the concepts of Institutional Organisational Theory, while those findings that touch upon the effectiveness of the ongoing academic processes involved in ERM implementation correspond to the Organisational Change Theory. In terms of methodology, the researcher investigated and examined the major constructs of the study through a sequential mixed-method study design, utilising both quantitative and qualitative research instruments. The participants of the quantitative study were conveniently selected, while the interviews participants for the qualitative study were purposively selected from major HEIs in the UAE. The researcher mainly used a quantitative research tool through a survey questionnaire to obtain data based on the participants’ perceptions, and to examine ERM maturity levels across the selected HEIs. The participants of the survey, as well as the interviews, were selected faculty members and academic administrators whose views, professional experience and academic knowledge are indispensable for the process of academic evaluation and assessment and ensuring quality assurance. The qualitative study was carried out through two phases: first by conducting document analysis, where the themes and data obtained from the document analysis informed the researcher on the current status of risk management and ERM policies’ and manuals’ applicability and integration into the targeted HEIs’ academic processes; while the second phase of the qualitative study consisted of semi-structured interviews conducted with five purposively selected faculty members and administrators with major risk management, quality assurance and academic effectiveness responsibilities. The findings of the quantitative survey answered the major research question regarding the identification of the participants’ perceptions of ERM implementation in UAE HEIs and showed that the majority of the participants agreed with the major premise of the study, namely that the effective implementation of ERM leads to proven and sustainable academic effectiveness. The themes elicited from both document analysis and semi-structured interviews highlighted the major characteristics of applied risk management policies and gave hints of what ERM implementation strategies need to be adopted in UAE HEIs in order to best achieve academic effectiveness and meet quality assurance requirements. This study concludes by proposing guidelines and recommendations for optimum ERM implementation strategies that may be adopted in higher education contexts in order to achieve more effective and enhanced ERM integration across all institutional processes. By doing so, this research helps identify the current theoretical and practical features of ERM implementation in UAE HEIs and suggests better strategies for the more effective implementation of ERM. It also paves the way for further study that may consider among other factors the quality and effectiveness of academic programmes and processes in UAE HEIs in terms of ERM adoption and implementation. Therefore, the study resulted in major contributions to literature, theory, methodology and finally policy and practice. In terms of contribution to literature and theory, it helped establish a link between ERM research done internationally and research that can be conducted in UAE higher education context. It has also contributed to the establishment of a theoretical framework that can be used to inform future research in similar areas and in similar contexts. In this way, the study highlights the view that the academia is a unique entity that has a unique purpose and perspective to ERM, different from other organisations’ purpose and perspectives of ERM. Contributions to policy and practice are represented by proposing a set of guidelines that aim at refining the ERM implementation strategies in higher education institutions, particularly in the UAE context
The difficulties that expatriate students face for first-year university students which affect their academic performance
No full textThe university study stage is considered a pivotal stage in the life of the university student in terms of affecting his practical, social and psychological status. Therefore, the reason for this research was to show the relationship between the student choice of the university location and their academic performance, that the student’s academic performance declines in the first year of university due to his separation from his family, social circle and home country to a overseas country. Some of them returned after months of starting their university studies, and others showed decline in their academic level because of factors that contributed to the negative impact on the expatriate student academic performance. A delegation participated in the research about 30 expatriate students from several universities in the United Arab Emirates. The researcher studied the psychological impact of alienation from residing in a new place, new environment and social community. And its consequences on the expatriate students’ academic performance, as they start a completely different stage of academic life than what they used to during the past 12 academic years